9/11/2008

A Day Late And Several Hundred Dollars Short

There was an email sent to everyone yesterday at work entitled Emergency Preparedness For Work and Home. Aside from my dislike of the word preparedness, the timing I found to be questionable.

The night before, I woke up hearing a strange noise, strange only because I hadn’t yet had enough sleep and wasn’t willing to ponder it for long. I woke again at 5:00 a.m. and was more ready to realize that the sound was dripping water. Dripping water? How strange.

After listening to it for a while, I decided I could wait no longer – I went to the bathroom - I’m fairly suggestible. Now better equipped to investigate, I padded out to the kitchen and stepped into what felt like a very large bowl of gazpacho. The kitchen was flooded.

As I stood wiggling my toes in the water, additional consciousness eventually dawned. I checked under the sink and found that the solder on the main water pipe had given way just enough to produce a steady burble of water.

My next realization was that the dripping sound remained and with a flash, I recalled there being a downstairs to this house. I tromped down and switched on the lights. There were two tiny waterfalls coming directly through the pot lights onto the carpet. I switched off the lights and put buckets under them to catch the excess and the drip sounded much nicer.

The plumber’s been and gone, the carpet’s drying out and will need to be replaced but for now, order has been restored to my tiny kingdom.

I wonder if it would have made a difference to have received that Emergency Preparedness email a day earlier? Probably not. I still haven’t read it.

29 comments:

Some Guy said...

Pool party at Dale's! WooHOO!

Moderator said...

Yesterday was your 9/11.

Barbara Bruederlin said...

That cat of yours ain't no Lassie, is she?

Fran said...

Not the best wet dream you've ever had, huh?

the princess said...

well shit! i'm sorry to laugh, but i have to ask...did you do downstairs wearing rubber boots carrying pots, cause that's my mental image.

i remember one time the washer hose came loose and flooding my basement while my husband (at the time) was away. i was down there with the shopvac feeling a fool. sucks when stuff like that happens.

Cormac Brown said...

Dude, you actually thought that you could get away from her? Like Glenn Close in "Fatal Attraction," she "will not be ignored!" You were KBL'd!

echo said...

Safety doesn't take a holiday...

Cap'n Ergo "XL+II" Jinglebollocks said...

well, did the email say anything about broken solder?? And if not, WHY not?? These things are damned important, are they not?

Falwless said...

That's what you get for sleeping.

X. Dell said...

(1) Grant, it was everybody's 9/11 yesterday.

(2) I smell a conspiracy.

gennifer6 said...

Emergency Preparedness is having a roll of duct tape handy at all times. You could've just wrapped that solder back in place....

Dr Zibbs said...

You know that old expression about Preparadness?

Chancelucky said...

Glad to hear that things are back under control. But is your kitchen on the second floor or do you have a basement of some kind?

I'm sure that it wasn't bad solder....it was Honey Pot getting back at you for your posts about her. All I can say is be careful around your washer/dryer in the next few weeks.

Unknown said...

did you invite your neighbor over..for a swim?

BeckEye said...

Your heart will go on, Dale.

668 aka neighbour of the beast said...

this is one of my biggest fears. i always think that a pipe is going to burst in my house.

Allison said...

I'm chuckling at Barb's comment. :)

Glad the leak got under control. That sound of dripping water is so irritating in the middle of the night. Things like that never happen in the day.

Leonesse said...

At least you woke up.

Chris the Hippie said...

I've had so many domestic emergencies lately if a pipe leaked in my basement I'd simply board the basement door over and sell the house...

You have a cat named Lassie? How odd.

Anonymous said...

Oh NO! That sucks Dale. Yeah, I still wouldn't have read it either.

Joe said...

At least if you'd read that email you'd have had more batteries and canned goods on hand when the water pipe broke.

But, as Grant Miller reminded you--never forget.

Tenacious S said...

"Water is the enemy."
-Bink, age 4

When we first moved to our home we had dueling water issues. Every time it rained more than a gentle sprinkle, our basement flooded. Alternately, we were plagued with a leak from the bathroom that took some time to pinpoint. I think Bink took stock of our frustration and anger at the water problems and came to his conclusion. Sorry about the surprise pool. You should have invited Honey Pot over for a dip.

Cup said...

Shall I bring the water wings and floats?

Feel sorry for me: I have to write articles about preparedness. Our Preparedness Idiots Department pushed me to write an article about hurricane preparedness ... until I pointed out that Atlanta is an inland, landlocked city with little chance of weathering a hurricane.

Gifted Typist said...

Feeling your pain.
a couple of years ago I had water dripping from the electric light in the kitchen. The upstairs bathtub was about to make a surprise visit

Dale said...

As long as you don't leave anything that floats, come on over Some Guy!

Thank you for acknowledging the significance of this disaster Grant.

I hope I never fall down a well or get lost at the old mill Barbara! She's useless!

More like most of my waking life Fran, cold and wet.

I love the sound of ShopVac in the morning Princess. No rubber boots and I won't go any further with what I was or wasn't wearing.

There are a few suspects Cormac including a few of my other personalities.

Neither does my brain, Echo, but you'd never know it.

If I ever read the email Cap'n, I'll be looking for the solder section.

Strange Falwless, I usually never sleep at home! This is what I get.

Way to shift the attention off me X. Dell! You're not part of the conspiracy are you?

As a good Canadian and having seen Red Green in action, I should have known better Genn6.

I know nothing Dr. Zibbs.

Okay Chancelucky, it's a basement. I'll stop calling it my screening room (tv room). Honeypot and her evil ways will pay someday for this.

I would have Melly but I couldn't find my HazMat suit which I require if she's that close.

Near, far, wherever you are Beckeye, I appreciate the outpouring of support, especially compared with the outpouring of water.

It's going to 668. Don't worry though.

Barb who, Allison? Oh yeah, the funny Barb. It was at least good that I was at home and not away on one of my fake holidays.

I say that to myself every day Leonesse.

Chris, I thought of you! We're connected unlike all these friggin' pipes. Lassie, Rizzo, same thing.

Slaygirl, I'll forward it to you immediately, apparently it's important.

You can never have too many canned goods Bubs. Will you read the email and pick up whatever I need? I'll pay.

Wow Tenacious S, that Bink is brilliant (as if you didn't know)! I love that. I'd have been a dip if I invited her over for a dip, no?

Beth, if you wrote it, I'd read it no matter the subject, okay well almost any subject.

The drip was coming from within the house Gifted Typist!!

Coaster Punchman said...

In the words of Margaret Cho, that fucking sucks, dude.

Dale said...

You're fucking right it does. At least I haven't blamed Lassie for it CP, I mean Rizzo.

Les Becker said...

Wow, you just brought back a spectacular memory of a similar experience that I will now have to blog - right down to the water coming through the pot-lights... except mine hangy-downy chandeliery things. And it wasn't my house (sort of like it wasn't my car that time I hit the tree. Ahem...*)

"...I padded out to the kitchen and stepped into what felt like a very large bowl of gazpacho." I LOVE the metaphorishness of you!

Dale said...

I love spectacular memory jogs Les, I'll be by to check on your chandelier shenanigans shortly. Do you also like my alliterative propensity?