Thursday, May 7, 2009

Tuesday & Wednesday.

Sorry for the no show yesterday. More painting isn't all that fun to read about, or write about.

As for today? Some more fun things to write about:

After work, I headed home and Joe Merritt, Plumber, was in my basement working on that stupid illegal drain pipe for the washer. He replaced the trap and tried to snake the drain, but he only got about three feet before the snake stopped completely. Sweet. The old drain is super clogged. Someone has to come unclog it, as apparently Drano is no match for drains left unused for years at a time.

While he was working, Amanda and I went to order some counter tops. With measurements in hand, we sat down with some sort of Kitchen Specialist at the ghetto Home Depot. We chose the cheapest solid surface (not laminate, not stone) tops they had in gray and started the ordering process. The Kitchen Specialist was an older woman, maybe in her 50s or 60s, and she seemed to be trying to save her voice for something later on. She was almost inaudible.

If you've ever been, you may know that The Home Depot generally has a little aural bustle to it; customers talking, fork lifts beeping, shelves being stocked, etc. To combat this in conversation, one should probably raise their voice a little bit; no need to yell, but a higher volume is appreciated. This woman decided that soft spoken was the way to go.

Example:

Ryan - "We need roughly 43 square feet of counter."

Kitchen Specialist - "ok, psspssps, are psst pss, your measurements, pss pssstpsss?"

After straining, leaning in and asking her to repeat things for 40 minutes, our counter tops and under mount sink were ordered ($1,820). Next is some sort of measurement appointment, then two weeks of waiting. Hooray.

After Home Depot was finished making us strain to hear things, we got back to work painting the living room. It's done. Awesome. All that's left in there (not counting Rob's responsibilities) is to paint the ceiling, put up crown molding and do something with the ugly stone hearth.

After painting, it was time for clean-up. Generally an uneventful task, but last night, it was more noteworthy than usual. To clean up after painting, you generally have to run water for a few minutes while cleaning your hands, brushes, rollers and paint trays. Last evening was no exception. When I was finished up with a paint tray, I stopped the water, but heard, from below me, the sound of water running. Well, splashing. OK, cascading.

I said a swearword to myself and rushed downstairs to see what was up. The new drain had overflowed. Apparently, when Joe Merritt, Plumber, tried to snake the drain, it stirred up some things and probably clogged it more. After a year(s) of being able to settle into becoming a very slow drain, the commotion from the small pipe snake upset the delicate balance of the drain. It rebelled. Everything I cleaned up in the kitchen sink was on the floor of the basement, paint and all.

Here's the proof:


Lastly, I vowed to call Electrician Ron over and over again every time I am driving in my car. So far so good. No call back yet, but a frustrated hang-up yesterday. I'll keep it up, along with calls every hour or so when I'm not driving.

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