This Is A Test. This Is Just A Test.

[alynwa]

So.  For those of you who have been following along, I have relocated from New York City to Henderson, Nevada to live out my Golden Years in the land of U-turns and hundred dollar bills in the condo I inherited from my mother.  She was the original resident of the condo having moved in very soon after the Certificate of Occupancy was issued in 2000.  Since it was newly built, everything in the place was brand spanking new so she was able to live out her days not worrying about replacing appliances; well, except for the dishwasher which died an ignominious death several years ago.

My thinking was that after I got settled in, I was going to start having the kitchen renovated which would include replacing all the appliances as they were nearing the 20 year mark; the operative phrase being "after I got settled in."

Things started going a bit south while I was still in NY.  I got a call from the neighbor who had been taking care of Itty Bitty and Pepper (they thought they had hit the jackpot and had their own house) informing me that my kitchen sink had backed up and flooded underneath the sink and the floor.  That happened several days before my planned arrival.  I got here the night of the 18th of September and was greeted by a really disgusting sight.  The HOA responded by sending someone to sanitize everything and I hoped the problem was resolved.  It wasn't.

A few days later, I notice black mold under the sink and call the HOA again.  This time, they send professional mold abaters who strip out all the cabinets and the back wall to the studs.  For a solid week, they came and worked their magic behind the plastic curtain they erected (with a zipper for them to enter and exit the work area) and when they left they would leave a huge fan blowing on the wall to dry it which was the background noise I and the cats had to sleep with.  This past Friday, they finished and informed me that the fan would blow until Monday when the tech would come to test the air.  Assuming the air passed, they would return to remove the fan, plastic curtain, etc.

This past Sunday, I was getting dressed to go out for breakfast (remember, I've had no kitchen since returning) when I thought I heard a noise.  I looked around and saw nothing amiss and finished dressing.  As I was about to walk out my door, I heard a noise and realized that it sounded like running water!  I unzipped the curtain (which had a Do Not Enter sigh taped to it) and saw filthy water overflowing my sink and dripping onto the floor!  I was so shocked, I stood there for a good ten seconds in disbelief before freaking out.  "I don't know what to do!" was my first hysterical thought before grabbing my phone and calling the HOA's emergency number.

The plumber came out (again) and snaked the shared pipeline (again).  So on Monday, instead of getting a clean bill of health, the mold abaters came back, cleaned everything again and left the fan on until yesterday when the area passed inspection.  Tomorrow, another plumber is coming to jet out the shared pipeline and run a camera through there to see if the problem can be found.

The lemonade from these lemons is: I asked the HOA rep what would happen if I were to replace the existing cabinets with new ones and she said they would pay the cost up to what it would have cost to put the original cabinets back in place.  When I went to Home Depot today, the sales rep was adament that the HOA is supposed to pay for the entire kitchen replacement if they cannot match the color of the original upper cabinets.  I don't know about all that, but I am hopeful that I can offload some of the replacement expense onto them.

In the meantime, I was doing laundry last Friday.  I had done 3 loads of sheets and towels on Thursday and wanted to finish up by washing my clothes.  Near the end of the cycle, the washing machine began to make a grinding noise.  The cycle finished and I figured it best to not press my luck and possibly flood the laundry room.  I put in a call to Sears who sent the most decrepit looking repairman I have ever seen!  My neighbor and I were outside when he arrived and she looked at me and said, "How is he going to be able to do anything?"

I was hoping for a bandaid solution, but a repair would have cost almost $400 bucks with no guarantee other parts wouldn't fail.  Like I said, I planned on buying a new washing machine anyway, just not last Saturday.

So yesterday, I was rooting around in the fridge trying to identify the source of a smell and settled on a piece of unopened cheese from Trader Joe's that had molded.  My first errand today was getting my money back.  Fine.  I'll skip the other errands to tell you that I came home and realized I hadn't really drunk a lot of water today, so I got some out of the fridge, sat and turned on the computer and took a big swig of...room temperature water.  I got up, remembering that the other day I had heard the fridge and thought the ice maker was doing its thing.  I opened the freezer and reached into the ice bin.  Instead of ice, it was water.  Almost everything in the freezer/fridge is ruined.  The repair man is coming tomorrow, but it's more a formality on my part.  I need to buy a fridge now instead of later.

