Dan Antion

The Uphill Portion – #1LinerWeds

The sidewalk might be “open” but I’m not going very far.
There’s that early morning sunshine I was getting used to a month ago.

I have made the climb to “hump day” but I haven’t yet cleared the hump. It’s been an interesting mix, and you would think I would have collected a few one-liners. Let’s see where we can look.

I took Monday afternoon off. I was hoping to wrap-up a minor spring chore that was rained out on Sunday, removing the snow-stakes from our yard. For those of you in the lower states and otherwise comfy climes, those are the sticks we pound in the ground in November to mark the edge of the driveway, sidewalk, garden and all the little bushes I don’t want to gobble-up with the snow blower. Unfortunately, it was cold Monday, so I just veg’d on the couch with Maddie.

Tuesday morning found me once again dealing with complaints over the lack of ice in the office. One of these days I’m just going to shut off the water and put up a sign that says: “No Ice!” How hard is it to close the refrigerator door? Yes, there are two doors, and yes, you have to open both before you can open a drawer, and lots of warm moist air enters. But it’s not an ice cream stand. There’s no reason to open the doors and ponder. In the spirit of succession planning, I trained someone else in the office how top open the ice bin and melt everything with a hair drier. There were one-liners associated with this exercise, but The Editor wouldn’t want me publishing them.

And, my boss’s hot water heater died. He’s the CEO, he gets his own bathroom. I’m still responsible for the office admin budget, so replacing (hiring someone to replace) that hot water heater is also my responsibility. It’s a poor plumbing design which was only made worse by the fact that they installed the water heater in the ceiling.

Seriously, it’s like someone said: “how can we make this harder for future plumbers?” That might have worked, as a one-liner, but I didn’t want this to be about pipes and shutoff valves.

My boss agreed to work from home for the morning. The plumbers arrived on time. The old water heater came out without a hitch, but the new water heater didn’t fit. The water heater was exchanged for a smaller unit and work resumed. I stopped in to check on the progress about 10 minutes before my boss was expected to show up. The lead plumber (the one standing on the floor) said they were just finishing. The younger, more flexible plumber was crawling down from the ceiling space. As he was putting the ceiling tiles back in place, he winced. Dust and pieces of the last tile had fallen on him:

“Ouch!”

“You get a face full?”

“Yeah, a big piece went right in my eye.”

“Well, get down, you big baby, we’re late for lunch.”

Nothing like support from your coworkers to make the job easier.

This post is part of Linda G. Hill’s fun weekly series One-Liner Wednesday. If you have a one-liner, I’d encourage you to join in on the fun. You can follow this link to participate and to see the one-liners from the other participants. With any luck, the downhill portion of this week will be easy on all of us.

Looking south from Great River Park onto a slightly flooded Connecticut River.
I don’t think this means the sidewalk is open.
Recent pictures from the park have that broken branch on the shoreline.
Great River Park is flooded but still open.
It’s getting lighter in the morning (again)
Great (my GPS) is a little less than accurate here. I am several car lengths away from the edge of the parking lot.
The barely rising sun is giving Hartford an eerie glow.
Looking up from Great River Park at the building at the top of the levee and the moon.
The next week or so will be my second opportunity to watch the sunrise on my way to work.
If you look left down the power line from the crescent moon, you can see one of the planets (either Mercury or Venus, I’m not sure).
That’s where the water heater has to go.
Leave the door open – warm air enters – moisture forms frost – frost blocks ice – people complain.
My apprentice ice-melter is doing a great job melting the glacier in the fridge.
I would not want to tyr to install a hot water heater up there.
There’s that early morning sunshine I was getting used to a month ago.

78 comments

  2. I’m glad to see that you are no longer commuting in the dark. I especially liked the final photo. As for water heaters in the ceiling, it just means that literally it all runs downhill–and, yes, I am referring only to the hot water. :)

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    • Thanks Mike. It is good to see the sunrise again. we’ve been here 15 years, The first water heater started leaking all over the office. When we replaced that, we added a drain pain and shutoff switches and control valves. This one didn’t do much damage, but the addition of the pan made it harder for them to install it. Ad yes, we have flooded this floor and parts of the two below us.

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    • I’m glad I could bring some laughter to your morning. When I heard the guy say that, I had to laugh. I’ve worked in situations like that. “Yeah, yeah, let’s get some lunch.”

