Eight people in this place, and somehow I feel like we share the load equally. Loads of different schedules, several floors and a single kitchen that honestly needs to be just a little bit bigger, but still, it works out pretty well. Helps that we all get on, some really good friendships have formed and…well, we have a pool. So it’s not like the place gets crowded in summer; everyone is always out there.
Plus we’ve been through a lot. There was the termite incident, where a majority of us were down here in the middle of the night trying to sort out this massive insect infestation. And lately, the great sewer crisis. Well, we still needed a plumber because of the blocked drain. Melbourne has really old sewer pipes, fingers crossed that it’s not sewage leaking up through the carpet. Generally, this is not considered a good thing. You may even call it…a bad thing. Howie was the one who found it! He said he was looking over some notes in the lounge when he smelt the stuff.
Like, has someone been abusing the pipes or something? This place is old, but I didn’t think the plumbing was so bad that it would leave our lounge as a sort of swamp area. Surprisingly, all eight of us are still here after almost three years. Anyone else might’ve left with the stuff that’s been happening, but we’ve developed a camaraderie. Driven together by the many crises, you might say, and also did I mention the pool? The pool is awesome. It’s pretty much the only part of the house that isn’t eighty years old. There’s also a barbecue, and when you have eight young guys together in close proximity with limited cooking skills, you can bet that one sees a lot of use in the summer.
So, the swamp was sorted out, new carpets and all. I found out that there are 24 hour plumbers in Melbourne who do drain camera inspections. Melbourne Seems nuts, but maybe because I work in an office and as soon as it hits five everyone splits. Nice to have decent plumbing services around, though. And pest control. And…pool cleaning.
-Vaughn