Back to reality...
... Well almost. How my boss thought I could do my job with no facilities other than a phone and an empty (ish) desk is beyond me. But i sat there for a week solid waiting for phone calls and reading. I finished every book I had in the house and read a couple of them twice. I clock watched to the point where seconds dragged interminably and I spent stupid amounts of time watching the clouds go by. This was in fact the silence I had looked forward to on holiday but instead I had it in the very place I had been escaping from. Not much more to say about that week other than the weather was still erratic. Interestingly both my home laptop and my new work one arrived by courier on Friday. Had to order a new drivers disc from my ISP so I could actually use them for much though.
Monday twenty somethingth september (I have no idea of the date anymore only when it's pay day or not, do I live in a black hole in between time and places?)
late the night before it had started raining heavily and when I woke up to the alarm clock the next morning it was still coming down like a power shower on max. In the streets the drains were gurgling but everything was still ok.
The engineer (Phil) turned up at about 8:30am which was a surprise. We had to rush about tidying the bedroom so he could go through to my office. He was here until about half ten.
We talked about the heavy storm and the lightning made the lights flicker a few times. I had been checking the back garden nervously, if the place flooded it would come from that way as the paving sloped towards the house thanks to the wonderful workmanship of a building firm I hope you never encounter.
Well the drains out back seemed to be coping with the torrential rain quite well and Phil completed the programming on my new laptop. We carried the old equipment down stairs and Phil turned to me and said "You do know your dining room has flooded." I thought he was joking. Apparently not. Don't get me wrong, the floor was wet and a puddle was near the door but it wasn't like we had to swim to safety. Only when we got to the front door for him to leave we could see the extent of the flood outside. The street was a river about 2 feet deep and the only way to get to his van was via the front door. I probably shouldn't have laughed but my inapropriate sense of humour took over. He took his shoes off, rolled his socks into balls and tucked them in the shoes then placed his shoes precariously on top of the box of old kit he was taking with him. Then he rolled his trousers up to his knees and opened the door. My neighbours walked past about then; they had their trousers rolled up and were wading down the street. The car for 2 doors down was wet inside but then again sports cars are lower. He paddled across to the van dropped the first lot of stuff off and then came back for the second box. He didn't look hugely impressed.
As the next hour or so passed my dining room become further submerged and the water spread to my hall way and kitchen. By lunch time the water outside was going down and the water in my house was still there. It wasn't until late Tuesday night that someone came with dehumidifiers and fans. I was so relieved when they took up the squelching carpets and vynl. The smell had been something like you would expect in a swamp (or so I would imagine having only limited experience of swamps).
Anyways to cut this long rambling story short... Insurance people have been round, we have to have new flooring throughout, replastering and a new kitchen. Apparently when they eventually start work the mess might be so bad the house will be uninhabitable. I think it's the first time I was actually grateful I had insurance. They said they will put us up in a hotel if it gets too bad but that we may have trouble finding one as its going to be busy with the hundreds of homes flooded. Not sure when they will do the work or how long it will take but the builders are coming on Monday to take a look and give our insurers the cost to replace everything. I sent over a list of items ruined by the flood including my lovely leather sofa (so comfortable its probably better to sleep on than my bed and if I were you I would rather sleep on it than share with me) and my dining table which i only got last year. Pretty much everything down stairs is being replaced except my bathroom. It's strangely comforting to hear the dehumidifiers humming all night but the fans are driving me nuts (if it's not too late for that) they are so loud and they kick up so much dust I keep sneezing; on the upside if it's still like this at xmas I shall be all set to be a rudolph lookie likie.
See ya later.
Monday twenty somethingth september (I have no idea of the date anymore only when it's pay day or not, do I live in a black hole in between time and places?)
late the night before it had started raining heavily and when I woke up to the alarm clock the next morning it was still coming down like a power shower on max. In the streets the drains were gurgling but everything was still ok.
The engineer (Phil) turned up at about 8:30am which was a surprise. We had to rush about tidying the bedroom so he could go through to my office. He was here until about half ten.
We talked about the heavy storm and the lightning made the lights flicker a few times. I had been checking the back garden nervously, if the place flooded it would come from that way as the paving sloped towards the house thanks to the wonderful workmanship of a building firm I hope you never encounter.
Well the drains out back seemed to be coping with the torrential rain quite well and Phil completed the programming on my new laptop. We carried the old equipment down stairs and Phil turned to me and said "You do know your dining room has flooded." I thought he was joking. Apparently not. Don't get me wrong, the floor was wet and a puddle was near the door but it wasn't like we had to swim to safety. Only when we got to the front door for him to leave we could see the extent of the flood outside. The street was a river about 2 feet deep and the only way to get to his van was via the front door. I probably shouldn't have laughed but my inapropriate sense of humour took over. He took his shoes off, rolled his socks into balls and tucked them in the shoes then placed his shoes precariously on top of the box of old kit he was taking with him. Then he rolled his trousers up to his knees and opened the door. My neighbours walked past about then; they had their trousers rolled up and were wading down the street. The car for 2 doors down was wet inside but then again sports cars are lower. He paddled across to the van dropped the first lot of stuff off and then came back for the second box. He didn't look hugely impressed.
As the next hour or so passed my dining room become further submerged and the water spread to my hall way and kitchen. By lunch time the water outside was going down and the water in my house was still there. It wasn't until late Tuesday night that someone came with dehumidifiers and fans. I was so relieved when they took up the squelching carpets and vynl. The smell had been something like you would expect in a swamp (or so I would imagine having only limited experience of swamps).
Anyways to cut this long rambling story short... Insurance people have been round, we have to have new flooring throughout, replastering and a new kitchen. Apparently when they eventually start work the mess might be so bad the house will be uninhabitable. I think it's the first time I was actually grateful I had insurance. They said they will put us up in a hotel if it gets too bad but that we may have trouble finding one as its going to be busy with the hundreds of homes flooded. Not sure when they will do the work or how long it will take but the builders are coming on Monday to take a look and give our insurers the cost to replace everything. I sent over a list of items ruined by the flood including my lovely leather sofa (so comfortable its probably better to sleep on than my bed and if I were you I would rather sleep on it than share with me) and my dining table which i only got last year. Pretty much everything down stairs is being replaced except my bathroom. It's strangely comforting to hear the dehumidifiers humming all night but the fans are driving me nuts (if it's not too late for that) they are so loud and they kick up so much dust I keep sneezing; on the upside if it's still like this at xmas I shall be all set to be a rudolph lookie likie.
See ya later.
posted by stunted at 4:24 AM
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