I cruised into town, truck with furniture and boxes and my 4 month old standard poodle Winston. That was Wednesday night, I got the keys to a house I rented sight unseen in Tempe and hired day labor to help me empty the truck and move it in the house. All good so far. Returned the truck and there is no turning back now. I spent the next few days arranging, putting things away and sleeping - mostly because I was tired, the depression hadn't set in yet. By Sunday I was rested but the plumbing wasn't and it decided to hiccup. I took a shower and flushed the toilet at the same time and all hell broke lose. Every opening in the house that was connected to existing pipes began backing up into the house, bathtubs, showers, sinks, washing machines, you get the picture. In the meantime, I had a poodle that thought it was the best thing since kibble - running around in it as it started emptying all the neighbors sewage lines into my rental house.

No one showed me where to turn it off. And it just kept coming. I called the landlord who lived in San Diego and could have cared less, after all it was Easter Sunday and a holiday in most households. The ham was in the oven cooking and the bedroom furniture and mattress was saturated.

The next day was my first day of work - no shower. I called a plumber who came out and fixed the blockage but couldn't fix the damage to my things in the house. I didn't even have time to purchase rental house insurance, what a disaster and still no shower - better yet, no towels. I washed clothes over and over into the night, first having to wash the washing machine several times.

I went to a hotel at 200am and got some sleep and washed myself and my poodle.

My story continues......tomorrow.