I called Xander at work and was all like OMG It\u2019s going to overflow what do I DO!?! <\/em><\/strong>then he was all like BAIL!!! BAIL LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT, I\u2019M COMING HOME!!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n So, bail I did.\u00a0 I grabbed a bowl and managed to get some water out just before the sink overflowed.\u00a0 Then I proceeded to run my ass off between our kitchen sink and toilet to keep the water level down.<\/p>\n When he arrived home from work I was still bailing like there was no tomorrow.\u00a0 The stench in the house was indescribable and he went upstairs to tell our neighbours to stop using water until we can get a plumber over.<\/p>\n Ok, I have to stop now and tell you a little about our lovely neighbours.\u00a0 NOT SO LOVELY!<\/p>\n Remember our previous neighbours who left all the garbage downstairs and gave us rats and mice<\/a>? Yeah the same one who came to our door to threaten us<\/a> and kept using our phone<\/a>.\u00a0 Well, we finally got rid of them<\/a>, and were so looking forward to having nice, normal neighbours upstairs for once.<\/p>\n We\u2019re still <\/em>waiting.<\/p>\n The dude who bought the flat is young, can\u2019t be older than about 25, and he\u2019s nice enough but a total slumlord.\u00a0 The first tenants he put in were Mongolians, and they were quiet as mice.\u00a0 The only problem is they multiplied like mice too.\u00a0 It seemed like every time we went out the door there were different Mongolians coming and going, we never saw the same ones twice.\u00a0 We still didn\u2019t have a problem, until winter came and we were having issues with the radiator in our dining room. There are two flats below us and one above us, and all four of us are connected to the same heating pipe.\u00a0 Xander de-aired ours and the ones below us but in order for the heat to work properly it needed to be de-aired at the very top.\u00a0 This is where the problems started.<\/p>\n They would NOT open the door!\u00a0 Even though we could hear them in there, no matter how long or how hard we banged on the door they would not open it.\u00a0 This got to be extremely frustrating because we had no contact number for the guy who actually owns the flat and the VVE (homeowners association) wasn\u2019t proving to be much help.<\/p>\n No lie, it took us almost 5 WEEKS <\/em><\/strong>to get into that flat to fix the heating!!\u00a0 By that time our downstairs neighbour was pretty much ready to take an axe to their door, as she had no heating in her 3 year old\u2019s bedroom and had to put an electric heater in there to keep him warm at night.<\/p>\n When Xander was finally let in, he saw that the flat was full of mattresses.\u00a0 We had an entire colony of Mongolians living upstairs and they\u2019d turned the place into a complete dump.\u00a0 When we went to our next VVE meeting there was a lot of talk amongst the other owners in regards to the legality of the people who were living there and whether to phone the police and turn them in for having too many people living in the flat.\u00a0 This is a major problem in Rotterdam at the moment, mostly with Polish workers who have come here.\u00a0 Thankfully it soon became a non-issue as one day they were just\u2026 gone.\u00a0 The landlord was in the flat fixing it up and once again we had hope that we\u2019d have new, nicer neighbours.<\/p>\n WRONG.\u00a0 More fucking Mongolians. I don\u2019t know what it is with this guy and the Mongolians, but there was a collective groan throughout the building when we all realized that he had rented to them again.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t the same ones though, and it appeared to just be a couple, so maybe they\u2019d be better.<\/p>\n Now, let\u2019s go back to day of the disgusting water.\u00a0 There is massive blobs of rotten food coming up through our sink and I was up to my elbows in it.\u00a0 I appear to have a stronger stomach than I ever thought because I still don\u2019t know how I didn\u2019t vomit during the entire thing.\u00a0 Just when I\u2019d get the water level down, it would all come rushing in again.\u00a0 Cold water, hot water, all full of slimy grossness. \u00a0I couldn’t believe that there was so much food, and I knew it wasn’t coming from us. \u00a0We have a strainer on our sink that catches any bits before it goes down the drain, and we’d never had any problem in the years we’ve been living here. \u00a0There was no way it was a coincidence that these problems started just a matter of weeks after the Mongolians moved in.