The only interactions I have with Joe the Maintenance Guy are the notes he leaves behind after he’s fixed whatever’s ailing my apartment. Broken garbage disposal, washing machine that won’t spin. Usually, he simply writes the outcome of his labors – “garbage disposal working” – and signs his name. Not this time.
Hold on, let me back up a bit.
When I came home from the ranch on Sunday evening, the shower that I took Friday morning was still lingering in my bathtub. I had noticed that it was slow to drain, but there were other things on my mind that morning besides clogs, so I’d swung the shower curtain closed and hurried off to work. On Sunday, it smelled like three-day old stagnant water smells. Wretched. The sight of it tugged at my gag reflexes.
Ordinarily, the tub is Sir Hal’s domain. For a little guy with lots of fur, I imagine that part of the lure is the cold porcelain. The other part is that it drives me nuts. I have to clear cat toys out before I can shower. And while I’m showering, he’s perched on the edge, dropping them right back in or swatting my beauty products into the stream of water, looking very satisfied as he watches me put them back. He’s like a baby in a high chair. And so, during my investigation of the situation on Sunday, I noticed a sad, neat little pile of kitten toys by the tub, and an expectant looking feline staring at me from the doorway. I called maintenance and left a message.
Which brings me back to the beginning of the story – Joe the Maintenance Guy. On Monday, I got home from work, kicked off my shoes and headed to the bathroom to check on the tub status. Happily, it had been fixed, scrubbed (god, I love Joe), and as usual, there was a note left on the counter. Scrawled in black ink on the incident form was Joe’s note.
I can only imagine.
I find that when I’m fixing things around the house, usually one of the cats is supervising and facinated by shiny wrenches.
The 24 pounder will go so far as to inspect the work in progress and demand to get petted for his efforts.
Ha! That is great!
My cat loves the tub too! When he was younger he’d run crazily around my apartment at the time and then dive into the tub. This stopped for quite awhile after he dove in too soon after I finished my shower. We had a slow draining tub…
Love this! I love my kitty (and all of them, by extension) precisely for the adorable, funny, and weird things he does to entertain himself (and me).
And Joe sounds like a super-awesome maintenance guy, if only we could work out some sort of exchange program with my landlord!
That is so cute!!!! I love cats (had two when I was a kid), but hubby is allergic. We have a great dog, though. And there are many cats in our neighborhood.
But the toys sitting by the tub! That is adorable!
One of the cats in the ‘hood LOVES to hang out with anyone who’s using the pool or the hot tub. She doesn’t mind the water, and if you’re there, you MUST pet her. She’s very sweet.
Oh how I miss my “Bootsie”. He was da bomb. Cherish every moment.
Adorable!!! Sounds like my cats. They too sit on the edge when I shower and a few times they have hopped in the shower with me. My cat also loves to just sit in the empty kitchen sink. They drive me crazy at times, but I wouldn’t have it any other way! I am glad I married a man who loves cats as much as I do!
I’ve got a cat that likes to watch the water drip, after the shower is over, stares at it, fascinated! And at other times, she’ll get in the tub & chase her tail. I’ve never caught her chasing it anywhere else, only the tub. She’s a wackadoo.
My cat lives for the tub. It makes me sad that the “left over” water after a shower is his first choice in morning refreshment. I always double check that he has fresh water, and then I’m afraid I’m giving off some kind of delectable kitty flavor. Maybe it’s just the mint in my conditioner.
How funny! Peanut likes to curl up in the sink–he’ll stay for hours–waiting for one of us to turn on the faucet. Katamari loves to play in the shower sans water and will play fetch 24/7 if I didn’t get tired of throwing whatever she brings to me. Having grown up with only dogs I never cats could be so much fun.
if he has the same handwriting problems i have, he may have actually writ ‘cat is furry’
i tend to use ALLCAPS now after an unfortunate pants/parts compliment…
Brandon, it’s comments like the above that make me miss when you were a much more prolific commenter. You’re such a weird SOB!
So funny, made me laugh out while working.
Glad to see that Joe, despite being a man of few words, clearly has a sense of humor. I can only imagine the possibilites of what transpired between the 2 of them and how Sir Hal “helped” unclog the tub.
