Never more so than with the tragic drama of the disposal and the undies. Having removed the cause but not the symptoms, I reported the "malfunction" to our property managers, projecting innocent surprise (and leaving out a few details). They told me several stories about things they've found down sinks, including one old lady who thought it was a mini washing machine. That was a little close to the mark, and sent me scurrying back to make sure I hadn't missed a bra or Aran sweater down there.
Returning from town I found a note saying that the machine had been "reset", and sure enough it growled into life at the flick of a switch. The miracle worker was Florin - our maintenance technician. He's a very nice guy, European (of course!), and the most important person to be friends with around here. I was therefore very unsurprised to find a certificate up in our laundry room declaring him "Maintenance Technician of the Year 2010", as judged by the California Apartments Association ("quality housing, ethics, professionalism"). Congratulations Florin! Hopefully he doesn't read this blog and find out what happened in our sink...
Simply the best.
