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August 28, 2000 |
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I got a phone message today. It was from Nancy. We
had plans for dinner tonight. That's what she was calling about.
Something had come up and she would not be able to make it.
Bummer. I called her and talked to her for a few minutes, wanted
to make sure that it wasn't any bad news and to at least exchange a few
words. Well, as it so happens it gave me a chance to get a couple of
errands done.
As it so happens, I also got e-mail from Dalia today. The message had a fairly wide audience. It was Lucas's new address and phone number… in college. It seems like it was only weeks ago when we both vowed to make time to see each other again before he went to college, and now he's gone.
I feel like a fool. I feel like somehow I have failed him. I know that we were both busy, but surely we could've made the time to see each other. Maybe if I had insisted, or if I had made the time to drive down to Olympia to see him. I have to remind myself that he's no longer a kid the way I remember him. He's a young adult and he's as much to blame for our lapse in memory as I am. It doesn't make me feel much better though.
I'll resort to exchanging e-mail with him for now, maybe we can develop a different kind of relationship now. Maybe he will see me less like the grownup and role model he's grown so accustomed to and start to see me more like the friend that I aspire to be. There's part of me who understands that he needed more of the former, but still I look forward to the day I can finally tell him about my tattoo, piercing, etc. There's just a part of all this that feels dishonest.
As for the errands that I had to run, I went to Eagle hardware. There was really only one task at hand, though it probably required several items. You see… I have one of those funky refrigerators that have water and ice through the door. Years ago, shortly after I had moved into my place my refrigerator broke down. Although it was certainly an expense that I hadn't planned for, I welcomed the idea of getting a new refrigerator. The old one had neither water nor ice, and it was this unsightly vomit-like yellow color (more commonly known as almond). I welcomed the chance to upgrade. I went out and picked out a black refrigerator with water and ice through the door; I even had it delivered on my birthday. No Joke!
I came to find that there was indeed a water line running behind the refrigerator and I would easily be able to tap it for water. I had gone through the trouble of hooking up the water line and even bought a couple of tools to do it. What I didn't count on was the water being filthy. [Sigh]
I suppose I'm strange when it comes to solving problems. I suppose maybe it is part of being an engineer. Life is simply a collection of problems to solve. Naturally, I pace myself, and it took years for the problem with the water to bother me. Oh, and for the record, it just looked like dirt brown, and it isn't always brown. No big deal really. The one problem is that my particular refrigerator had a reservoir to keep the water cold, and when the dirty water sits in there the dirt particles settle on the bottom and then the water is consistently brown.
Oh, and I have drunk that water before, and never gotten sick from drinking it. In fact, I'm one of the healthiest people I know.
Where was I? Oh yes… the brown water was bugging me so I decided to get a water filter for my refrigerator. From the few water filters I had seen, they typically take up a fair amount of room; room which I didn't have behind my refrigerator. I was expecting some sort of monumental undertaking involving setting up the filter in a remote location (like in a cabinet) and running a water line to the refrigerator. I suppose that's why I had been putting it off.
Once I was at Eagle hardware and spoke to one of the folks that worked there. I came to find that someone has made an inline water filter specifically for this purpose; in fact, they had a number of models to choose from. After talking to the man for a few more minutes; he set me up with all the little connectors and hoses that I needed… except for seal tape, which I had from a prior plumbing mishap.
I decided to pick up dinner as I was leaving Eagle hardware. I contemplated the choices and decided to get KFC. Why? I don't know, I just felt like chicken. [Don't twist that, you pervert…] There are two KFC's that I know about and one was significantly closer than the other, which was incidentally close to Pam's new place. I drove to that one and went through the drive-through.
I called Pam from my car. I figured I could stop by and give her a kiss, but she wasn't home. [Sigh]
At this point, you're probably wondering how filthy can my drinking
water really be? Well, why don't you take a quick look. Granted,
all of this was simply dirt that had become lodged in the reservoir, but
still you get the picture.
I sat down and watched some television and ate dinner before starting on the refrigerator. There wasn't anything compelling that pulled me to the idiot box tonight, so I started my plumbing work shortly after dinner.
Installing the filter was a piece of cake. The task literally took less than ten minutes. The next problem was the already filthy water that was sitting inside my refrigerator. This reservoir in question probably holds about a quart of water and it is bolted to the inside of the refrigerator. To dislodge all the dirt particles I had to unbolt this plastic piece and rotate it as the dirt slowly comes loose. The whole process took about an hour. I also had to empty the brown ice cubes that sat in the tray. I wish I could be making this up.
All in all, the operation was a success, and now I have water that I know is clean. [Woo Hoo!] In retrospect, why did I wait so long? I think I'll have a glass of water.
August 28, 2000