<p>and another</p>
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</p>
<p>[An</a> offer too good to let go up in smoke](<a href=“http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/hahn/hahn302.shtml]An”>http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/hahn/hahn302.shtml)</p>
<p>Lts- Happy Mothers Day!!!</p>
<p>LTS, happy Mother’s Day to you!</p>
<p>and another</p>
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</p>
<p>[‘Booty’-licious</a> ice cream is for a good cause: Special blend in honor of lung cancer survivor and cyclist Anne Lynn. | Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, NC ) (July, 2007)](<a href=“http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-31890975_ITM]‘Booty’-licious”>http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-31890975_ITM)</p>
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<p>–General Anthony McAuliffe, when invited by the Germans to surrender at the Battle of the Bulge.</p>
<p>Trying really, really hard not to cry…telling myself things can always be worse, this isn’t Myanmar, isn’t Iraq, isn’t Central China, you can DO this, I’m telling myself, anyway, had a very quiet weekend - it rained all weekend and it is still raining; I rested a LOT - for various reasons, when I decided to rent in Arlington, the sleeping area is in a basement, and it has been perfect for me - anyway, woke up at 2:00 a.m. or so - drinking massive amounts of liquid will provoke bathrom visits all night - put one leg down, and into a foot of water. Sump pump issue. </p>
<p>To her enormous credit, the landlord has been wonderful. She responded immediately, at 2:00 a.m. </p>
<p>I can handle the questionable salvation of several pair of expensive leather shoes that have been sitting in standing water, etc. Can deal o.k. too with books etc. ruined, furniture messed up, luggage soaked. Can even handle what I am told is the hopeless loss of my personal laptop, my Sony. (It was on the floor beside my bed when I went to sleep. Thank heavens my work laptops were in my office.) </p>
<p>What I’m having some problem with is the feeling - the sensation - of loss of my home, my health, my space, my comfort zone, Florida’s sunshine, and the comfort of my daughter nearby (although I am glad she is back in Miami). </p>
<p>I made it to work, to my doctor’s appointment today (he told me to be very careful of any resultant mold/mildew), then back to the office, more work. Thank heavens for work. But I have meetings all week and I don’t even know if I have a pair of shoes that will be dry enough to wear with my suits. And I don’t know if I even have a workable place to sleep tonight. </p>
<p>I own a home, a very nice home. I raised my daughter there. Right now I miss it terribly. If it weren’t for cancer, if I hadn’t just scheduled scans Wednesday, I would book a flight, and go to it, and sleep there tonight. And I am very tempted to do just that anyway, and healthcare be damned. </p>
<p>I’m trying to focus on the positive. No one was hurt, or electrocuted, etc.; this isn’t a third world country, and there has been no earthquake or tidal wave or war. It’s hard though. Just - hard. :(</p>
<p>Oh no! What a mess having a flooded basement. So sorry to hear that. Did you shriek when you stepped into the cold water? We have gone through that 3 times, and it takes weeks to clean up, dry and salvage stuff. Most things can be replaced. i just hope you did not have photo albums on the floor :(</p>
<p>Google professional water damage restoration, LTS. There is a local company , Purofirst, in Rockville MD 301-738-8111 along with others . Not a recommendation just an idea of how you can move to action. They say 24 hr round the clock service.</p>
<p>Im really sorry. That just sucks.</p>
<p>LTS, I’m really sorry.</p>
<p>LTS,
Is this the new laptop? This totally stinks. I assume you have insurance coverage – but you are right, it is just One More Thing to deal with, and it’s hard to put one foot forward when it lands in a puddle at 2 am. Is it possible to sleep upstairs tonight? Stay with a friend? The landlady? Will she put you up in a hotel? Will your renter’s insurance pay for a hotel while your place is cleaned?</p>
<p>i am sure there are a lot of flooded basements around DC today – Weather Channel is reporting 4-5 inches of rain in the past 24 hours. We came home from vacation once to find a pinhole leak had erupted behind the kitchen sink and dripped its way into the basement. A royal pain.</p>
