Plumber? I don't need no stinking plumber!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Today is a ride day so…count on rain. I did and it did.

I thought about heading for the park to do a run, but I knew that I should take a day off from running. In fact, a day of complete rest wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, but I’ve gotten to the point where I always want to do something. I was not sore from the six days of running and so…maybe I should?

Then I remembered we had a little issue in the kitchen. Water had begun leaking from the garbage disposal on Thursday evening and so I’d put a call in to the plumber. He never returned the call on Friday, so it was go through the weekend emptying the bucket underneath the drain or…do it myself.

I’m an okay plumber…at least I was. I’d gotten in the habit of calling the guy after I’d seen how he could do something that took me half the day in half an hour. But now, well, I went out into the garage because I seemed to remember someone giving us a garbage disposal they’d picked up at a garage sale some years ago. Sure enough, I had a brand new ¾ hp Kenmore sitting in the box, still sealed, buried on a shelf. I pulled it out, looked it over, looked under the sink and concluded…how tough can it be? Normally…when my brain works this way…I pull a fubar (f’d up beyond all recognition). I mean…I’d have to wire on a plug to this thing and I NEVER touch electricity. Over the years, I’ve gotten better with it. I’m to the point where I can safely turn on a switch and plug things in. Beyond that – I call an electrician. I looked at the directions, looked at the three wires in the garbage disposal and again thought…how tough can it be?

In keeping with my expectations for myself, I spent half a day putting it in, wiring the plug, reconnecting the plumbing and cleaning up. I turned on the water and…no leaks! That part didn’t surprise me too much, but now it was time to plug in the disposal and flip the switch – both things I’m certified and trained to perform. I plugged it in…flipped the switch…and the disposal began to hum and whir the way they do when there’s nothing inside them! Totally cool.

Then the power to the entire block went out…

Garbage disposal installation duration: 4 Hours.

Training Heart Rate: Peaked at 190 during cursing after whacking my head on cabinet.

Calories burned during workout: Not worth calculating.