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  5. I remember overhearing a conversation between a plumber and his helper when they were repairing the faucet to our shower in the bathroom. The helper said, “What if I break it?” That got me worried. I wasn’t reassured when the plumber said, “Don’t break it.” As it turned out, he didn’t break it. Whatever it was.

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  6. You big baby…ha! I wonder if the younger plumber ended up at his doctor’s office…after he had lunch, of course.

    A water heater in the ceiling? Either it was an evil joke by the plumber who originally installed or he was drunk. Either way, that was the worst idea ever.

    I bet you will be sooooo very happy to not listen to the ice complaints after you’ve retired. Have a wonderful Wednesday and, yes, it’s getting lighter out in the morning. I’ve been watching the sun rise again!

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    • They probably had another job after lunch. My guess is the guy stopped at an urgent care on his way home, once his eye was swollen shut. But, yes, putting it in the ceiling was the worst idea ever.

      I can’t wait for the day I get out from under the ice-maker. It seems to haunt me. I can’t believe it keeps following me from fridge to fridge.

      Enjoy the sunrise on your way up and over the hump.

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    • No one can figure out why they put it there. We moved into this place in 2004 and part of the deal was “executive washroom” so we didn’t ask about the details. The first time it broke, it soaked my boss’s office. It would have cost too much to move it, but we added a drain pan and shutoff switches.

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  8. Ahh, those kind of refrigerator users, I know them well. Open the fridge door, take item, use item, maybe have a chat with a colleague (or, in my case, a family member), then finally – finally – put item back in the fridge and close the door. At long last. I just wonder which circle of hell is reserved for them? (With apologies to my better half, but she’s not likely to read this, but – for the love of all that’s good, what’s wrong with these people?)

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    • Yes! Those people. The same people who take the last paper towel and don’t replace the roll, toast poppy seed bagels and never clean the toaster, leave crumbs all over the counter and food, in the sink – NEXT TO BUT NOT IN the disposal – yes, those people,

      Thanks for your support!

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  10. I must admit I’ve never heard of a hot water heater in the ceiling. I’m thinking – on demand, much smaller and lighter. :-) Having been in charge of the Facilities Department for a very large corporation that ran 24/7, I had to chuckle at these issues. Ah, retirement – it’s a good thing. :-)

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    • Thanks Judy. I have no idea why someone thought that would be a good idea. There are so many places to put it, not to mention the main hot water line for the floor only being 30 feet away. At least after I retire, the bad plumbing decisions I have to deal with will be the ones I had at some point. Except for one, our heat flows the wrong way, but it’s been like that since we moved in.

      In so many ways, this place is small enough that we should never have issues like this.

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    • Thanks Gwen. These guys had the same reaction when they got here. No one seems to know who decided to put it there, but no one is willing to pay to move it.

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  12. LOL – that’s quite the beginning to a week. I agree with Gwen, a water heater in the ceiling!? I do appreciate that you took photos to document your trials – they add to the LOL factor, that’s for sure! Happy Wednesday to you!

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    • Thanks Laurie. Guys are not known for their compassion toward other guys. I’ve worked on construction sites, and you had to really be hurt to get some sympathy – and you better not do it just before lunch or quitting time.

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  17. He’s the CEO, he gets his own bathroom.

    Talk about a GREAT campaign issue!

    Bathroom justice!

    No longer will only CEO’s and old retired guys get their own bathrooms. A bathroom for everyone!!!

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  18. Office refrigerators… another thing I don’t miss at all since I’ve retired. So, about that water heater in the executive bathroom… is it really necessary? Does he have a shower in there? It’s certainly not needed in the toilet and does he need hot water to wash his hands?

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    • It was here when they built the place, we didn’t specify it. It also supplies hot water to kitchen sink and dishwasher. Both rooms could have easily been connected to the building hot water (we don’t pay for water or electricity).

