I’m glad they put the toilet back when they were done.

[fbhjr]

15 years ago today we officially started renting our apartment. We had known some people who lived in the apartment complex before. The first time we had visited them, a few years before that, we said “this is where we want to live”.
So, when we moved out of the old apartment where we had 28 roommates over 10 years to live by ourselves, that is where we picked.

We picked our apartment without seeing it. We saw the model apartment that was the same size and said “we want this big one”. It was the only big one coming up to be empty. It was at the back of the complex, far from the (noisy) road. It overlooked the courtyard with a stream running through it. It was perfect.

We were far too busy to move in. All of our stuff was in storage. We had spent the night before on my friend Dave’s living room floor after getting my sister at the airport. (Have I ever told the “Shoe!” story?)
But, I thought we should stop by and get the key before driving up to Gloucester.

When we picked up the key, the office manager said “the previous tenants only moved out yesterday. So, the maintenance people are still cleaning up the place. But, you can go up and see it if you want.”

I looked at my sister and my (not yet) wife and we all agreed to go look at it.
We walk up the stairs, I opened the door and gestured in from the front door.
“This is where we’re going to live,” I said.
“I hope they move the toilet,” my sister said.

I looked in. There in the middle of the living room floor was a toilet.
There wasn’t anyone there working on it. The place was empty except for us.
Other than that, it looked good. Paint was fresh. Carpets were clean. There was a spot for a toilet in the guest bathroom...

On the way out I stopped by the rental office again.

“So, what did you think?” the office manager asked.
“They will install the toilet, right?” I asked.
“It’s not installed?”
“Not unless there are pipes I didn’t see in the living room,” I told her.
“You’ll be back when?” she asked.
“Sunday,” I told her. “Probably in the afternoon.”
“It will be done by then,” she said.
And, it was. If the toilet has ever gone back out to the living room, I have not caught it there. There have been a few times it’s tilted that way or rattled and I’ve thought it was yearning for the big windows again. But, so far, it has dutifully held it’s place.

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[malterre.livejournal.com]

But the Anniversary isn't here yet....

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

I didn't say it was the anniversary of our wedding. It is the anniversary of when we took over the apartment we've lived in since....

October 1st, 1993 is when we officially were on the lease at that apartment...