But Think of all the Starving Children in Africa

There are some advantages to apartment living, and there are some disadvantages. One advantage is that, if the stove breaks or a faucet drips or a hinge squeaks, you don't need to bother with calling a plumber (or electrician or handyman) or with trying to take care of it yourself. You just give maintenance a call and they'll take care of it for you. One disadvantage is that you are completely at the mercy of maintenance. If you get locked out of the apartment on a Saturday morning and the emergency number has been routed to the phone line of a maintenance worker who is out of town on his honeymoon, you'd better have your car keys and things to do until your roommate comes home later in the evening. Or just happen to try stopping by the office and discover that someone in the management has just happened to stop by to get caught up on some work. Not that I know this from experience.

The current problem is the shower. On Tuesday people came by and did something with the pipes in the building. Our water was off for about three hours in the middle of the day, and I have not had a hot shower since. The showers aren't cold - they're just not hot. It's warm enough to be tolerable, not quite warm enough to be comfortable.

Now, I know that there are places in the world where people would be grateful for a lukewarm shower. There are places in the world where the hot water, or even the water itself, is severely limited. I should be happy that I can shower, daily, without freezing or worrying about my bill skyrocketing, as I might in some parts of the world. But Ann Arbor, MI is not one of those parts of the world. I should be able to take a hot shower when I wake up in the morning, or after a run in the rain. The fact that I can't is beginning to bother me.

Lest you wonder, I did call maintenance about this, on Wednesday. I don't know how long I should wait before I call again and complain. It sort of seems to me that this is something that ought to be taken care of quickly - after all, lukewarm showers do not make for happy tenants. But on the other hand, if I really think about it, this doesn't constitute a maintenance emergency. I've tried to put it in perspective (so as not to be upset at our management). If I had to choose between my cold (okay, lukewarm) shower and, say, a neighbor's broken stove, which would take priority? A broken stove is far more inconvenient, but also much more easily avoidable because you can eat out or use the microwave, whereas a cold shower is less inconvenient, but also less avoidable. Daily showers (or something close to that, or multiple showers a day if you are my brother) are a must in this society, particularly if you are in the habit of engaging in high-sweat-inducing activity on a regular basis.

Okay, how about a cold shower and a broken washing machine? I mean, our washing machine is once again fully functional, but if someone else's washing machine in one of the other complexes our property company manages is broken, then I think they should get first dibs on the maintenance guys. A cold shower and a mouse? That's easy - let the residents take care of the mouse themselves (that's what we did in the end). A cold shower and a leaky faucet? A cold shower and a crack in a wall? A cold shower and a broken heater? These are tough decisions. I am not the one making the decisions, but I hope I am not being too selfish when, in most cases, I would cast my vote for fixing the shower...