So today I had one of those days. You know, the kind that everyone has once in a while. I know everyone has to deal with common maintenance issues around the house, so I'm not going to complain.
You know, when things like this happen.
Everyone has to clean up a mess here and there, right?
Odd, I don't remember doing any construction in the apartment.
Oh wait, I found the problem.
Wait, you mean no one else wakes up to a thundering boom at 1:30am to find that the ceiling has caved in and the entire kitchen is covered in ancient building materials from 1910? That's not normal?
Your friends don't call out because they were sitting in a chair directly below the hole?
My favorite memory of this is Erin's reaction from the hallway after she got out of bed. "OH HOLY CRAP. THE CEILING IS GONE. IT'S GONE."
Naturally, that got me out of bed. After I viewed this for myself, I did what anyone would do. I called maintenance. My conversation went exactly like this:
Me: Hello. I have an emergency.
Office Staff: It's 1:30 in the morning. We open at 7am.
Me: Yes I know, that's why I said it's an emergency.
Office Staff: OK, what's wrong.
Me: The ceiling collapsed in my apartment.
Office Staff: Did you say the ceiling?
Me: Yes. There used to be a ceiling. Now there is a hole.
Office Staff: I don't understand.
Me: I know it sounds crazy. The roof just fell in.
Office Staff: What building is this? Where did the roof go?
Me: It went onto the floor. (Gives address)
Office Staff: The roof is on the floor?
Me: YES!
Office Staff: You are a resident?
Me: YES! (Of course I'm a resident! What else would I be?!)
Office Staff: OK, I'll put in a maintenance request.
Me: WHAT?! The ceiling just collapsed! I need someone here now!!
Office Staff: You want someone to come and see it?
Me: YES! THE CEILING IS GONE! IT JUST FELL ON MY FRIEND!
Office Staff: OK, let me write this down. What part of the ceiling?
Me: The kitchen ceiling! Why does that matter?
Office Staff: I need to write this down so he knows which room to look in.
Me: My apartment is only 450 square feet! The hole is pretty obvious.
Office Staff: OK, I'll see if I can get someone out there.
Me: Should I just call 911?
Office Staff: Are you hurt?
Me: No, but my apartment is literally falling apart. Pieces of it are everywhere.
Office Staff: No, don't call 911. I'll call the Super.
Me: Great, thanks.
The Super lives a few doors down from me, so he actually came pretty quick.
Me: Hey, thanks for coming. The ceiling just fell apart while we were asleep.
Super: Wow, I'm really sorry about that.
Me: Yeah, what were the chances?
Super: Actually, this happened in [apartment 4 doors down from me] not too long ago.
Me: ...
Erin: This is not OK. This is really not OK.
To his credit, the Super started cleaning up the mess right then and there. He also explained what happened and let me know that there was a pretty good chance that we wouldn't die in our sleep from another section coming down. Good to know. I barely slept last night. Wonder why.
Brandon (friend who was under the hole) didn't feel comfortable sleeping in the kitchen again, so he moved to our couch. Anyone blame him? He says this as he's covered in water and grey ceiling dust.
Now I'm probably breathing asbestos particles as I type this. Sadly, this is the second time water has leaked and led to a hole in our ceiling. Last time it was in the bathroom. Speaking of the bathroom, it was flooded last night in an unrelated incident. Awesome. Now our downstairs neighbor can have their ceiling fall onto their heads too.
So, should I be concerned about this? Or does everyone have their ceiling collapse without warning every once in a while?
You know, when things like this happen.
 |
| What a mess. |
 |
| Ah, shucks. |
 |
| Oh no, the cutting board has some debris. |
 |
| The microwave too? |
 |
| A minor issue, I'm sure. |
 |
| The ceiling has collapsed. |
 |
| That explains a lot. |
Your friends don't call out because they were sitting in a chair directly below the hole?
My favorite memory of this is Erin's reaction from the hallway after she got out of bed. "OH HOLY CRAP. THE CEILING IS GONE. IT'S GONE."
Naturally, that got me out of bed. After I viewed this for myself, I did what anyone would do. I called maintenance. My conversation went exactly like this:
Me: Hello. I have an emergency.
Office Staff: It's 1:30 in the morning. We open at 7am.
Me: Yes I know, that's why I said it's an emergency.
Office Staff: OK, what's wrong.
Me: The ceiling collapsed in my apartment.
Office Staff: Did you say the ceiling?
Me: Yes. There used to be a ceiling. Now there is a hole.
Office Staff: I don't understand.
Me: I know it sounds crazy. The roof just fell in.
Office Staff: What building is this? Where did the roof go?
Me: It went onto the floor. (Gives address)
Office Staff: The roof is on the floor?
Me: YES!
Office Staff: You are a resident?
Me: YES! (Of course I'm a resident! What else would I be?!)
Office Staff: OK, I'll put in a maintenance request.
Me: WHAT?! The ceiling just collapsed! I need someone here now!!
Office Staff: You want someone to come and see it?
Me: YES! THE CEILING IS GONE! IT JUST FELL ON MY FRIEND!
Office Staff: OK, let me write this down. What part of the ceiling?
Me: The kitchen ceiling! Why does that matter?
Office Staff: I need to write this down so he knows which room to look in.
Me: My apartment is only 450 square feet! The hole is pretty obvious.
Office Staff: OK, I'll see if I can get someone out there.
Me: Should I just call 911?
Office Staff: Are you hurt?
Me: No, but my apartment is literally falling apart. Pieces of it are everywhere.
Office Staff: No, don't call 911. I'll call the Super.
Me: Great, thanks.
The Super lives a few doors down from me, so he actually came pretty quick.
Me: Hey, thanks for coming. The ceiling just fell apart while we were asleep.
Super: Wow, I'm really sorry about that.
Me: Yeah, what were the chances?
Super: Actually, this happened in [apartment 4 doors down from me] not too long ago.
Me: ...
Erin: This is not OK. This is really not OK.
To his credit, the Super started cleaning up the mess right then and there. He also explained what happened and let me know that there was a pretty good chance that we wouldn't die in our sleep from another section coming down. Good to know. I barely slept last night. Wonder why.
Brandon (friend who was under the hole) didn't feel comfortable sleeping in the kitchen again, so he moved to our couch. Anyone blame him? He says this as he's covered in water and grey ceiling dust.
Now I'm probably breathing asbestos particles as I type this. Sadly, this is the second time water has leaked and led to a hole in our ceiling. Last time it was in the bathroom. Speaking of the bathroom, it was flooded last night in an unrelated incident. Awesome. Now our downstairs neighbor can have their ceiling fall onto their heads too.
So, should I be concerned about this? Or does everyone have their ceiling collapse without warning every once in a while?
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