What an evil week...

My buddy Peter over at Slublog has alluded to my horrid week (granted my house is still standing, I don't live in a country ravaged by natural disasters, and the bills are paid), so here is some of the sob story and maybe some blues lyrics to boot.

Winter here in Maine can be brutal, and the past week we have seen some sub-zero tempatures and some very nasty wind chills. My truck, which God bless it, has done its job very admirably, died. The last time I was at the mechanic he said that the old girl was just about done. So, sub-zero temps have kept the truck dead in the driveway, and my wife and I don't commute well together. That was the first thing.

I am also the proud owner of an apartment house. We live upstairs and rent the downstairs. We are currently looking for a tenant, and have been showing the unit. What do you get when you combine an old house (built circa 1880), old plumbing (water lines run in 1907), and cold weather? You guessed it, leaks.

Upon showing the apartment on Thursday night, we were shocked to find water stains on the kitchen sealing, a wet wall, and standing water on the floor. Oh what fun!

Upon closer inspection, the nearly 100 year old cast iron drain pipe sprung a leak the size of my finger, which can create a lot of water damage as it runs into the old beams and ceiling tiles.

So, here are the possible lyrics to my sad state, done in an E blues shuffle and a voice sounding horribly like Lonesome George:

My trucks dead in the yard,
My pipes got a leak,
My rentals a mess,
I'd like to burn the whole heap!

There's a dog on my steps
That's not even mine
I am trying to make him my pet
But I ain't got the time

The second line alludes to this mangy Irish Wolfhound that has been hanging around my house. He suns himself on my porch during the day. I tried to get him to eat something the other day, but he seems very skittish. I'll keep working on 'im though. Seems like an odd breed of dog to be homeless.

Anyway, enough of my whining. Despite my rotten week, I can still see that I am so better off than a lot of people, and am definitely more fortunate, and I thank God for that.

Peter, my friend Scott, and myself are going to fix the plumbing and the truck after church tomorrow.

The temps are supposed to be around a balmy 30 degrees and both jobs are a relatively easy fix.

But Murphy is always lurking around the corner...

Update: Its funny how long it can take for a streak of unfortunate events to turn around. The truck is running, the plumbing is fixed, the water stains are gone, and the apartment is rented. Everything took a 180 in the matter of 48 hours give or take. Thanks to my good friends Scott and Peter for all their work. The success of the weekend's repairs couldn't have been done without them.

Now if I only tame the stray dog and make a pet out of him.