Song: “Wipeout” by The Surfaris
Mood: 7
Nightmares: 3
Quick post this evening as it’s already pretty late. Sorry about that.
I didn’t sleep very well last night. More nightmares (life jackets and tent) and one panic attack that kept me down in the basement for close to an hour so I didn’t disturb J. I think I woke her when I was getting back to bed but she didn’t mention anything today…
So I was dragging pretty badly first thing in the morning. On the upside, however, was that FA had texted me over the weekend and asked if I wanted to do lunch and burritos on Monday. It turns out that both J and DM were also off, so the four of us got together around noon, ate burritos, and had an epic conversation about literally every single topic that exists, with the notable exceptions of what hair product John C. Reilly uses and who would win in a cage fight between Barbabright and Little Miss Brainy.
It was a wonderful visit and really nice to see FA and DM again. J and I hadn’t seen DM for quite a while and it was very nice to catch up with her, too. Plus, the burritos were wonderful and I got to show off my new sewing machine. 🙂
The time flew buy and before we knew it, it was dark outside. DM and FA figured they needed to head out so after a couple more quick chats, they got on their winter gear and headed out.
I had a wonderful time and really appreciate J, FA, and DM coordinating and taking the time out of their days off to get together and hang out. It was really good.
So… the sewer line backed up yesterday. Fortunately we caught it before it backed up past the drain but still, that sucks. We put in a call to the plumbing company we use and waited for almost six hours before we gave up and gave it a shot fixing it ourselves. We have a 25 ft spring steel sewer line cleaner that we’d never used before, and a 50 ft USB waterproof inspection camera. J was very helpful and calming and we went to work, trying to get the line clean but didn’t have any luck – the water was still trapped.
After calling the plumbers again and not hearing anything back, I wound up my courage, asked J if she could help me again, and we went back downstairs and tried it again. I could feel the tip of the snake hitting something, but I wasn’t sure if it was the lip of the transition or whatever was blocking the pipe. So I hulked out a bit and went crazy with the spring steel until suddenly there was a little bit of a gurgle. I sawed away at it again and whoosh – the water disappeared.
All of that to say that after FA and DM left this evening, we went back into the basement, taped the inspection camera to the head of the spring steel snake, and took a look at what was going on. Unfortunately, it only appears that I knocked a hole in what was there – water was still getting through but it was going to block up again pretty easy. After we got everything closed and cleaned up, I put in a call to the plumber again. It was nice it wasn’t an emergency this time and they should be here tomorrow. The good thing is I don’t need them to use their scope thing – that’ll save a hundred bucks or so. It’ll be good to get it cleared up. We used to get the drain checked regularly but have slid over the last couple of years. A good cleaning should be good for another two or three years.
After that, there was some very liberal use of hand sanitizer and soap and water. We hung out for a while upstairs and then decided to head to the basement to watch some more Parks and Recreation. We’re almost done the sixth season – only a few more episodes to go and then we’re into the seventh and final season. The cast is still good but they’re changing so many things that it doesn’t feel like the same show to me. I don’t like it when things change…
The plumber should be by tomorrow at around noon. I need to clear a bit more space for the machine and I need to be able to answer the phone when it rings tomorrow with a number I don’t know. Wish me luck.
Stay safe.