No phone, no pool, no pets

If you’ve been following along the Twitter feed, you’ll know we’ve been ousted from Chez Relaxo and have been wandering like thistles for a few weeks. This all started (wavy remembery lines) back four or so years ago when we had some horrific ice dams one Spring. That led to water damage on the ceiling and walls in the house. We filed an insurance claim and the next Spring (before anything could be done) had another ice dam which resulted in more damage.
The damage wasn’t extensive but it was ugly and was starting to cause the stipple ceiling to bubble. We had supplied a couple of estimates to our insurance adjuster and at the time, there was some question as to the details of those estimates. We had a number of people from the insurance company come in and take a look and every time they did, the cost of repairs went higher and higher.
By the time we got back in touch with our insurers, our first adjuster had left and we had a New Guy (who has been very attentive and lovely). We had more people in, discovered the insulation had got wet which meant it needed to be replaced, which meant we needed an asbestos abatement (we have vermiculite in our attic). Fast forward to the first week of July, and we have vacated the house for the farm where the boys worked for my Da. We had been told we could move back in after a week. Maybe two.
End of week one, we haven’t heard from the remediation company doing the abatement. Turns out they’d run into some problems and needed more time. [I’m going to leave out some details here that you can ask me about over manhattans because there’s already too many bad vibes on the internet.] So we moved into the garage (the loft), thinking we’d only be there for a day or two.
A week later, we found short-term condo accommodation in Regina with Obasa Suites. That was this past Monday. In retrospect we should have just booked something back in June, but I’m a *good* socialist, and I wanted to save the insurance company some money so that’s why we chose to stay at the farm. By the time we realised we simply couldn’t live at home [issues with asbestos contamination, sawdust, and drywall dust from the repairs], we didn’t have much time to find accommodation. A Twitter friend (hi, @tholtergeist!) recommended @OBASAsuites. I have to tell you first of all that what I’m about to tell you is unsolicited.
These guys have been a bright light in what had become, for us, a pretty dismal and frustrating experience. I called these guys up and within a day we had a lovely 2BR suite with en suite laundry, a full kitchen, a fitness centre, and underground parking a block from Victoria Park in Regina. It’s a lovely suite, and they allowed us to bring our dogs (thus saving us…well, technically, our insurance company) hundreds of dollars in kennel fees. I walk to work every morning (and can even come “home” for lunch).
But what amazed me was something that happened this morning. We were taking #PrincessSassypants and #Bumblebutt for a walk, and the elevator did this little drop thing on the main floor. Landed about a half foot below floor level, and the doors shot open. Sassypants bolted out (on a leash) and the door started sliding shut. I tried sticking my hand out to stop it but it wasn’t about to stop. I tried throwing her leash out but the door closed before I could. Then the elevator started going up. Dog on the outside, attached to leash, me inside holding leash. I dropped my end as the elevator shot up to the second floor. The leash pulled out through the doors.
By the time we got back down and out of the damned thing, a lovely lady, nearly in tears, was holding Princess Sassypants. The property manager was standing there too, a look of horror on her face.

“She started going up,” the lady said. “She just got pulled up by her leash and I tried to take it off but I couldn’t so I just held on to her and she didn’t bite me or anything but I thought she was going to be strangled!”

The dogs have “bras” – halters that attach to their leashes so that they don’t garrotte themselves with their collars (little dogs are prone to tracheal collapse so any pressure on their throats is a Bad Thing). Thank Glob we had Sassypants in that bra, otherwise things could have turned out very differently.

Kind Lady handed me the dog, and was quite traumatised (Sassypants was fine, as is her wont). We thanked Kind Lady very much and took the girls out for a pee and exhaled at how lucky we’d been. We’re planning to leave a gift of gratitude for the Kind Dog-Saving Lady.

When I got home from work, I found out the manager of Obasa suites gave us a gift card “to get our fur babies a treat” and to apologise for the malfunctioning elevator and the dangerous and frightening situation we’d been in.

That small act of kindness impressed the shit out of me. It was a small gesture that has had a huge effect on me. They didn’t have to do that. It was an accident, and thankfully nobody was hurt, but let me tell you – these guys have not only been incredibly accommodating (literally) to get us set up in a wonderful home-away-from-home during a pretty stressful time; they’ve gone above and beyond to make sure we’re comfortable and …well… That we’re cared for. I’ve never had an experience like this before (and hope I never have to go through the bad stuff again). So I want to give a huge shout-out to Obasa Suites for their kindness. I will remember this well.
And I do recommend Obasa if you’re in Regina or Saskatoon for more than a couple of days. There’s nothing better than having your own space and a kitchen when you’re away from home for a week or a month or longer.