If you want a job done right....

I'm going to make a really mundane post right now, and then in a minute... or maybe after I take a fucking much, much needed shower, I'm going to talk about something much more serious. But first, the mundane.

Anyone reading the other blog will be well-aware that my boiler was sputtering around all week and then finally just fucking gave up the ghost yesterday. I'm fucking cold. I'm a Texan. And I'm neurotic about showering and keeping a clean flat. One night was enough. More than.

I told Co as soon as I got in this morning. I asked her if she would mind helping me call a repair man, or seeing if the maintenance ajeosshi could come out and have a look. Then, I patiently waited. Around lunchtime, I thought I maybe should remind her, since I hadn't heard her talking about it on the phone to anyone yet. But, just as we were finishing eating, some of the other Korean teachers mentioned to her that I looked tired and a little ill. She explained that I had been without heat the night before, and had had to bathe in cold water this morning. They ooed and ahhed over what a poor thing I was, and I figured, Co's got this. I don't need to mention it again.

I came back from my last class (six class), and she didn't mention anything, so I finally brought it up again. I guess I didn't manage to communicate something clearly this morning. It's probably my fault, because I'm a bit goosey about asking for help with things, and in an effort to not seem somehow expectant or demanding (between that and the language barrier) I think I probably made it seem as though I didn't want or need help. By this time, it was nearly 3:00. As I well know, far too late to place a phone call for a repairman in Korea and expect him to show up the same day. Although had I wanted to have an entire internet line installed, that could've been accomplished inside of fifteen minutes.

So, I've been sitting here wrapped in layers on the cold floor trying not to climb into bed under six blankets or think about how I'm going to manage to make myself presentable for the parents at the graduation ceremony tomorrow with only cold water to work with, when I realized that every other fucked up dumbass problem I've had in this flat with the plumbing, I've managed to handle myself. I told myself I should probably stop at fucking with the boiler. But how hard could it be?

I dug out my Phillips head and went to have a look. A fucking tube has mysteriously dislodged itself and the damn thing is sputtering water all up in the insides and fucking shit up. I can't get the tube back on with a clean seal, but I sure as fuck can have at it with the duct tape. I've got it up and running, but I'm not convinced it's going to stay that way for long. But maybe it will be long enough to get this place to a livable temperature and wash my greasy-as-fuck hair without catching pneumonia. My guess is, while I was away, something froze somewhere in the boiler. When I came back and turned it back on, it eventually melted and dislodged the ice, but not before building up enough pressure to blow the tube loose.

The lesson here is that you should never assume you're helpless in the face of these kinds of issues. It's often times much simpler than it seems. If you want a job done right, you gotta do it yourself. And if you can't do it yourself, then just jerry-rig the fuck out of it until you can pay someone an arm and a leg to come out and do it for you. Just make sure you keep an eye on him while he does it, so you can just save yourself the trouble and sort it out on your own the next time.