Sometimes I wish there were still agony aunt columns where people could write in about their woes and get answers from straight talking, faceless people. The internet just isn’t the same, what with all these people waiting around the corner with their fake psychic advice columns. I’ve been burned by those one too many times!
People say I should just call in the plumbing, which is exactly what I’ve done. There must be a poltergeist here or something, because I’ve had every plumber in Melbourne in on this place, fixing the taps, fitting the pipes and clearing out the internal rust. It helps for a little bit, but I think this place is just too old. That’s why I need to write into someone world weary and full of advice. I just have to ask…when is enough enough? When do things get so bad that you have to move away permanently, leave a house in the past and let someone else take care of all the plumbing problems?
Like I said, I inherited the place from my grandparents so by Australian standards it’s practically ancient. It’s a little bit ramshackle, but I’ve been fixing it up. Most of the problems have been solved by a bit of TLC, but the plumbing is causing the most grief. It’s in the walls, underground…I just don’t have the equipment or the expertise to be working on it. In fact, most plumbers don’t since it was all installed at the turn of the century and you’d need to raid some kind of museum to make it work.
I miss the times when people lived in tight-knit communities where you always had someone to go to if you had an ailment, or practical troubles. So maybe I belong in the same era as my plumbing services. Melbourne has to have someone who can help…maybe I should check the yellow pages?
-Claudia