Water Pipes

March 14, 2008

-I was supposed to post this last week, alas, life crept up and stole me time away....

There is no water where I stay. From my kitchen window, I can see the pump where those neighbors I don’t know - but will always recognize - wash their clothes...and brush their teeth.

The lucky ones around these parts have a tank and pump water into the pipes for use.

I suppose I'm lucky.

There was an issue with the pipes a while back. A leaking. A plumber came and fixed it. From then, water doesn’t fill out from the tank when it’s full. Instead, the pipes would leak. Add to this a toilet that isn't allowed to flush. If we let water fill the tank, it leaks. So off we turn it.

Which brings me to 'the Day the Plumber Came Back'. I was jarred from sleep @ 9ish or 10ish, after kicking myself for burning daylight; I sauntered into the region of water pumping-ness. I was attending to some things when * *<--insert big crashing, pouring, rushing water sound here.

The pipe connects to the pipe connected to the pump- burst. Water was filling in fast, I want to warn the General, my father, and went back to wade in the water. Eventually the right knob was turned and the water packing began. I'll spare you the dirty cold-water sweeping, packing, dumping details. I will say, there was sweat.

Afterwards, I am informed that I should get ready to go out and collect a letter and that I shouldn't say I want to take my bath, because my Dad woke up early..........

Like waking up at the crack of dawn to bathe in the Nile would've changed the fact that I just spent 20 minutes toe-dipping dirty water.

Well, I ended up chilling for the plumber to come and do his thing. In the bathroom, I stood guard by the door while pretending not to notice that his lackies were ogling at me through the bathroom mirror. I formed activity once more when they finally got to the kitchen. When they finished, I was told to pump water - that all was well.
It wasn't 10 minutes before the pipe burst again. By now, I was some kind of water packing -kitchen mopping pro.

Plumber and lackies come back, with their inside-joke-telling, ogling selves. Apologizes and talk of gum, thread and nylons...I was told not to pump until my Dad came back.

20minutes after that- the pipe dislodged itself from the pumping machine. I had become a tap-closing, water-packing, mopping machine.

I fetched from the unluckys' tap that night.

-Here's to my grad app essays blowing the adcoms' minds AND pipes you don't have to think about, working magically behind walls.