<\/p>\n Xander went upstairs to tell the Mongolians to stop using water and\u00a0SURPRISE!!! They wouldn\u2019t open the door!!\u00a0 If I wasn\u2019t so busy bailing all their crud out of my sink I would have been up and over those stairs in two seconds flat, I was THAT angry.<\/p>\n You have to imagine this scene, Xander is upstairs banging on the door telling them he can hear them in there, I\u2019m legging it for all I\u2019m worth between the kitchen and bathroom, slipping and sliding on the tile floors because they are wet and slippery from drippage, and I am screaming <\/em>like a wild banshee for him to come and help me.<\/p>\n That\u2019s when he nearly banged the door down, literally, like he nearly rocked that fucker right off it\u2019s hinges.\u00a0 MY MAN!\u00a0 If I wasn\u2019t up to my armpits in rancid water I\u2019d have been really turned on.<\/p>\n Anyway, they finally opened up and were mighty pissy with him, because you know it’s totally rude of us to expect them to open their door? \u00a0Of course, like the others before them they spoke neither Dutch nor English, so after some loud, slow talking and hand signals he got the point across to them that they need to stop using water.<\/p>\n Oh, but wait!! They do speak English after all!!\u00a0 Their response?\u00a0 NOT MY PROBLEM<\/strong><\/em>!<\/p>\n Not your problem?\u00a0 NOT YOUR PROBLEM!!\u00a0 I will make it your problem you \u2026. well, I won\u2019t tell you the rest of what I said when he came down and told me their response.\u00a0 If you know me you know that it involved a lot of swearing and big talk about all the ways I\u2019d cause her pain.\u00a0 I was so. pissed. off.<\/p>\n Xander then called the VVE, who actually were helpful this time around. They called a plumber who said they would be here before 5pm.\u00a0 So we bailed and waited.\u00a0 They apparently also contacted the Mongolians landlord, as he phoned us a few hours later and gave us his contact info so we could get in touch with him if we need him.<\/p>\n The plumber came, did their plumber thing and all seemed to be ok.<\/p>\n Side note, the plumber came with dried mud all over his shoes and when he was done working he asked for our vacuum and some cloths, and then cleaned the kitchen before he left.\u00a0 WTF?!\u00a0 Not only that but he was so incredibly friendly, chatty and pleasant\u2026<\/p>\n I know, bizarre right? \u00a0I actually had to run to look out the window just to make sure I was still in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n Anyway, sweet relief.\u00a0 The water stopped coming up our sink, our kitchen was cleaner than it was before the whole ordeal and life went back to normal.<\/p>\n That is, until Friday night.<\/p>\n This might be a good time to have a pee break if you need one, I\u2019m really just about to get started.<\/p>\n I had plans with a friend to go into town and hang out, when I got home it was almost 11pm and when I walked in the door I felt a splash.\u00a0 My first thought was that one of the dogs had peed on the floor, but when I turned on the lights a whole other nightmare opened up to me.\u00a0 My flat was flooded.<\/p>\n WHY? \u00a0Why couldn’t it have just been dog pee?!!!<\/p>\n Xander was away for the weekend, I was all alone, it was the middle of the night and my flat was flooded.\u00a0 Friday the 13th indeed!!<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t even know where to start.\u00a0 I had left the dishes from dinner on the countertop because I was in a rush to get to town before 6:30pm.\u00a0 The dishwasher was still full with the clean dishes from the night before.\u00a0 The kitchen, hallway and spare room were all flooded, the smell was horrendous and I knew I didn\u2019t have enough towels in the house to take care of this job.\u00a0 I also didn\u2019t have a mop because I use a swiffer and a steam machine, neither of which would do me any good with this.<\/p>\n I wanted to sit down and cry, but it was late, the dogs still needed to be walked and I had to get down to business.\u00a0 Right after I called Xander and freaked out.<\/p>\n As I got to work sopping up the water, Xander was on the other side of the country calling the VVE emergency number and the landlord upstairs.\u00a0 The landlord did answer and say he\u2019d come over but the VVE number? VOICE MAIL!\u00a0 An emergency number and we get voice mail.\u00a0 Give me strength\u2026<\/p>\n
![\"Flooded](\"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/diswasher_thumb.jpg\" "\\"Flooded")
<\/a>