Sooner or later, you stop blaming the house and start wondering how you've lived like this. Not because anything's disastrously broken. The bones are still intact. The ceiling's not leaking. Structurally, everything holds up. But it also barely does.You still fumble with the same misaligned latch. You sidestep that one tile that squeaks even though

The tap wasn't even technically malfunctioning. Just temperamental. You had to twist it slightly left and then back into position to get non-freezing water. If you went too far, it'd let out a weird sound. Not deafening, but sharp — like a rusty hinge with opinions. I put up with it for years. Blamed the pipes. Blamed the building. Blamed everyth