Category: Uncategorized Page 57 of 157

With all the tools ready, it was time to bite the bullet and make the first cut. As soon as the saw cut through the pipe wall, a flood of extra filthy water rushed out. I stuck it out and finished the cut. The lower part of the pipe, still attached to the old sump pump, lifted out easily and I got it drained. Once it was on the work bench, my faithful assistant Jim and I locked onto the pipe with the pipe wrench and…

…it turned easily. In moment, the pipe was loose and then free.

We took a closer look at the pipe and saw that a threaded one way value assembly had been attached to the pipe. I couldn’t have removed the pipe since it was all one piece and what I’d thought was a sliding coupler was fixed in place.  Easy enough to see now that I wasn’t upside down with my head in a hole of full of dirty water.

I got the pipe cleaned up, took the old sump pump outside (banished it, really), and measured the connector piece to determine how much to cut off. My assistant and I had some trouble with this one, but finally made a decision and I got the pipe cut. A little seal tape on the threaded end and the lower pipe was on the shiny new pump. And the careful use of a screw-driver had the connector on the other end.

This time I was able to use a bucket to bail out some more water, then lowered the pump in and with some swearing I was able to force the connector in place. The screws on the 0-clamps were tightened, more water was added (just in case), and pump was plugged in.

The pumped kicked on and in moments, the water level in the sump was lowered back to normal. I watched as the water trickled back in and marveled as the pump kicked back on to take care of that once the float had risen high enough.

No leaks, nothing broke, no flood. It was, in a word, success.

BUT AT WHAT COST!?!!?

Well, about $127 for the sump pump, $10 for the connector, and about $20 for the wrench and saw.

I put the cover back on, but didn’t put the lattice up yet – just in case. (I do that a lot, don’t I?) The bathroom took a while to clean, but once the floor is dry it will be back to normal.

I sort of expected to have a flash of light and a shower of coins once I leveled up in my plumbing skills, but I just fixed some tea and settled in for the night.

I’ll check this again before I go to bed, but I’m pretty confident that everything is okay. If it wasn’t official before, it is now.

I’m a homeowner.

I took my shower and bailed that hole again before I went to bed at 10. Couldn’t sleep – worried about the hole filling up and flooding the basement while I slept. I got up again at 11 to check on it and bailed more water. It seemed like the flow had increased.

Back in bed, I set my alarm for 4 am and eventually fell asleep. I woke up before the alarm went off and headed back to the basement. Back to bed and then up at 6 to bail again. I had a little breakfast and then got into work around 7. At 11, I went home for lunch and more water bailing – and got a good surprise. The water hadn’t risen as much as it should have based on the flow of water in. I suspect that the pipes leading in were having an impact and that it was “filling” even though the water wasn’t halfway. I took the level back down – just in case – and headed back to work with some relief. Not relief to be back at work, mind you. Just relief that a flood was less likely.

After work, home again and more bailing. Then it was off to home deport for a new pipe wrench, a coping saw (since I couldn’t find mine) and the all important rubber coupler. I was really dreading this part – once I cut the pipe there was no going back. And if I couldn’t get the end loose from the sump pump, I was going to need to get a new adapter or threaded pipe – and then there was going to be pipe cement and more swearing in my immediate future.

Would things work as I’d hoped?  Were the former owners of my house jerks with the pipe cement?

The moment of truth was fast approaching  – as was the point of no return.

It started with a noise I didn’t hear. The sump pump in the bathroom in my basement has a particular noise as it cycles and pumps water out of the sump hole. I was using the bathroom – and reading a really good book – when I noted that the pump hadn’t run in the time I was down there. When I was done with my task and at a good stopping point in my book, I investigated.

Which was no small feat even by itself. The former owners had covered over the sump pump area with a decorative outdoor lattice – and about a billion screws. Okay, maybe a million. I got all the screws removed, removed the lattice, and removed the sump cover.

Full of water.

And because I’m a geek, I first tried unplugging it and plugging it back in. Just in case. No luck, though, the pump was dead. I unplugged it for the last time with a heavy heart – this wasn’t how I wanted to spend my Sunday.

