Ok... so, on Sunday, it had been a hectic weekend so far... broken water pipe, unplanned meeting with a client, errands (complicated by an unforseen shortage in hardwood floor wax) behind me... and I settle in to work on a 'moonlight' project that I had committed for completion by Tuesday morning.
And about 10:00pm, the door bell rings. The dog runs, barking ferociously, to the front door. I can't follow her, because (1) who in the right and honorable world would ring my door that late without calling first, (2) the lights are on and the dog will separate the blinds and "expose" me, and (3) I watch entirely too much crime tv.
Once the "ringer" has left, and the dog is quieted, I manage to peer out of the shutters to see my "directly across the street neighbor and nicest guy in the world"... standing at the end of his driveway.
Relieved, for the briefest of moments, I head out the front door... realizing he's in need, and hoping I can help HIM (for once). He looks a little lost, and tells me that he was down the street at a birthday party with his girlfriend, and... with both his porch and house lights on, his truck was stolen.
Did I hear anything? Yes, I did... less than thirty minutes earlier. But, I thought it was either him leaving, or someone from the party (going on) a few doors down.
Bless his heart. He's such a hard worker, all-around good guy and neighbor. He's young, owns his own business, and is always eager and available to help me and anyone else who's in need. Who would have thought that this could happen with all of the lights on???
I'm sad to say that there's an immediate supsect... a local (good gone bad) kid who's been caught demaging, destroying and stealing property over the course of the last year. The police have, twice, been at his house this week.
I'm both thankful that I pull my car into the garage at night, and fearful that burglars might think I"m not at home. I have a security system, a big dog, and a loaded gun... but it might be time for an upgrade...
Monday, September 06, 2004
When I asked for a break...
I should've been more specific!
If I had to estimate, I'd say that I've worked approximately 6 months (regular hours) over the course of this (three month) summer.
Having missed many social events, including Wednesday night's comets game, because I had to work... I came home Friday at 1:30pm (after therapy... ha), bound and determined to nap, rise from the dead, and make the 7:30pm game.
Upon arriving at home, I let the dog out into the backyard, and she immediately flushed three squirrels: two straight up a tree, and a third from behind a large philodendron, across the yard and through the fence. Once the lightning bolts came to a rest, I thought I heard a noise, but readily dismissed it... as it must be a neighbor's sprinkler, or a hot tub pump.
I coaxed the dog inside, and settled in for a much-needed summer's nap. I got up around 4:30pm to make a telephone call to a client... who umch to my chagrin, insisted that I prepare and fax a proposal to him the following morning. Prior to making that call, though, I let the dog out into the backyard again, as her territory was contested, once again, by the gosh-darn squirrels.
The call ended, and I stepped out on the back porch... greeted first, by the noise; second, by a wet and filthy dog; and third by a flooded back yard. I waded through the yard to discover a broken hose bibb... the kind, not attached to the exterior wall of the house, but rising from a pipe in the ground, a few feet from the house. And, coincidentally, behind the large philodendron and directly in the path of the dog, as she chased the squirrel hours earlier.
I ran quickly to the front yard and opened the meter box... no shut-off valve... and next to the concrete cylinder in the side yard, where I clawed mud and muck from the top of the valve. [Note to all who are going through a divorce or separation: just because you're hell bent on purging, don't necessarily rid yourself of "rarely used unless it's an emergency"... tools, like a water meter key]. I tried a wrench, adjusted tightly over the key, with a pair of channel locks to turn... not enough leverage.
Meanwhile, the water is still GUSHING.
Next, with the help of a neighbor, I tried a piece of tube steel which fit over the key (and got stuck), but still... not enough leverage.
Luckily, and embarassingly, the neighbor asked what the red handle on the pipe near the sprinkler system controls did... "I'm not sure", I said. He turned it and oila... the sound (and gush) gradually faded to still.
Now... I'm wet and sweaty, my feet are muddy to above the ankles, my hands and fingernails are caked with much, there's no running water in the house, it's Friday night (not to mention a holiday weekend), and the game starts in an hour and a half.