Line 1 of Joe’s haiku. Or is a haiku 5-7-5. . .? In any case, Joe is a laconic poet.
Ok, yes, the cat is great, but…
Your maintenance guy cleaned your tub? Seriously? I am living the wrong life!
You did a really great job telling this story. Bravo.
By the way, after reading your comments, it seems sir Hal isn’t the only cat in love with the tub. I just want to add that my cats only love the tub when I feed them dry food, which I now try not to. After doing some reading, many people suggest that dry food is bad for cats, something about needing to get their moisture from their food like they would in the wild. When I feed my cats canned food for a few days, they have no interest in the shower. When I feed them dry food, they can’t get enough of it. I think they are attracted to the sound of water and the pool after the shower because they are thirsty. Anyways, just thought I’d add that
I believe there’s a website for cats with sink and tub oredilections. Catsinsinks.com.
My two cats also love the tub. Although “cat in the bathtub” sounds like a yo-yo trick or a weird sex act to me…
Thanks, Betsey. I will be clicking the “show me another cat in a sink” button for many many hours to come. Who needs sleep when you can look at cats in sinks, right?
Love that story – cute kitty!
You have a washing machine in your apartment?
God, I am so jealous!
The only time I had a washer/dryer in my apartment, was when I owned a co-op in Park Slope.
I am so jealous.
Katie
That note made me smile. A lot. Thanks for sharing
Hi
Love reading your blog. I wondered if you’d like to write comments/tips/advice on dating and relationships at http://www.TalkAboutADate.com as a guest writer.
It’s a twitter-like dating site and quite innovative.
Thanks
Greg
Hi
Love reading your blog. I wondered if you’d like to write comments/tips/advice on dating and relationships at http://www.TalkAboutADate.com as a guest writer.
It’s a twitter-like dating site and quite innovative.
Thanks
Greg
Thanks for thinking of me, Greg. My plate is really, really full right now. I’m afraid I just can’t take on anything else!
H
The LilyMonster also loves the shower. At least at my new place, she has to run in and check it out whenever I get out of it. At my old apartment though, she and the shower were enemies of some kind. I’d come home from work and find her sitting on the rug in the bathroom just YELLING her little face off at the shower. Something it about it pissed her off!
I don’t get notes about my cute dog. Instead, my maintence guy leaves nasty brown stains in the toilet and a dirt trail through my apartment. Trade ya!
i love sir hal. i bet him and rajah(my fat insane but awesome cat) would get along swimmingly.
That made me LOL. Bless Sir Hal!
I heart cats. Last night mine pointed out to me a bat sized moth, but only ran for the hills when I went to swat at it with my kitchen broom. Thanks, Moon for the point out and not helping mommy! LOL
Cats are funny. I have three, and they all have their place where they hang-out. Do yours stand at the kitchen sink demanding the water be turned on – even with a fresh bowel on the floor?
My Cookums, as the family called her, lived, and I mean L I V E D, for the faucet to be turned on just enough for a steady drip of water for her to lap at. Hee hee once, when she got tired of waiting for one of her Loyal Subjects to come around, she figured out how to turn the faucet on….and thoroughly drenched her head! HAHAHAHHA all we heard from across the house was a loud yowl and the water running at full blast!
A little off-topic: Based on the title of this (hilarious) entry, did you read “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time?” How did you like it? I actually listened to it on CD and found the listening quite extraordinary — much more so than when I read it. The narrator imbued the main character with such puzzlement over things (like why someone would even think to serve him yellow food), which was so different from my reading of it, which was much more whiny. It really changed the book for me. What a great read!
And oh, yes, I can only imagine what fun Joe had with Sir Hal, as I have been blessed with a series of numb-nuts cats. One of mine would get in my garden tub every day to chase his tail.
My cat’s never been much for toys — not when he can squish boobies, his oh so very favorite activity! But he does love the bathtub. Whenever the shower or bath starts to run, he tears off into the bathroom to sleep in the toilet lid.
He’s also recently taken to climbing in the shower WITH me. And I won’t know he’s there, until I turn around, and there he is, sitting in the tub, letting the water run in his face. Cats are weird.
cats are funny…..