I rolled up my sleeves, got a bucket and a red solo cup and started bailing. Bucket after bucket of some really suspect water came out of that hole and all the while I’m seriously thinking:

“Okay, this is just about the time in a horror movie when something intensely horrible is going to come slithering out of the filthy water, grab a hold of me, and pull me down to a watery grave.”

So, as a precaution, I had them keep a transporter lock on me at all times. The first sign of trouble and I was ready to beam my ass right on out of there.

Fortunately, the bathroom is well lit, the hole wasn’t that deep, and it was still daytime outside. I managed to work my way steadily down to the inflow pipe and see what I was up against.

The old sump pump was corroded and the inflow to the pump was clogged. I noticed the water was warm too – I’m guessing the pump had overheated when it got clogged.

I sent my Dad a text:

[non-flood sump pump problem. Please call and advise]

He called me a little later and we talked a little about what I was up against. I’ve inherited my Dad’s dislike of plumbing, but he had some good suggestions and I had a plan.

With the sump now slowly refilling with water and the model number in hand, I headed to Home Depot. I found the section, found the brand, found the model number… and the shelf was empty. I swore, then found a cashier and had them call for help. The staff person that answered the call scanned the barcode on the shelf and announced that they had 39(!) in stock. He got a ladder, found the pump, and in no time I was on my way.

After a few more errands, I headed back home and bailed out the sump again. The next step was to remove the old pump. Except that it wouldn’t budge. At all. I even borrowed a wrench from the neighbors with a smaller handle and was pretty much in the sump hole trying to get it loose.

No luck.

So, plan B. (oh, at this point it should be noted that the help videos online for the pump were crap).

I would need to find a rubber connector, cut the pipe to get part of the pipe and the old pump out, then hopefully remove the pipe from the pump and install the new one.

But it was getting late and home depot was closed. I now had a slowly filling sump hole and no way to get the rest of the parts I needed.

A sense of doom settled over me and I prepared for the long night ahead.

The time change threw me this morning, I had my clock set ahead and then it went and set itself – I was up way earlier than I had planned.  I had a little breakfast, said good-bye to my cat, then got in the car and headed to Wheeling, WV.  It was raining part of the time and all I had for company was the radio and the occasional suggestion from my GPS.  The drive was uneventful and couldn’t help but remember the last time I drove that stretch of highway by myself.  That time, I was headed for a funeral.

I got into town a little earlier than I had expected and stopped to get some snacks for the drive back before I went to Jeff’s sister’s house.  She met me at the door and was happy to see me.  She showed me some scrapbooks she was working on with picture’s of Jeff for her niece and nephew – and a couple of the photos made us both tear up.

She drove us to lunch and we had a nice meal, and reminisced about Jeff while we ate  – both careful to stay clear of the more difficult memories.

After lunch, she drove us out to the cemetery.  She and her siblings had scattered some of Jeff’s ashes next to where their parents were buried after the funeral, but they had only recently gotten the headstone in place.  This was the first time I’d been back since the funeral and as I walked down the path and saw the headstone for Jeff, the floodgates opened up.  I know he wasn’t there and even the ashes and headstone are just symbols – but it didn’t matter.  We both stood there for a while and wept.

When we were both a little more under control we talked and shared stories.  The day had turning to a beautiful one and as sad as it was, it was nice to be outside in the quiet of the cemetery.

We didn’t stay long – I think it was too rough on us both – and she suggested we stop at a park and enjoy the day before she had to go into work and I had to get back on the road.  We talked some more and then it was time to go.

There were hugs at the door and a sad goodbye – and then I was on the road headed home.   My GPS tried to steer me wrong a couple times, but the road was familial and I stayed the course.

It was a difficult trip, but I think a good and necessary one.  I think it did Jeff’s sister some good as well.  She had asked me as we left the cemetery if I felt better or worse and I really didn’t have an answer.  Which is to be expected, I guess.

But I’m glad I went and I’m glad for the day.

