I feel as if my life is moving backwards. Last night I visited a laundromat for the first time in over eleven years, I also had a very discouraging phone conversation with my mother. What’s the opposite of progress? Congress…
Rats!
I was all excited to find a Christmas tree I wanted, until I couldn’t find the Christmas tree I wanted. Yesterday I found out that Urban Outfitters is selling a replica of the pathetic Charlie Brown Christmas tree. However, the Urban Outfitters on Ponce didn’t have any in stock, and I didn’t inquire about buying the one on display. Rats!
I’m not sure I have the internal fortitude to make a trip to Lenox Mall to see if they have one in stock there.
Thirty Minute Wash, Four Hour Dry
Say what you will about laundromats they are the model of efficiency.
Last night I popped into the Publix on Ponce (after failing at Urban Outfitters) for some laundry detergent and fabric softener. From there I struggled to figure out where one parks to use the laundromat across from Manuel’s Tavern that I’ve driven past so often. Once inside the rather dingy environment I took out a roll of quarters that I had procured from Wachovia at lunch and started four loads of laundry at once. The original plan was to read a magazine or write out Christmas cards while waiting, but I was sucked into people watching instead. In about an hour and $8.50 later my loads were done and I bagged up the damp laundry and high-tailed it home.
For the rest of the night, literally for four hours, I tortured my dryer with the laundry I had washed.
ITP Flickr Pic
I am obsessed with weird angles.
Therefore it was such a joy to luck into this someone strange juxtaposition of fire hydrant and pine trees.
It’s Time To Drink At The Porter
Difficult decisions must be made this time of year as often there is more than one thing happening on any given night. Tonight is one such night. I could attend the annual meetup of Atlantans With Blogs Who Get Together To Drink, but instead I am going to find myself at The Porter in Little Five Points to meet up with some Flickrites for a beer. It’s nice to have options…
Digital Download Of The Week
I’ve looked at the list of things being released today and all I can say is “meh.”
Instead I’ll suggest you check out the release from The Warm Fuzzies. They’ve also come up with really cool CD packaging for their disc, but you know me… it’s all about the digital download now.
And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Daily
Current Mood – worried for my mother, not health related thankfully
Current Music – watching the latest “Photoshop TV” podcast
Website Of The Day – Recently I bought a “bonus” pack of ten bars of soap. It was a “bonus” pack because it had ten bars instead of eight. I was amused to find that the last pack of bars of soap I bought contained twelve bars, so in essence my “bonus” pack contained two fewer bars. More examples of this can be found at The Consumerist’s — Grocery Shrink Ray.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Monthly
Foot Mileage – 8 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 16 (16)
Vegetarian Days – 9
Carnivorous Days – 6
Marta Rides – 0
Ongoing
Books To Read To Earn Kindle – 4
December Goals
1) Lose no fewer than two pounds
2) Drink no soda
3) Run no fewer than 50 miles
4) Completely read no fewer than one book
5) Write at least one program using Ruby on Rails
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
So, have you scheduled the plumber to fix your plumbing issues yet? Or, did you have so much fun visiting a laundromat that you just aren’t going to fix it?
No fix scheduled yet. I need to clear out the utility room so that work can be done and then figure out who I am going to hire to do the job — do I need a contractor for a project like this? I will most likely not hire a “part time plumber” due to the potential grandeur of this work.
Fun? No. Efficient? Yes.
Seriously, if this only affected my washing machine I’d be in no rush to fix it. However, since I don’t feel comfortable using my sink nor my dishwasher something will happen early in ’09.
Nice hydrant photo….I could use that one for my hydrant picture book! 🙂
I do not miss the days of hanging out at the laundromat….I like to be able to multi-task in the comfort of my own home.
So go out and cut yourself a Charlie Brown Tree…shouldn’t be too hard to find!
Fire hydrant book? Wait. What? Seriously?
I have to admit that it was oddly amusing at the laundromat, kinda like one of those parking-lot carnivals. There was a guy in there who was whistling poorly for almost as long as I was there. When I was leaving there was a girl who was complaining to her boyfriend (who had just arrived) about the guy’s whistling.
I had plenty of time to multi-task in the four hours that it took to dry my clothes at home.
I’d be willing to bet you’ve already heard the news on a “Wait, Wait” podcast, so I’m surprised that I haven’t seen it in one of your posts:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081117/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_new_word
You might try calling Lenox to inquire about the availability of Charlie Brown trees before driving there…. just a thought.
I didn’t realize you needed more than plumbing work. What all do you need done? The fireman that is a plumber that did all of our new plumbing did an excellent job, so depending on what you mean by part-time plumber, I can give you a name & phone number if you want.
Well, the plumbing goes into the foundation wall and then I don’t know where. From the house it either goes
1) under the carport toward the front of the house.
2) under the carport/kitchen entry toward the rear of the house.
I am hoping for #2 as that will mean less destruction before reconstruction.
what is the issue with plumbing, just backing up? did you snake the main drain lines in the basement? May be a giant fur ball backing things up. Cast iron is good until you start seeing “pinhole” leaks, then it is time to think about replacing. Main line should drain towards the street… usually
Water is leaking back into the house. More water leaks back when using the washing machine than when washing dishes. It’s not so bad that I think that the pipe is clogged or collapsed.
