Diary of a Network Geek

At least, I think we do.
So, tonight, after going to the grocery store during peak hours, which I hate, and resisting the urge to ram the woman who somehow managed to block both the door and sidewalk with her cart, I think I finally managed to get the leak under control. Apparently, the non-English instructions for the toilet repair kit included helpful tips not meant for gringos like me. Luckily, I finally managed to decipher the pictures and got the funky, rubber gasket in place on the stub of exposed pipe on the tankbefore seating it on the rest of the toilet. Then, after cranking everything back down, it seems to have worked. Now, I just have to obsessively check to make sure I have no hidden leaks until the wee hours of the morning, just in case. (And, I actually had to reduce the water level in the tank because it was leaking around the handle!)
Sadly, this has left no energy to clean more than the minimal amount. Thankfully, having external genitalia lets me claim a certain amount of cleaning impairment, since my parents are very old school. With any luck, my mother will cluck about that instead of my goatee, since she prefers full beards. Or, the fact that I’m not dating yet. Don’t I get some kind of hands-off recovery period to get over the tragedy that was my marriage or something? Maybe I can use that last ten pounds I want to lose as an excuse for not being out there yet. I don’t know. Something to buy me a little time.
Anyway, the horror of bachelorhood aside, I’ll be busy for a couple of days, so I may not be posting much until Sunday night or Monday. I do have a Friday Fun Link set up to auto-post on Friday morning, though. Can’t let my adoring fans down, now can I?
So, now it’s off for a Scotch and bed. Hmmm, Scotch. “I love scotch. Scotchy, scotch, scotch. Here it goes down, down into my belly…“

I hate plumbing.
No, really, as much of it as I’ve done in this house and as good as I think I’m getting at it, I still hate it. So, last night, I “fixed” my leaking toilet, right? Wrong. About 9:30PM, or so, as I’m getting ready to fold laundry, I notice a big, dark spot on the ceiling right under the upstairs bathroom. OH CRAP! I go running upstairs, tripping over the dog who thought I was getting ready to play with her, to find that, yeah, the “little drip” had become a “steady flow” and my bathroom floor was completely soaked. Nothing to do about it last night, but turn off the water to the tank and flush out the water already there. Then I threw down more towels to soak up what hadn’t soaked through to the ceiling downstairs.
Tonight, after some last minute grocery shopping, I’ll have the joy of taking that tank all apart, again, and tightening one, tiny nut that is most likely the problem. Or adjusting the one rubber gasket. There’s really only two or three things it can be, so I’ll check them all. And pray. The worst part is, I know Dad will be checking my work on this and offering “suggestions” for what I should have done, or could have done, or should do next time, to prevent all this.
After, hopefully, dealing with this for good tonight, I will have that Scotch I didn’t have the other night! Macallan, take me away!

Oh, and your Advice from your Uncle Jim today? “Double check your work, even when you’re sure that you did everything right the first time.” Damn plumbing.

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"There are three ways to get something done: do it yourself, employ someone, or forbid your children to do it."
   --Monta Crane