A few months ago, I lost my checkbook. It was later found, but when I first realized it was missing, I took swift action. I got the account restricted, opened a new account, and worked my way though my bank. Which was something of an ordeal – they are all incredibly polite and friendly, but not always good at the follow through.

I also had to update my direct deposit. So, as soon as I got my new account number I headed over to the payroll office and filled out the form. When I submitted it with my new number, I was told that I had missed the payroll cycle and my next check would be printed. Which doesn’t make much sense to me – if you can stop a process, can’t you just update it while it’s stopped?

So, I picked up my next check and figured that was it.

I watched my old account (with a little money left there to cover outstanding bills) like a hawk and tried to sort out which parts of the accounts were active.

A few weeks later, my checkbook was found and returned to me. Issue resolved.

Except yesterday, I got a call from payroll. I had a check waiting for me. The woman I talked to made a joke about how I must be rolling in money to have an unclaimed check from months ago.

Now, I’m not rolling in money. At the time, I was far more worried about money going OUT of my account and since it was right around the holidays, a dip in the funds in my checking account wasn’t unusual.

But even with the holidays, it took two pay cycles to re-establish a direct deposit?

So:
1. I should have been watching my account more closely.
2. They didn’t have to call me and I’m glad they did.

But – it’s still odd the way it all went down. I’ve now got a little more money in my pocket than I realized and it’s a nice surprise after having to pay out on my taxes this year and not getting a refund.

I was in a meeting today with several non-technical people and one other technical person. We were working on a project and in the middle of the discussion, the tech person and I turned to each other and went off on a highly technical and geeky tangent. When we were done, we went right back into the rest of the discussion, now both on the same page. After a moment, I turned to my colleague and said,

“We just had a side-bar, didn’t we?”

She nodded.

“Wait,” I said, “Let’s call it a side-geek.”

I may have invented a new term.

Side-geek: (noun) – a sub-discussion between two or more technical people as part of a large discussion with non-technical people; used to further the process without confusing the rest of the group.

Yesterday, I suggested to my boss that we invent a machine that dispenses a single chili cheese frito each time I “save the day”. He thought it was a great idea. I really like chili cheese fritos, but I know better than to eat too many.

Well, today, the chili cheese fritos would have been freaking RAINING on me. I’m on fire today – people keep bringing me problems and I’m all like: BAM! SOLUUUUUUUTION!

And it’s noon! If this keeps up, I’ll be running this place by 2:00. Can you imagine how many fritos I’ll get then? And my ego is going to go through the roof – we may have to remodel the building just so my head fits indoors.

I’m telling you, it’s a bitch to be this awesome.

I’m not really a social person. I’m generally content in small groups of one – provided that group includes a good book and a strong cup of tea.  The past couple of weekends have been surprisingly social and a lot of fun.

Last weekend, went out with friends and the most excitable 3 year on the planet.  We went to Texas Roadhouse – I, of course, got the chicken.  And tried some fried pickles.  They may not have changed my life like Snooki, but they were pretty good.

Also last weekend was game night with friends.  We ate some really good food and amazing dessert and played a few games.  First up was Mahjong.    I had never played this before and the rules were more complex than I expected. I had them mostly figured out after the second game – though I got trounced in both games.  We played some Farkle next and then Zombie dice.  I did better in those, but still lost.  Doesn’t really bother me though, I’m usually fine if I can make at least one good play and get on the board.

That weekend I also got a writing assignment and have somehow joined a writing group.   The topic was a new monster story and I’m nearly finished with mine now.  It’s perhaps the most disturbing thing I’ve written and it almost wrote itself.  Which is cool and also disconcerting.

After an insane week of work, this weekend has been fun too.  Got invited to a late dinner at the Saffron Patch on Saturday.    This was my first Indian food and I ordered the mango chicken – medium spicy.   Which was still vastly more spicy than I’d had before.  My ears turned red and heated up – and I drank two glasses of tea.  Really good, but really really intense.  So, curry and wasabi, and smoked Tabasco   Who would guessed that my palate has evolved so much?  Not my parents, that’s for sure.

