Seen last Friday: While waiting for my bus to show, I witnessed an overweight kid--early teens, I would guess, if not younger--run right across Lake City Way during rush hour traffic. (Bear in mind that Lake City Way is a state highway.) He barely managed to avoid being hit, and returned to his friends at my bus stop, presumably waiting for the school bus. And that's when I noticed his t-shirt:
"The only exercise I get is in just pressing my luck."
No, really.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Never Enough Crazy Living Department
Sorry if I have been quiet lately. Cynthia has recovered from her surgery but we then had to start the road to financial recovery, and that has been proving rather difficult. But at least we are paid up on a payroll advance loan which paid for my stepson's travel expenses a couple of years ago, and now can pay down the electric bill. Then we can start paying down the personal loans we have taken from friends to help us get through these rough times. Once all this is done, we'll be no more broke than before, but at least we'll be free of obligations outside the usual monthly bills.
Becklin is now driving as a learner and has gained quite a bit of road skill. He still needs to develop a sense of being able to pay more attention to traffic about him than to his own driving, but that will hopefully come along on its own.
As for myself, I am feeling pretty exhausted but not as bad as I was just last week. I was covering a coworker's Monday shift, and since I work Saturdays, I had just one day off--which I spent trying to plug a leak in our plumbing. (More on that momentarily.) Fortunately, the coworker covered my most recent Saturday shift, so I had a three-day weekend in which to try to recover from that week. Still, I was busy most of that three-day weekend, and my back aches to prove it.
I don't think I posted about the water damage here. It's been kinda rueful, really--I moved in thinking this would be a Slack Recovery Center, only to have more slack removed due to problems with the house that clearly predate our moving in. (Gee, I wondered why the previous tenant delayed their move just to paint and to clean carpet! Now I know. But I digress....) At first we thought it was the roof, which needs obvious re-shingling at minimum, and probably a complete re-roofing just to be safe. But then we noticed the increase in the water, and how warm the water was. In fairness, Cynthia noticed it before I had, and I feel badly for not investigating sooner.
So on that one-day weekend, I prepared to knock a hole in the wall just to locate the leaking pipe. It was obviously leaking in the bathroom wall--we could hear the dripping just beyond. And there was no need to knock a hole, per se--the drywall wasn't dry at all, and gave with a push. And that is when I found a pipe that had appeared sheared at the top, pouring hot water. I have reason to suspect the pipe is intended to vent excess air in the pipe, or else to allow air for reducing water hammering. Either way, I doubt the plumbing is up to current residential code. And regardless, it is necessary for us to stop the water leak, if only so we can repair as much as we can and move out as soon as possible.
It's formidable, and probably will cost money we can ill afford right now. But at least there is a glimmer of hope.
Becklin is now driving as a learner and has gained quite a bit of road skill. He still needs to develop a sense of being able to pay more attention to traffic about him than to his own driving, but that will hopefully come along on its own.
As for myself, I am feeling pretty exhausted but not as bad as I was just last week. I was covering a coworker's Monday shift, and since I work Saturdays, I had just one day off--which I spent trying to plug a leak in our plumbing. (More on that momentarily.) Fortunately, the coworker covered my most recent Saturday shift, so I had a three-day weekend in which to try to recover from that week. Still, I was busy most of that three-day weekend, and my back aches to prove it.
I don't think I posted about the water damage here. It's been kinda rueful, really--I moved in thinking this would be a Slack Recovery Center, only to have more slack removed due to problems with the house that clearly predate our moving in. (Gee, I wondered why the previous tenant delayed their move just to paint and to clean carpet! Now I know. But I digress....) At first we thought it was the roof, which needs obvious re-shingling at minimum, and probably a complete re-roofing just to be safe. But then we noticed the increase in the water, and how warm the water was. In fairness, Cynthia noticed it before I had, and I feel badly for not investigating sooner.
So on that one-day weekend, I prepared to knock a hole in the wall just to locate the leaking pipe. It was obviously leaking in the bathroom wall--we could hear the dripping just beyond. And there was no need to knock a hole, per se--the drywall wasn't dry at all, and gave with a push. And that is when I found a pipe that had appeared sheared at the top, pouring hot water. I have reason to suspect the pipe is intended to vent excess air in the pipe, or else to allow air for reducing water hammering. Either way, I doubt the plumbing is up to current residential code. And regardless, it is necessary for us to stop the water leak, if only so we can repair as much as we can and move out as soon as possible.
It's formidable, and probably will cost money we can ill afford right now. But at least there is a glimmer of hope.
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