I am so mentally and physically exhausted, let's just say that after buying my own pro snake for $300 last weekend, working in the shower drain and thinking I was on the way to fixing the problem, getting the shower clear and the sink mostly clear, although still slow, it got worse this past weekend. I've been living a very primitive existence since the beginning of the month, missing three days of work due solely to this problem, enduring ridiculous stress, taxing myself physically working on the problem in a wrong place with a tool that was mostly out of place for the real job, finally gave up and called a pro yesterday.
$297.69 later my MAIN SEWER LINE had been relieved of a backup. I'm a city kid. I know a corn snake from a king snake and an SD40-2 from a Alco PA-1 but I wouldn't know a "main sewer line" from a 1995 Lincoln Town Car.
Well, fortunately for me, that wall was open anyway. HEY, THE ______' TENANTS MY FRIEND HAD IN THERE FOR FIVE YEARS WHEN HE COULDN'T REALLY COME UP AND CHECK ON THE PLACE DIDN'T HAVE A PROBLEM THERE BEFORE, DID THEY? HUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHH???
NAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! NO WAYYYYYY!!!!
I am blessed by The Lord to be here at work tonight, and I am down $1,000 in my income vs. expenses due SOLELY to this problem. I have gone more days this month without a shower than I've had them, and I've become QUITE inventive about . . .
ahem!!!
Shall we say, . . .
doing No. 2????? Hmmmmmmmmmm????
The only working bathroom in my perpetually under renovation house is now working better than ever BECAUSE WHAT SCHNORR PLUMBING TOOK OUT OF MY MAIN SEWER LINE AND WAS PERSONALLY HANDLED WITHOUT GLOVES BY BOTH OF US DIDN'T COME FROM ME IN THE FOUR AND A HALF YEARS I'VE BEEN THERE!!!
And last night, long after he had left with his python as opposed to my hand held snake, long after I had done half the cleanup chores, still smelling and now LOOKING like a farm animal (picture half-crippled white haired old goat) and wheezing from asthma symptoms, with my lower back and both hips screaming at me to stop, I reluctantly called in and missed the third night of work due SOLELY to this problem.
But today, Thursday, August 19, 2004, I will stride forth from work in about six hours, assuming I get to leave here alive and healthy in the CITIGROUP CENTER* (can you say "The New Ground Zero"?) confident that The Lord will bring me through all that will come, as He has for the first 47.80 years of my life, including the first 27.86 when I either didn't know or didn't care or both and return me safely home late in the night to a restful, stress free, relaxing and well fed weekend.
Until life's next 100 mile per hour fast ball comes straight at my face.
*Editor's Note - The Citigroup Center is actually a group of buildings. I do not work in the main target building, the Citigroup Tower, but directly across the side street, in what might be called Building 2 or 3.
