In Like a Lamb

Monday started off pretty well but ended with a broken toilet. Way to go, 2010. Way to go.

Mike, the trainer in our company workout facility, remembered my name after more than a year of apathy. That was a good sign first thing in the morning. I ran for a solid 20 minutes, did 50 crunches, then stretched pretty well. I did forget shampoo, but soap works just fine.

Once back to my desk, I got an e-mail with some of the information I'd been seeking for a while. More good news. This is where the wheels start to loosen.

Next e-mail was all about the new feature I missed in my initial research, and now, with only a week and a half until the deadline, I'll have to learn and document it. Two weeks of work in seven days. Bye Bye weekend.

Got a ton of work done anyhow, then stopped at Home Depot to get a new wax ring (couldn't find the one we got a few weeks ago) for the toilet. I had something totally different in mind but still let the plumbing aisle guy convince me otherwise.

First thing back at home, I brought the toilet inside the house to warm up. Called up Zappos to return a pair of shoes I got that didn't fit. That went really well, so I figured that was my precursor to another productive evening. I swear, it's dangerous for me to get optimistic.

I decided to get down to it and cleaned off the old wax from the toilet bowl and the drain cap. I siliconed the shim the Home Depot guy suggested and put it down, then realized the bolts he sold me were way too long. Hoping I could pull it off before the silicone dried, I ran downstairs and started furiously sawing down the bolts. It actually worked, so I put them in, set the shim, and put the wax ring on the toilet.

I flipped the toilet bowl onto the bolts and set it down, but the wax didn't seem to make contact. I knew I needed the bigger wax ring, but I let H.D. guy talk me out of it. At this point, it was after 10 PM, so there was no chance I was getting another ring. I opted to clean my sawing station instead so something would get done. When I pulled out the vacuum, I found the correct wax ring I originally bought a month ago or so. Things were looking up again, right?

This time, the flip worked, the bolts lined up, the wax ring gave some resistance before sitting flush, and I think I got the bolt length right. (There were correct bolts in the original wax ring box, for the record.) At this point, it's just a water connection and three bolts that hold the tank to the bowl - no problem, right?

Well, I hand-tightened two front bolts and started tightening the back bolt when I heard a crack. It was the sound of 2009 reaching into the future (our present) and snatching a possible victory from my hands. Even as I loosened up the bolts again, more cracking happened. Bah. That was that.

Today, no workout. No time. I didn't sleep much last night and there's (hopefully) band practice tonight. I'll be back on the exercise track tomorrow. I might have the toilet fixed tonight. Deadline at work is set for 1/15, after which I might have to decompress a bit.

This is not how I envisioned posts on ACTION CITY. Stay tuned!