Ever have one of those weeks where every day feels like it’s own week?
In addition to work being at one of those crescendos you get when a bunch of big moving pieces trying to all fit into a tiny time window, things outside of work have been…dramatic? That would have been nice. Sometimes, it’s like Ciaran says: “Dull is best.”
“Oh Ridley, don’t be such a downer. You don’t want dull!”
I beg to differ. Let’s start with the procedure I had this week. A common thing, but not entirely inconsequential as it involved a couple of days of prep, a severely restricted diet, and a little general anesthesia. If you read the last post, you know we were/are having plumbing difficulties. Prep for this particular procedure and plumbing difficulties are a bad, bad combination.
To add a little spice to the mix, a truck damaged the only gas line leading into town, meaning that the entire area had no heat. In Texas, that’s not normally a big deal, but we were seeing temperatures in the 30s (outside) and mid-50s (inside). This was unpleasant.
Yesterday, we finally got an answer as to the source of our plumbing difficulties: The folks who flipped this house cut one very important corner when putting in the shower. When you merge a shower drain into the main drainpipe, a responsible plumber would put in a t-joint and everything would be fine. If you were lazy and irresponsible, you would just drill a hole in the drain pipe and run a pipe from the shower down into it. Doing it the lazy way meant that there was a length of pipe running across the drain and that length of pipe collected paper and such and eventually clogged.
Also, word to the wise: Shitty construction is NOT covered by home warranties.
We have temporary relief at the cost of our shower, so yay! We can use toilets and wash dishes again. That’s a huge win. But, the fix is going to be pricey, so significantly less yay.
The good news is that the procedure, which was strictly a routine thing and not prompted by any specific concerns, went swimmingly. No problems were discovered, so it’ll be another decade before I have to do this again. For folks approaching 50 and facing their first encounter with this procedure, I can tell you from experience: The prep is far, far worse than the procedure itself.
So, we have most of our plumbing, heat has been restored, and a Thing I Was Dreading is in the rear view mirror. Ah well, that’s what therapy is for, right?
There’s more going on, but there are stories that are not mine to tell. It’s just a very sad time in too many ways. So, I hope this finds you well and that you’re safe and warm and generally in a good place right now. That’s all I got.
-RK
