Kitchen Flooding
So I got back from a run, took my shower, and did laundry. I was going to do the dishes when, lo and behold, I saw water coming from underneath my gas cooker, the dishwasher, and the sink. I was like, wow, that’s a wonderful way to spend the evening. In essence, the kitchen was beginning to flood. So I started trying to get it dry using towels and mops, all to no avail. I did get frustrated. I then called the emergency number for the leasing office a couple of times; it went to voicemail, but luckily, within 30 minutes, someone called me, and within 45 minutes a maintenance worker was at my apartment. I really appreciate the speedy response. Shout-out to Fernando.
While waiting, my sister was helping with the cleaning, and I went to the neighbor’s, as I suspected that the water leak was coming from his apartment, which was opposite mine. But he was not home. I was already thinking about how I would give this guy a piece of my mind if I saw him. Luckily, the maintenance guy was able to get into the apartment and discovered that it was a plumbing issue, and he turned it off. So now I know the issue was not his fault. Also, I have not met this neighbor.
I had plans for how I wanted my evening to go. I wanted to write and do some work, but that was not what life had in store for me. I was frustrated, but I remained calm and spoke with the maintenance worker with respect while still letting him know the urgency of the situation. I’m glad it got resolved. And I’m even more glad to God that at least I saw it the night it happened and not in the morning, as it would have been a lot worse and a lot of stuff would have been damaged. The moral of the story for me was the inconvenience — this was not planned. In general, in life and stuff, I have come to want and expect things to go well and smoothly. I have come to expect a life of comfort, and I don’t like when anything threatens that state. But I don’t think that’s really how life works, or how we can grow.
Everyone can be nice and friendly when things are going well, but you get to know yourself when things don’t go as you expect them to. As I think and write about this experience, it reminds me of my first day at my adopted family’s house, when I broke the shower head in the first bathroom and then went to the second bathroom. While I was taking my shower, the pipe in the wall broke. I did not know at the time, and so when I got out I saw there was water on the floor. I did not want them to know, so I went and got my bedsheets and attempted to clean the water, but water just kept coming. My self-talk was negative, so I kept beating myself up. When I saw that all my efforts did not work, I had no choice but to let them know. They had to turn off the water coming into the house. I felt very bad even though it wasn’t my fault. They were very nice to me, and we still laugh about it to this day. I have a great relationship with my sisters and parents, and maybe we would not be in that place if this had never happened.
I say all this to say that discomfort and uncertainty should be welcomed, as they aid us to grow. They are also part of life. Here is a quote from Ray Allen that I think speaks to this:
You have to learn not to be afraid of tired. When you get tired, you’re in the right place, because now you learn to work through the fatigue. You want to be fatigued, so you can see what type of decisions you make. Now you’re cooking with hot grease.
It’s just like a car. Every car gets put on a test track — you put it under extreme stress or duress. Same thing with planes: you bend the wings all the way up to see what they can do under stress. That’s what you have to do to your body. You have to put it under stress. That’s what coaches try to do — but how about you do it to yourself? Be a maniac and push yourself to a level that nobody can push you to, and see how you respond. Can you think through it? Can you throw a football? Can you breathe? Can you make a decision?
See, when people get fatigued, they become cowards, because then they take shortcuts. “I’m just going to do it like this because it’s easier, because I’m tired, I don’t want to do this.” That’s what you have to protect against — especially as an athlete, especially if you want to be good at anything. Because once you get past that threshold, that’s when greatness starts to come in to shake your hand.
I can’t choose the flood, but the point from the quote is that the response is trainable, and the only way to train it is to be in. I will end with this question: who am I when things get uncomfortable?