The problem with this piecemeal approach is that I had hoped to get a deal based on buying 5 major appliances: fridge, washer/dryer, stove and dishwasher.  So far, the only good news is the washing machine guy looked at the dryer and thinks it could last another 5 years.

All of this and I'm doing Sober October so I can't even find refuge in a glass of Pinot Grigio.  That's the bad news.  The good news is if I haven't broken down and broken out the wine by now, the rest of the month should be a breeze!

Comments

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Wow... wow... Move to Vegas and hit the Need Help Jackpot! I'm glad the HOA is at least going to foot some of the bill, and that they've had people on hand to do the work. When I needed a new water heater and LOWES was going to charge me $1000 for it and installation, I called a friend in Mississippi and he drove up and put it in for me for a third of the price. I hope things begin to even out a little in your favor... odds need to turn back to the house ;)

[alynwa.livejournal.com]

LOL! I needed that laugh! I hope you're right.

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

OMG! When it rains, it pours. Holy cow! I hope you get some satisfaction with the cabinets at least, since you have so much else to replace. What are the odds of everything going at once? Wow!

[alynwa.livejournal.com]

All of the appliances are almost 20 years old, so it was always my intention to replace them anyway, but I thought I could at least finish unpacking!

[lindafishes8.livejournal.com]

Girl! When the shit hit the fan, the shit REALLY hit the fan! SO sorry all this hit you at once! Perhaps you would be wise to go ahead and replace all 5 appliances at once if you can afford it. You'll rest easy for the next 20 years.

[alynwa.livejournal.com]

That was my intention always, but I thought I would be able to unpack first! My original plan was to buy all a package of fridge, stove, dishwasher, washer/dryer and get some type of discount in November. I just bought a washing machine and had it delivered on 10/3. Now, I have to do the same with the fridge. I just closed my eyes and emptied the freezer of all the thawed out meat and veggies and refused to think about how much money got wasted.

This too shall pass and then I won't have to worry. I picked a bad month to go sober. Thank God I'm only doing Sober October!

[elmey.livejournal.com]

It's always like that isn't it? Your mom was smart, buy new :D But such an aggravating start to your new life!

We had a leak in the water pipe leading to 0ur old refrigerator (I'd been meaning to get a new one for the last few years, but since it still worked, eh) a few months ago. It ruined the wood floor, so we had to redo the floor, then get a new fridge--unfortunately the new fridges are all an inch or two taller than the old one, so then we had to take down the old wall cabinet above the fridge. That led to tiling the wall so it matches the rest of the cabinet area... It never ends.

But you've used up your bad luck now, things will get much better :)

[alynwa.livejournal.com]

I hope you're right. My mom was the first person to live in this condo; she bought it while it was still under construction, so of course, everything was new.

But that was back in 2000, so I had planned to replace everything, but sheesh! I was hoping to do it in November, I haven't been here a month!

[leethet.livejournal.com]

I am so sorry about the kitchen flooding thing. Be aware this will ALWAYS be a problem because pipes clog repeatedly. It sucks being the person on the bottom. As long as the person on top uses their sink (especially their garbage disposal) this will continue to happen.

[alynwa.livejournal.com]

Oy! My only solace if that is true is that the HOA has already said that going forward, they will charge my upstairs neighbors for future floods in my place.

[the-wretching.livejournal.com]

You should hire yourself out like a water-diviner, for divining silver linings!

That all just sounds like such a pile of headaches.

[alynwa.livejournal.com]

Oh, it is a major headache! I just put my head down and continue to march forward. I'm no Pollyanna nor am I an optimist. I'm just hanging on to the facts that are keeping me sane. The fact is that I intended to replace the appliances, so I had budgeted to do that. So when I feel the freakout coming, I remind myself that I have the money, it's the timing I don't like because I'm still unpacking. This could have been way, way worse.

[the-wretching.livejournal.com]

Oh for sure. I didn't mean to imply you were being painfully optimistic, just that I admire your ability to keep saying, "but it could be worse."

And I guess this way, when you finally get settled in, you get to stay settled in for a good long while without any more appliance disasters or expenses. Best of luck with all of it!