Today, headed south to help my friends with some projects as they get ready to put their house on the market.  Before the day was done I’d done: electrical (replaced a outdoor light fixture), carpentry, (sawed off the bottom of a door to improve the clearance, hung it and another door), plumbing (moved and re-set up a washer/dryer and utility sink), painting (painted a step and taped the living room), sanitation (took out the trash), and project management (suggested solution for litter boxes).

Watched Skyfall this evening on DVD and now I’m wrapping the day with post number 1000 for my blog.   I had considered something profound or deeply meaningful for this post, but really, it’s just a number.  Just like January 1st is another day.  I don’t make resolutions and I’m not making a big deal out of this post.  I’m glad I’ve been able to get this far with the blog.  It’s been generally fun and I know it’s been good for me.  No plans on stopping.

So, Good Night Moon.  Good Night Blog.

On a lighter note…

Let me preface this by saying that I am normally extremely good at rapid task switching.  I can eat dinner, watch TV, and read a book at the same time, follow multiple conversations almost simultaneously, and I doubt many people could keep up as I work in multiple windows on multiple applications with multiple projects.  I’m very fast and generally very accurate.

But not today.

I’m at my desk, eating lunch while I work.  I’ve got a french fry in one hand ready to eat and I decided to listen to some music.  I reached for my earbuds with my other hand and some internal brain wiring got crossed while I was in motion.  Instead of directing the salty goodness of a french fry towards my mouth, it ended up going to the side of my head.

I managed to get control again and stop myself with a half inch to spare from me putting a french fry in my ear.

Half an inch.  That’s all the margin for error I had.   And considering that I can put an ear bud in my ear with some degree of speed, that half inch was cutting it very close.

It took some mental effort to get the fry directed back to my mouth and I’m pretty sure another part of my brain thought it was still an ear bud and why in the world would I put an ear bud in my mouth?   Once my sense of taste fired up and confirmed that I wasn’t eating plastic, I was able to get the ear buds in place.

I didn’t get any music going right away.  Instead, I took a breath and finished my lunch.  No mouse clicking, no iPad, no reading.  Just quietly working my way through my fries.  One thing at a time.

So, the mylar balloons I got for my birthday are finally starting to deflate.  Since they aren’t right up against the ceiling now, they are starting to migrate through the house on the air currents.  One ended up in my basement, one in the upstairs office, and a third in my bathroom.  Kinda stately, kinda eerie.    Thunder (cat) tried to climb a curtain to get the ribbon from one of them so I cut off all the ribbons.  I’d like to see how long they last – a couple have already bitten the dust.

I went and got my taxes done last night.  The tax accountant was very friendly and chipper, even as she told me how much I was going to owe.  I was hoping I would be getting a nice chunk back, but I some of the withholdings weren’t set up with quite enough.  So, I paid my fees, collected my paperwork and headed home to a simple meal and a dangerous cat.   To add insult to injury, Thunder attacked me last night – with love – and dug deep into my thigh right through my pants.  I ended bleeding pretty good and it was hard to tell if he felt bad about it.  Let’s just assume he did.

I’ve decided to change a couple of my habits recently.

1. I’m not going to steal food from people anymore when I go out to eat.  It was never about the actual food – more just about being clever and quick.  Unfortunately, I think I’ve gotten a reputation and some folks are now slightly uneasy around me – and I think a few have even changed what they would normally order to pick food that I don’t like.  Takes some of the fun out of it.  Plus, I was getting predictable and I can’t have that.

2. I’ve decided to talk less about my swimming.  I think we can just assume at this point I’m a swimmer and I’m going to keep swimming.  I’ve got some goals for the year, but I’m pretty sure I was getting annoying about it and maybe starting to sound like a braggart.  So, I’m not going to bring it up anymore until I hit 100 miles and again when I hit 200 – if I do.  I’ve made my log available on my blog if anyone is interested and I’ll talk about it anyone asks, but otherwise, just assume I’m still swimming.

It’s been a long ass week and I think its time for scalding shower and bed. One more day left and then it’s the weekend – thankfully.  Between hiring a new student, meetings out the ass, and doing the work of three people, I’m worn out.