I'm upset, knowing that there's no way I can make the game, but there's no need for panic or tears... I can call my "trusty" 24-hour service home warranty company... and in usual pattern, I am told that the plan does not cover the ailment from which my home suffers.
Why am I surprised??? (And as an aside, for those of you who think I'm not an optimist, just because I tend to display a realist perspective, preferring to be pleasantly surprised, rather than bitterly disappointed...) I don't know, but I, truly with all my heart, believed that it would be covered.
The bad news is that I missed the Comets game and spending an evening in the company of good friends and spent 202 unplanned dollars; the good news is that I wrote the proposal and prepared the timeline for my client, while waiting on my "after-hours-plus-holiday" plumber, in time to both fax it and pick up a signed copy, along with the retainer fee, the next morning.
(And no... I didn't increase the fee by $202, a question I've already been asked by a friend... but unthinkable to an honest, hard-working Virgo).
If I had to estimate, I'd say that I've worked approximately 6 months (regular hours) over the course of this (three month) summer.
Having missed many social events, including Wednesday night's comets game, because I had to work... I came home Friday at 1:30pm (after therapy... ha), bound and determined to nap, rise from the dead, and make the 7:30pm game.
Upon arriving at home, I let the dog out into the backyard, and she immediately flushed three squirrels: two straight up a tree, and a third from behind a large philodendron, across the yard and through the fence. Once the lightning bolts came to a rest, I thought I heard a noise, but readily dismissed it... as it must be a neighbor's sprinkler, or a hot tub pump.
I coaxed the dog inside, and settled in for a much-needed summer's nap. I got up around 4:30pm to make a telephone call to a client... who umch to my chagrin, insisted that I prepare and fax a proposal to him the following morning. Prior to making that call, though, I let the dog out into the backyard again, as her territory was contested, once again, by the gosh-darn squirrels.
The call ended, and I stepped out on the back porch... greeted first, by the noise; second, by a wet and filthy dog; and third by a flooded back yard. I waded through the yard to discover a broken hose bibb... the kind, not attached to the exterior wall of the house, but rising from a pipe in the ground, a few feet from the house. And, coincidentally, behind the large philodendron and directly in the path of the dog, as she chased the squirrel hours earlier.
I ran quickly to the front yard and opened the meter box... no shut-off valve... and next to the concrete cylinder in the side yard, where I clawed mud and muck from the top of the valve. [Note to all who are going through a divorce or separation: just because you're hell bent on purging, don't necessarily rid yourself of "rarely used unless it's an emergency"... tools, like a water meter key]. I tried a wrench, adjusted tightly over the key, with a pair of channel locks to turn... not enough leverage.
Meanwhile, the water is still GUSHING.
Next, with the help of a neighbor, I tried a piece of tube steel which fit over the key (and got stuck), but still... not enough leverage.
Luckily, and embarassingly, the neighbor asked what the red handle on the pipe near the sprinkler system controls did... "I'm not sure", I said. He turned it and oila... the sound (and gush) gradually faded to still.
Now... I'm wet and sweaty, my feet are muddy to above the ankles, my hands and fingernails are caked with much, there's no running water in the house, it's Friday night (not to mention a holiday weekend), and the game starts in an hour and a half.
I'm upset, knowing that there's no way I can make the game, but there's no need for panic or tears... I can call my "trusty" 24-hour service home warranty company... and in usual pattern, I am told that the plan does not cover the ailment from which my home suffers.
Why am I surprised??? (And as an aside, for those of you who think I'm not an optimist, just because I tend to display a realist perspective, preferring to be pleasantly surprised, rather than bitterly disappointed...) I don't know, but I, truly with all my heart, believed that it would be covered.
The bad news is that I missed the Comets game and spending an evening in the company of good friends and spent 202 unplanned dollars; the good news is that I wrote the proposal and prepared the timeline for my client, while waiting on my "after-hours-plus-holiday" plumber, in time to both fax it and pick up a signed copy, along with the retainer fee, the next morning.
(And no... I didn't increase the fee by $202, a question I've already been asked by a friend... but unthinkable to an honest, hard-working Virgo).
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