      Anyway, it’s the last time I’ll see that happen. The fridge and I will continue to do battle 🙁

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  20. I’m sorry about the trying times (and ignorant folk). Plumbing is a beast. While we got the leaking pipe replaced, the giy seems to think I don’t need to do laundry and we don’t care about having no ceiling over the laundry space. It’s the worst to have to eat garbage from impatient people all day and not get anything I need in any kind of timely manner in my own life. Leave the sticks till you’re ready. Just don’t fall on one. 😱

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  21. Dan, I hope the other side of the midweek hump is a smooth coast for you.
    Private bathroom = pampered boss. Applesauce!
    I’m glad you got to just veg with Maddie on Monday. That sounds like a good day. Hugs on the wing.

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  22. Waking up to freezing water was always a treat in our 1940 home in CO. It meant trudging through stored stuff in basement, laying on the floor and relighting the wind blown out pilot light. And it took a while to heat up that cold water! It was easier just to take a cold shower before work!

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  23. Dang. I don’t have any coworkers who would say that. Most of mine would be more like, “Let me see it! Can you blink it out? I’ll get a cold rag!” I am not fit to plumb, obvs.
    We have two bathrooms at work. One is very large and handicap accessible and has a taller potty. We consider that HIS bathroom. As far as I know, SHE sometimes blow dries her hair in there, but otherwise only HE and guests use it. The other bathroom is small like a powder room with a smaller potty and we consider it the ladies room and we will literally wait to use it even though the big one is open, even though HE isn’t in the building. I dunno, it’s a thing we all share, like parking — we all park in our habitually self-designated spots in the back and HE’s the only one who sometimes parks in the front. It’s not … ordained or even suggested, it’s just like that.
    We don’t have ice at work. I’m not sure anyone cares.
    We have hot water, but we don’t much use it.
    I have become the server clicker and it makes me nervous. I don’t understand how I got the job, but at least now I know how to click it. It costs money to pay the guy to come fix it if we don’t click it and I’m already there…
    I sure hope you get over your hump with a smile and enough energy to enjoy the weekend coming :)

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    • “we all park in our habitually self-designated spots” We do that, and we get mad when a stranger takes our spot. It’s funny how people settle into habits and roles and then they become like rules. Also funny how people resist actual rules like someone is stealing our children.

      Thursday is shaping up to be a much better day than Mon-Tue-Wed. It’s downhill from here.

      I hope your ride down is a good one.

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  24. I’m grateful for the explanation since snow-stakes is definitely a term I’m not familiar with. Yesterday we had flurries for about 90 minutes here — does that win for lates snowfall of the year overall?

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    • So far, you have us beat. We’ve had cold rain, but no snow yet in April. Snow stakes are a big deal job here, because, once the ground freezes, you can’t put them in. Then, in the spring, you find what’s left of the bush you planted in September in the middle of the yard. Thanks for the comment, Laura.

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  25. wow, you have a CEO who can’t take care of his own bathroom? Pretty sad. Don’t react to this, you never know who’s looking on your blog. You’re right, people south from where you live, wouldn’t think of marking areas the snowblower should not come, haha:)

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    • Ha ha – I think he’d be OK. The bathroom came in the “package” offered by the building, it wasn’t a requirement (and he wasn’t the CEO back then) so I don’t hold it against him. It’s a common perk, which makes the separate hot water heater even weirder. IT would have been much easier to connect it to the hot water supplying the building bathrooms.

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  26. Hi Dan – marking the areas out in advance of the snow makes sense … though not sure I’d thought about it before. I’ve noticed the States has a fair amount of flooding. Crumbs – it’s one of the reasons to change jobs … people! But you’ve got the best option … retirement and let everyone else get on with it. Lovely photos of early Spring and its prospects of a warmer time ahead – cheers Hilary

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    • Thanks Hilary. Snow stakes are essential here, unless you want to do some damage. I left the out one year. While I was traveling, we had a guy come in and clear the driveway after a heavy snow. He skipped about 10 feet, because he didn’t know where the grass started. My big fear is running into my wife’s veggie garden. There’s so much organic material in the soil, it doesn’t really freeze. I worry about getting in there and sinking in the soft dirt.

      At least at home, I know who I’m cleaning up after (usually me).

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  28. What a week, Dan. I loved the coworker’s “big baby” words. We need more of those sprinkled most everywhere. Your commute and watching the sunrise is a joy. Those moments get us through tough days. Thanks, Dan.

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    • I was taught the same way, Glynis, just like I was taught to clean up after myself and replace the paper towel roll if I used the last / next-to-last sheet. What’s wrong with these people? I haven’t got a clue.

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