I assumed from past knowledge and from the angle at which the pipe enters the retaining wall (ie “exits the house”) that it is headed toward the street, BUT…
1) The street is higher than where the pipe exits the house, and sewers are generally set up to run downhill
2) There are three sewage lines in my house, all toward the back of the house, which may convince me that they head downhill into the backyard, and then tie together somewhere and head toward a main sewer line.
Paulie, You can find a real “Charlie Brown Christmas Tree” on any hash. Just grab a saw ,a couple scraps of wood ….instant Christmas!
If you are having issues at multiple places, the main line comes into question. It probably goes to the front, as a long run still may not end up being too deep… but you never know. Steep runs are frowned upon as the water tends to leave solids behind in the pipe, leading to clogs. Too slow draining could be a partial obstruction/tree roots…
Oh the joys of home ownership!
No it’s not the main line because as far as I know it’s only the line which takes the kitchen sink, dishwasher, and clothes washer waste that is having issues.
What scares the shit out of me is to fix this there will most likely be either concrete cutting (driveway? carport?), tunneling from my basement, or both — and the cost that I will incur.
I wouldn’t hold your breath on the tree, they seem to also be out of stock on line.
Were we not suppose to hear about some sort of exercise today? I ran 4 last night and it was ugly. Hard to run when taking a deep breath causes intense pain.
Exercise lost to laundry, software updates on my home computers, attempt to hook up my xbox360 and its failure (I forgot to blog about this, will tomorrow), and the phone conversation with my mother which worried and depressed me.
By the time that was all said and done it was 10:00pm.
Well there will be no exercise in my future tonight. Plans for dinner at Com were derailed, so instead I will be drinking beer and eating those chicken wings I was craving Sunday at Charlie Mopps.
Who has taken over Martha’s body? Beer and chicken wings instead of running????
why do you not think that this is a partial block that can be cleared by a pro using a larger snake/rooter? Not sure you need to take any concrete up when they can use one of these to assess/repair issues, that would be a last step.
Finding cause:
http://mrrooter1.reachlocal.net/services/pipe_repair.aspx
Cleaning:
http://www.gangbusters.net/methodsclean/mechanical_rodder.htm#
There was a plumber listed on EAVbuzz… johnny, the man in black or something like that. He came highly recommended at a fair price….
Barb, you know “who” has taken over, lol…what I won’t do for a man 😉
Paulie, Gentri is right (Geez did I just say that?)…get someone out there to figure out what the problem is, at this point whatever they find can’t be any worse than what is in your head. I think it would be really cool if they sent a camera down your pipes.
I’ve used Johnny twice, he’s been fast and cheap. Neither time was my bill over $100 (I think that is super cheap for a plumber).
I plan to have someone come and figure it out. But as I said first I need to get the utility room cleared so that work can be done there, and since I assume that this will not be a cheap fix I need to get my finance and mental states straightened out.
If we are talking about same Johnny then he was the guy who did the last pipe work ($325), and while I’m not ready to lay claim that he was the cause of this problem, I don’t recall seeing water coming into the house prior to his work. Regardless, I think this job is too big for him.
Prior to calling Johnny, and assuming that my problem was a backed-up drain, I also poured some industrial strength drain cleaner into the sink. This too could have created the mess I am in today.
Oh, and one more thing about this plumbing issue….
If I can’t get this problem fixed there will be no Super Bowl party at my house this year.
One of Sani’s neighbors is a plumber. He recently replaced a sewer/drain line at Kev’s house for less than half the estimate given by another plumber.
Yeah, I chatted with Kevin about that. He remains one of my options.
WHAT! No Super Bowl Party? Clearly, this problem is of a slightly higher magnitude than we were first led to believe. I would gladly donate to the “free the drains” fund.
-FP
The statement “If I can’t get this problem fixed there will be no Super Bowl party at my house this year.” is wrong, it should say if I DON’T. 😉
Cuz most everything CAN be fixed, it is just a matter of spending the money.
@Steve: The problem is large (serious) enough from keeping me from cooking and doing laundry.
Bah! You’re looking at it wrong: Your Super Bowl Party can be a “help Paulie pay for his plumbing” party. Faced with the option of pitching in a buck or two each to actually have a party or to go without, I bet none of us would mind the former option! 🙂
“@Steve: The problem is large (serious) enough from keeping me from cooking and doing laundry.”
Dude, it’s just that hairball you hacked up after the Christmas Crawl blockin’ the kitchen pipe…. . Even though my basement large enough, my lack of a large booze filled bar, no shag carpet and 27 inch CRT TV means they won’t be knockin’ on my door to have the party! Fix it ASAP!
/real trouble is when you flush and it doesn’t go anywhere….
The problem is if it’s not fixed *before* the party then I don’t want anyone in the house. I won’t be able to handle that added stress.
One word “port-o-potty”
Well good, see now you have a dead line…that seems to be when I finally get something done around my place.
Port-a-potty won’t solve the lack of a kitchen sink. More like “no food” and “no use of anything that needs to be washed.”