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March 28, 2005

Underwater Adventure

Today was just gorgeous. The sun came streaming in through my window, making the 10 a.m. alarm seem almost acceptable. (Hey, I had done laundry until 2 a.m.--so getting up "late" was entirely reasonable.) I had cracked the window open last night, and the air delicately hinted at spring. Sure enough, when I checked the weather report, it was going to be a scorcher--a whole 46 degrees Fahrenheit. (I suppose it really would be a scorcher at 46 degrees Celsius...)

I hopped in the shower and was totally invigorated at the notion of washing my hair in my own bathroom. The 13 days of travel had left me a little rugged, and I was pleased to have a razor again. Squeaky clean, I turned off the shower, pulled back the curtain, and was horrified to see that the bathroom had flooded and there was two inches of standing water covering the whole floor. My robe and clothes, casually tossed in the corner, were soaked, and the bathmat's terrycloth loops gently swayed in the water's current like an underwater plant. I got out of the shower--literally splashing as my feet hit the floor, wrapped a towel around me (so much for the robe), and shrieked for Jess to come and see. We determined that the drain problem, which had been plaguing us for the past couple weeks, had definitely gotten out of control.

I laid my soaking pajamas over the dryer above the bathtub and Jess awkwardly hung the bathmat on the side of the tub. And we left it at that. After getting dressed and drying my hair, I ventured back into the bathroom and was relieved to see that the flood had greatly subsided, leaving only haphazard pools of water on the uneven tile.

It was decided that I would go to Karlskronahem and notify them of the problem. Of course, by this time I was already late for my thesis meeting with Ronan, but I was able to negotiate a later start time--allowing me to get to the management company before they closed for the day (Karlskronahem being only open for approximately 7.5 minutes each day, it's important to time your visits with precision).

Being such a breathtaking day, I decided to get the bike out of long-term storage (the corner of my room next to the desk) and bicycle downtown. And since it was so warm, I thought I'd forego a jacket and just wear a sweatshirt over my t-shirt. Yes, we are the height of fashion here in Sweden...

So off I went, thoroughly enjoying the 7 km to town, although noticing on the way that my tires are a bit flat. As I should have suspected, Karlskronahem was closed for Easter Monday (as it is for all major holidays, including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and random Wednesdays). Disgruntled, and wondering how I was going to take a shower the next day, I went up to Wayne's, where I met Ronan and we had an extremely productive thesis meeting. I'm starting to feel some sense of relief on this project, and I hope that it continues to go smoothly.

While at Wayne's I got an email from Amity, who invited me over for dessert to talk about my recent trip to the Baltic. Needing to kill some time, Ronan and I went to O'Leary's Sports Bar and had dinner and watched a little ice hockey. Good times were had by all.

Then, a walk over to Bredgatan. Chocolate cake was eaten, Earl Grey tea was elegantly sipped, and plans for future travel were discussed. Given my flat-ish tires and my lack of jacket, I decided to leave my bike there and take the bus home. Once home, Roya and I had a long chat about obsession (and what makes people obsess about things they can't change) and I checked email (hurray for follow-up interviews!). All of which brings me to this moment, when I am looking longingly at my bed and wondering if 11 a.m. is too late to set the alarm for. Surely not.

Photo Credit: I think this one is Kevin's.

Comments

Posted by: emily at March 29, 2005 08:44 AM

Posted by: Red at March 29, 2005 04:48 PM