OSTWTW

So, as I started to tell you in an earlier post...

Last Wednesday, I was all settled in to relax a little after work, when for some odd reason I thought I should check on laundry (maybe because G-man was whining about running low on compression shorts). So I head to the basement laundry room, not really watching where I was going, and stepped in a huge puddle of water - only it wasn't just a puddle. I had an inch of water covering most of the basement floor. OSTWTW was my first thought. That's "Oh shit The Water Tank Went" in case you were wondering how I think. And right I was - as usual. Water was still pouring out of it - as fast as it was flowing into it....

I tried to shut of the water intake valve, but it would not budge. Time for G-man. Apparently I forgot the lefty-loosey righty-tighty rule cuz it turned off pretty easily for G-man.

Then time for a trip to the local home improvement store. Of course, by then it was near closing time and there was noone who knew anything (at least about water tanks) working in the appliance department. So I picked out a tank all by myself. I picked one that was just a few dollars more than the installation fee because I could not bring myself to pay more to get something installed than I paid for the something...turns out, the posted installation fee did not include the $85 local permit - but I decided to settle...pride only goes so far when you are cheap and or broke.

Then I realized I only had enough credit on my consumer credit card to pay for the tank...uh oh...there is no way I can install this thing myself. So I begged...more credit please...

"...sure, we will double your credit and give you 12 months same as cash 'cuz we want you to keep shopping here and we can tell that you would totally screw up the install and then claim our product was bad....And we can deliver tomorrow morning...."

But I do not WANT you to deliver tomorrow morning. I have an all day training class at work that was originally scheduled for a day I took as vacation and I begged them to reschedule, so I NEED you to deliver it Friday, ok?

"Sure, Friday it is, we will call you to set up a time..."

Sure enough, Thursday morning, I am in class and I get an interrupting call from local home improvement's contracted plumber...

"I have your water tank and am ready to install it...it says here you can wait til Friday, but I can install today if you want - I can be there in a few mins..."

Well, ain't that nice, 'cuz I cannot be there today- I am in a class all day, remember? And I have plans with my daughter tonight, which is why I said I NEED, not WANT, you to deliver Friday.

"Well, if you're sure you do not want it today..."

I wanted it last night, and I want it today, but I CANNOT have everything I want, OK?

OK, so by the time I am out of class and been to another two hour meeting, I am ready to relax with CareBear and KB. I head down to Kent to pick them up and we head to the Akron Art Museum which is only open late on Thursdays, which is why I did not reschedule this event to get the water tank installed....in case you were wondering...but I digress....



Friday morning I am busy cleaning up the mess in the basement...damn, the water did not dry up on its own...oh, maybe because the tank is still leaking; seems I missed a valve...not that an inch of water covering the floor would have dried up on its own anyway...thank goodness my condo fees pay the water bill.


About 8:30 am I get a call from the contracted plumber, informing me that he will be there in a couple hours with my tank. He then proceeded to ask me all kinds of questions about my current tank, like size, what kind of intake valve (apparently one that does not work too well), blah, blah, blah. To which I not so politely responded..."hell if I know, come and see for yourself; if I knew all that stuff, I could probably install it myself, probably being the key word there...."


So two hours and a fairly dry basement later, the plumber makes his entrance. He tells me I can just stay out of the way - he will handle things (since I know nothing anyway). He does tell me that I need some additional hardware (a.k.a. a new valve) that will cost me a slight (-ly phenomenal) fee.

As I watch from afar, he takes out the old tank, brings in some hoses, pipes, misc hardware, and finally, the new tank. About 90 minutes into the the job, I hear "oh, shit" coming from the basement. And then I notice that my computer has switched to battery back up - as has the cable box and all the clocks. Well, ok, I exaggerate, the clocks would have swicthed had I installed the 9-V battery, but those things are expensive. Besides, my phone has an alarm...

Plumber man (who by the way does not have the usual plumber crack showing - actually he is a decent looking plumber, but I digress, again) non-chalantly comes upstatirs and tells me...

I am finished with the install and it went well. I just need you to sign a couple of things and I will be on my way. By the way, do you have another main fuse box around here somewhere because you may need to flip the breaker to get your power back..."

Say what? You are going to just leave after you knocked out my power?

Well, I did everything right and I cannot help it that when I turned the hot water tank on your power went out. I am not an electrician. But you probably should call one...

Ah - why don't you call one?

Because that is not part of my job...Call the store that I contract for and they will tell you what to do....

Ah...why don't you call the store?

"OK...can I use your phone?...Yeah, I am at the customer and blah, blah, blah, yeah that's what I told her....You need to call an electrician. We don't do that stuff...."

Well, I called the electric company instead and reported a power outage...funny, I was the only one in the area with an outage....

And now I know that there is a main breaker box on the outside of my condo....right in plain sight of any worthy plumber....

Yeah, I'm a girl and I know nothing (unlike most girls)...that is why I hire professionals...or try to anyway...