Horrible Experience

6:30ish PM
After my walk/run today - outside, blech - I went out on my balcony to cool down. Nice class of cold water next to me and I figured the slight breeze would feel good.

7pm
After about 30 minutes, I decided enough was enough and I wanted my a/c.

Except.

I couldn't get my sliding glass door open.

I tried and tried, and it just wasn't budging. I didn't know what the problem was - could the a/c being on inside form a seal so that the door required super human strength to open?

I tried a few more times and it just was not working.

So, I took to patrolling the balconies in my viewing range (a right angle to where I am). Nothing. No one walking by, no one driving up.

7:45pm
Finally, I spotted a neighbor walk out to her balcony. I got her attention, and we shouted back and forth at each other. She called the office, which is of course closed on Sunday nights. Got the switchboard and reported that they were paging maintenance.

I know that my next-door neighbor is one of the maintenance guys, and figured it wouldn't be long.

8pm
I feel like I'm getting heatstroke. Just dying of heat and sweating like nothing you've ever seen. My water is now gone.

8:30pm
No one is nearby. The girl who called for me hasn't bothered to check on me, and I didn't think at the time to ask her. Boy am I regretting that now. I see a neighbor on the first floor tend to his grill. I start yelling "hellooooo" and "I need help!" but he didn't get the message.

9:00pm
I'm yelling again and no one is around to hear me. I've been debating this whole time whether or not I should take my little $17.99 tiled table and break the glass door with it, but each time I clear it off and pick it up, I scare myself away from that idea.

9:30pm
I see another neighbor! I start waving my arms and yelling "Can you see me? I need help!"

She hears me, even sees me in the near pitch-black. She calls again, tells me power went out in another building and it will be about 15 minutes. If they're not there then, she'll make a second call.

9:31pm
A light goes on in my apartment. It's my maintenance neighbor! The place is, of course, trashed, which was tonight's project, so I'm a little embarrassed, but he brushes it off.

Apparently the door locked when it closed. I don't know if the force with which I slammed it shut threw the lock down, or what, but damn if I'm going out there anytime soon!

9:33pm
I called my sister and cried out of frustration. I also started dinner/lunch.

Monday
I am SO talking to the manager.

posted by Kate the Peon @ 9:53 PM |