almost useless

still coughing, but slightly better in the sinus department. tired. a bit confused - or unfocused. i managed to get some good work done this morning, finally posting the code i've been working on and *pretty* satisfied that it's production ready.

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then the plumbers arrived, and i couldn't get into anything while they were around. and they were around a long time. i sent the following letter to our landlady:

We've finally managed to get plumbers in to sort out the mixer, there was a problem with the nut used to secure it and it was so badly rusted they needed a hacksaw to get it out; there's no reinstalling it.  I will send you the photos of the newly installed mixer and the invoices a bit later.

Additionally, we asked them to investigate regulating the water temperature (changing bathtub mixers previously didn't improve that), which has forced us to waste an enormous amount of water over the course of the past few months.

While solving that problem, they discovered that the thermostat on the geyser has been broken, and so it hasn't been shutting off when the water's heated which might explain our very high electricity bills. The T&P safety valve was blocked on installation, and between that and the thermostat, it is not only dangerous but has probably done damage to the geyser itself. And as if that's not enough - there's no drip tray installed, so any leak would damage the wardrobe and all the things we're storing there.

It must also be noted that whoever installed the geyser did so really badly, and didn't leave any room for maintenance so replacing the thermostat became a whole story. When your handyman was here however many months ago and needed to look at the geyser, he had to force the covering board that they'd used to seal the geyser in, which is a very strange design decision; I think whoever installed it must have thought that nobody would ever need to access it again and any maintenance - like replacing a thermostat, or the element - now requires draining the entire geyser, pulling it out to do the work, then replacing it. This has been expensive and time consuming, and I suggest that you seriously consider having the geyser re-installed by professionals.

I will present you with today's bill and a quote for a proper fix once I've consulted with the plumber.  Having these kinds of problems, unnecessary expenses and potential losses is not conducive to reasonable enjoyment of the premises.

to which she most elegantly responded:

You leased the flat as per what was offered and as per what was signed for .

All the changes that you keep insisting to do just causes more problems

We spoke of mixers that you wanted to replace at your own cost nothing about plumbing issues that seemed to have arisen as a result of all your changes
The fact that you requested your plumber to investigate will now be for your account as I never gave permission for this .

this idiot is claiming that we are responsible in some way for the poor and unsafe installation of the geyser. either that, or that an undiscovered and serious set of problems with said geyser didn't exist as long as we didn't investigate.

it boggles the mind.

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taking mr smear to the pool, though the weather wasn't perfect and he didn't want to come in with me. he did enjoy goofing around in the garden and we learned an important lesson about not giving up when we fail (catching little parachute man)

our neighbour bumped into us on our way back inside, and he was in dire need of an ear to hear and some good advice. i hope the latter helped, he seems like a good guy but he's deeply troubled and we don't know if he's dangerous or not (to himself or others). i hope i manage to catch him for a cup of coffee sometime.

kubo and the two strings is WONDERFUL. mr smear was lying between my legs on the couch and he fell asleep during the credits, we had a weird experience trying to wake him up just enough to pee before going to bed when he was fast asleep and i had to keep his head propped up while he was on the bowl... eventually gd managed to wake him enough to get the job done and then he passed straight back out again.

since pushing my work this morning, i've done almost nothing of value (okay, not true exactly, but nothing work related). i'm distracted, and my wife and mother both think i need to go back to working in an office. i'm hesitant, but i'm honestly not sure i disagree with them.