<p>We’re here.</p>
<p>Oh, no–just what you didn’t need! As feeble as it is…we are all here pulling for you.</p>
<p>What a bummer, LTS. I truly feel for you – you have enough on your plate without this. You must feel like Job.</p>
<p>However, I will also say that when I read your first line
my immediate frantic concern was that you had gotten some terrible medical news from your doctor today. I am SO relieved that was not the case.</p>
<p>Hoping the sun shines soon.</p>
<p>The landlady means well and is trying hard, but misses the issue. Before I even signed a lease, I was very upfront with her. I told her about my diagnosis, told her the prognosis, and I was very clear with her that this could end badly for me. I did this so that she would understand that I would NOT be able to be a maintenance person, etc. and so that if anything ever happened she would not be caught by surprise. </p>
<p>So, now, I am not sure how much progress she has made. She has offered me a different place to sleep for the night but it’s substandard space, and it isn’t MY space, and it is very, very inconvenient for me. But it’s not entirely her fault because she doesn’t understand what it feels like, physically, to go through whole brain radiation treatment + chemotherapy x 10 cycles without a single break, and to have blood counts so low as to have shortness of breath while climbing stairs. She doesn’t understand the minuteau of the little things I do to keep my body as healthy as possible; for example, drinking fluids at intervals throughout the night and the need to be very near a bathroom. She also doesn’t do the sort of work I do, so, she doesn’t quite understand that my suits have to match my shirts, have to match my shoes, etc., and that it’s pretty important that I have access to my “work week” wig vs. my weekend wig, etc. She also doesn’t understand that I have to draw in eyebrows because I no longer have any real ones, etc., and it would also never occur to her that this is important. </p>
<p>It’s not her fault. She means well; she is trying very, very hard.</p>
<p>I could simply go to a hotel for a week, but, my luggage is soaked…nothing to pack anything in…</p>
<p>Edited to add: she just called to say that my space including my bed will be restored within the hour…that’s good; that means I will be able to sleep tonight…</p>
<p>I feel like Bill Maher, saying, “New Rule! No floods or other household disasters when you’re battling cancer!”</p>
<p>I had the same thought as JEM.</p>
<p>Can you go to a hotel with a few hefty bags?? Or maybe the landlady could lend you a suitcase?</p>
<p>LTS
First go ahead and cry.
Second we are here and pulling for you.
Third, this is one thing you need not and indeed should not handle by yourself. Call it in! Call water damage people. Call hotel. Call your support peeps that are near by… I’d be there myself, but might take a while from CA. Hire one point person to deal with phoning insurance, plumbers, cleaners, wigger fixers (??) whatever. CALL…IT…IN</p>
<p>I think even if you didn’t get renter’s insurance, you homeowners insurance may cover a lot of stuff.</p>
<p>I am sorry for your losses.</p>
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</p>
<p>I agree.</p>
<p>Let’s face it: sometimes life simply is too much.</p>
<p>This may be one of those times.</p>
<p>If you can find the time (and not risk electrocution in the process), maybe lose yourself for a while in some music.</p>
<p>The world will look different tomorrow.</p>
<p>Chocolate.</p>
<p>Clearly calls for chocolate.</p>
<p>What a huge pain in the b*tt.</p>
<p>Hugs and kisses to you.</p>
<p>I’m with esobay. All those people (including us here) who have said, just let me know, I’d love to help you. Well, call it in. Tell one that you need them to set up and wait for the cleaning team. Tell another to make sure you are stocked with whatever foods you want. Tell another you need your laundry done. However, there is even a more clever solutoin …</p>
<p>What I did was to find my most bossy well-organized friend and tell HER that here’s the list of tasks/meals/etc. and here’s the list of friends and you make it happen. And she did. She was so happy to do this. Everyone she called was happy. It was all off my back.</p>
<p>Delegate. And remember, if the problem can be solved with money (like new shoes) it’s not one of life’s really bad problems. Annoying, but not really bad.</p>
<p>New shoes are never bad. :)</p>