BATHTUB-GATE

bathtub by corey amaroI have been to more than 14 cities in less than 10 days.  To announce I am exhausted would be a slight understatement.  I am still on East coast time whilst in the midst of my West Coast, Best Coast travels so I have been waking up at ridiculously early hours and wanting to go to sleep just when they are serving the Early Bird Special at around 6 p.m. I have powered through this knowing that at my final destination there would be a bathtub with my name on it.

For those of you with bathtubs (and I am pretty sure that must be 99.9% of you), this little soliloquy might seem unfathomable.  By my moving to the country I had forfeited the one luxury I had in life– a bath.  I want to let you know this was not an intentional sacrifice, if I had known I would have put the kibosh on the lease in a New York minute but I didn’t so I signed my name along a dotted line that ensured I would be bath-less for the better part of a year. I wasn’t without a tub, I did and I suppose since I am going back Tuesday I do have a tub, but there are three main deterrents. One is that our bathtub is fiberglass, but might as well be plastic.  Before I lived in the country I did not not know fiberglass tubs existed, I assumed all tubs by nature of being tubs had to be porcelain.  Fiberglass tubs should be relegated for one purpose only and that is for use in a trailer.  There I said it, I mean it and if you own a fiberglass tub and don’t live in a trailer my heart goes out to you. Second, we are on well water, so even if I had a porcelain tub I would have used more than my fair share of allotted well water for the day and thus be fined. A great bath would be worth the fine, but the third obstacle stood in the way and that was hard water.  Hard water is interesting, it makes your skin feel like it will break in half since it depletes all hydration but makes your hair super soft, completely lifeless and unmanageable. It’s a wonder they let me into Los Angeles with my hair suctioned to my scalp and my skin so taut if I sneezed I would break in half.

On the last leg of my scouting tour I checked myself into a hotel that I knew had beautiful deep porcelain bathtubs, balanced water and strong water pressure.  It was my only requirement and all other design elements could be overlooked and forgiven. When I emerged from the bath at the end of the day I felt like a Phoenix rising from the ashes.  I couldn’t remember the last time I felt so privileged.

What is one thing you couldn’t dream of giving up for a year?  Do you have a fiberglass tub?  Does it bother you too? Or not so much? Any comments on my potential move?  I am pretty 50/50 between the Bay area and Seattle both offer equally amazing opportunities it’s going to be so impossible to decide!

photo by Corey Amaro

17 thoughts on “BATHTUB-GATE

  1. I’ll trade you a bathtub for a dishwasher…? We’ve been without one for over a year and it’s ruining my life!! I spend a minimum of an hour a day washing dishes. Time that could be spent in the bath ;)

    1. Lol! Deal! I guess I do take the dishwasher for granted, but it’s my husbands chore to take care of the kitchen and am the maniac that scrubs down the rest of the house, I feel it’s an even trade.

  2. I could not dream of giving up a garden or plants for a year, I had to do it once and ending up spending lots of money on huge plastic pots :-( That is OUR soon to be bathtub!!! How did you get a photo of it?!! We are in the midst of our bathroom remodel + we refurbished our original claw footed tub … the telephone shower fixture + “tub caddy” are just waiting in there boxes for the big unveiling…soon!! I did splurge and buy the one that can hold up a book!! I guess I can’t say where to move, depends why you are moving? I love Seattle for the water + ferries, but we are land locked here in Colorado and I have a sea kayak. Best of luck with your decision, I am sure it is hard. How was your photography class, I am excited to see all your posts on it + photos too.

    1. Denise + Moose I am so envious! You must take some snaps when you have the tub set up! I can’t wait to let everyone know about the workshop:)

  3. i’m kinda partial to california ;)…can’t wait to read all about your travels and your film workshop!! love, love my new stamp and goodies, btw!!! thank you!!

  4. I couldn’t imagine giving up a hot shower for a year. Every time we have ever travelled across the seas, the showers are always lacking and it is the BEST feeling in the world to just simmer in the shower your first moment back.

    1. That’s right Sirisha, when I lived in the South of France the water never got warm enough, but it was France so I could overlook bad plumbing, lol!

    1. You know Gintare now that two of you mentioned the dishwasher I am wondering if I too would miss it? All of the places we have lived had washer + dryer and dishwasher so I guess I am rather spoiled. One apartment we lived at did not have a garbage disposal and that was a bit of a hassle. The building was too old so they couldn’t add them in! Ah, the little luxuries that we take for granted:)

  5. I enjoy a relaxing bath every now and again. Right now, I’m living in a cute little cape cod with a porcelain bath tub – probably from the 1920s. I love it. But our pipes also seem to be from the 1920s, as does our hot water heater. Whenever I run a bath, the water just doesn’t seem to be hot enough and the cold porcelain tub sucks out what little heat the water does have. A lukewarm bath leaves me feeling like I just need to take another bath. And I agree with the previous commenter, a dishwasher would be divine!

  6. If you live in Hong Kong, it is not abnormal for you to not have a bathtub even if you live with your family in an apartment with 3 bedrooms. It is a luxury for ordinary citizens >w< unfortunately.

  7. I will never live somewhere without a washer & dryer ever again. I too miss the claw foot tubs of my past, and have zero tub right now due to plumbing issues with a fiberglass version, but it’s the rest of the post that has been distracting me for the better part of the past hour. I think the real luxuries are the ability to travel to several cities, stay in hotels and move across country at will. I would love to have a vacation like that, let alone the opportunity to search for my dream city.

  8. I’m not big bathtub lover, I’ve been taking shower whole life, but there was time in my life when bathtub was essential for me. It was the end of pregnancy (2 pregnancies), when my belly was huuuuge and I could only feel like real me (not like an elephant) in bathtub full of water :) I highly recommend anyone who is going to be pregnant to think about bathtub!

  9. I love our porcelain tub & have lived in a house with fiberglass tub/shower and hated it. Porcelain is much easier to clean even with harder water and a very good water softener is a must..must…must! {& a dishwasher is rather important}

    Hmmm Seattle vs. Bay Area………that is a hard choice to decide……
    kbg

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