Last night

Last night around 10:00 p.m., Veronica's and my upstairs neighbors started making a bunch of ruckus. This was not the first time we'd heard these two fine specimens of stereotypical college-aged manhood, but they did seem to be banging/dropping more than normal. At one point while I was going to the bathroom, I thought they might even be fighting (judging by their raised voices), but I decided they were just being rowdy. Then this:

Veronica: Is it raining?

Me (from the throne): I don't think so.

V: I hear water.

Me: Sometimes when the neighbors behind us run water in their sink or tub, or the neighbors above us flush the toilet or drain the tub, you can hear water in the pipes.

V: It's weird, because this sounds like rain.

Then, just as I was getting off the toilet, the building fire alarm went off. So there I was, my naked rear hanging in the wind, thinking, Oh for pete's sake. V stepped outside to see what was going on (after pulling up my undies) and was informed by the National Guard-people who stopped by for a show that no one knew what was happening. She got me laid down in the bed, and after a few more trips in and out, I heard the water, too.

My heart sank. I'd heard that sound at Wheatshocker more than once.

We were getting flooded from above. A sheer waterfall in V's bedroom and bathroom.

It took maintenance forever to get there, longer to shut off the water, longer still to come check on us. A water-extraction company was called, and we were told it would be 1:30 or 2:00 a.m. before they could get there. In the end, they left our apartment alone for the night and concentrated on sucking water from upstairs so we wouldn't take on more.

What we know:
1. The upstairs neighbors' sprinkler went off.
2. According to them, "It just went off on its own." ::rolls eyes::
3. The head maintenance guy said something about finding fireworks in the apartment.
4. Veronica smelled "something burning" on her multiple trips outside.

So now I am ensconced in the office so I don't have to hear the three fans and the dehumidifier currently running in the apartment. I'm exhausted because we had people in and out of our place until about 2:00 and because my roommate was stifling me with her angry energy and because I had to get up at 7:30 to get ready for class.

Fortunately, no one today has presented me with any other challenges, difficult or easy. I do not have the wherewithal to deal with much -- I am so emotional from being so tired that trying to decide what to eat for lunch brought me to tears.

Now that's tired.