Day 2808

Maybe the zombie apocalypse has already started. First North Korea threatens to nuke us. Then, Mother Nature actually does nuke us with a Godzilla hurricane, Now, things are starting to get real at home.

I was getting ready to go to bed last night when I heard an ominous cracking sound, followed by what sounded like a rush of water. The supply line to the toilet had burst and high pressure water was spewing everywhere. I tried in vain to close a shut off valve, but it had rusted and was frozen. By the time I found the key to the water main and went outside to shut off the water to the house, the bathroom, hallway, and part of the bedroom were completely flooded.

To make matters worse Janet had to have a colonoscopy today and was right in the middle of colonoscopy prep when the pipe ruptured. If you've ever had a colonoscopy, you'll know that the night before is not the best time to be without running water or working toilets. I was able to use water being collected by the dehumidifier to flush the toilet a few times and then we resorted to using the bottled water we had around the house.

It's amazing we didn't get electrocuted. Several plug strips that were sitting on the floor got covered with water and shorted out. After I got the water shut off, I unplugged everything with gloves on. If I didn't have the wet/dry vacuum nearby, I'd probably still be mopping up water. About 2 AM, things were reasonably dry again and I went to bed.

I called my plumber as soon as their office opened this morning and was told that they were completely booked up until next Tuesday. This was not good. I took Janet to the hospital for her procedure and then went looking for a plumbing supply store, hoping to not use up too much gas in the process. I eventually found exactly what I needed and was convinced that I could make the repairs myself. I'm not very comfortable sweating copper pipe, so I found supplies that I could use without a torch. Surprisingly, my repairs worked perfectly. I saved at least $150 by not having a plumber come out, not that I could find one anyway.

By the time I got the pipe fixed and restored water to the house, it was time to pick up Janet. Since the morning had been relatively successful, I decided to spend the afternoon looking for gas. I know I told you yesterday that I was going to just wait, but it drives me nuts not to be prepared. When I looked at the Gas Finder website this morning, there were even fewer stations that still had gas than there were yesterday. When I drove to the hospital and back I didn't see a single station that still had gas.

There was only one station within a fifteen mile radius that still claimed to have gas today, so I drove there and got in line. There were sixteen pumps at this station and only two of them were still working. The only thing left was regular gas, so I reluctantly filled my tank with regular. I've never done that before, but I didn't want to run out of gas on a long holiday weekend. On my way home I saw my first gasoline tanker. There were a long line of cars following this tanker and when the tanker eventually pulled in at a Chevron station, all the cars followed. This is madness. There really wasn't a gas shortage in the first place, but we have created one. The tanker trucks usually just top up the tanks at the stations once a week. Now all the tanks in the city are completely empty. It might take a while to get back to normal.

It was an odd day, but I'm happy. We've got running water again and I've got a full tank of gas. What more could you ask for?

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2807

Dallas is out of gas. No, there isn't a fuel shortage. Everyone just panicked and decided to fill their tank at the same time. The gas lines were unreal today. I haven't seen anything like this since the 1970's. I still had plenty of gas in my tank, but eventually succumbed to the panic myself. I figured that if so many people were waiting in long lines for gas, they all must know something I don't. The first line I joined ran out of gas right as I approached the pump. I had waited thirty minutes for nothing. I tried one more time and this time all the station had left when I approached the pump was diesel. I gave up at this point and came home. I don't drive very much and could probably make my remaining gas last three weeks if I had to. If gas still isn't readily available in three weeks, I'll just have to assume that the zombie apocalypse has started. They say that if everyone had continued filling their tanks the way they normally do, there would have been no lines at all today. This was all just a Facebook induced panic. One of our local TV stations kind of stirred the pot last night as well.

Since it wasn't a very auspicious day to be driving around town running errands, I decided to get started on my roof repairs. I didn't get off to a good start. The can of sealer the roofers gave me was way too heavy for me to lift up on the roof. I couldn't even pull the container up with a rope. I made a big mess in the driveway transferring the sticky liquid from the five gallon drum to smaller one gallon paint cans. When I cleaned and prepared the damaged areas, I discovered that the problem was worse than I thought. Water had entered through the bad spots and seeped under the good spots. Large sections of the coating that I thought were OK, just peeled away when I pulled on it. I sealed about a 25 square foot area, but this is just the beginning. I don't think I have enough of the elastomer on hand to complete the repairs. I'm not even sure that the sealer I applied today will work. I called the roofer and asked him to come out again. I think this repair is way beyond my pay grade.

I need to take Janet to Baylor for some more tests tomorrow and was planning on running a few errands on the way home. I don't think I'll be getting in any more gas lines though. If tomorrow is anything like today, you could run out of gas just looking for gas. I'll wait until the tanker trucks return. When gas is available again I bet there won't be any lines at all. Everyone in town already has a full tank.

I dread going up on the roof tomorrow. There is so much more that needs to be done and until my first set of patches have fully dried, I won't know whether they are firmly adhered to the substrate. I've got enough of the elastomer material to make quite a few patches, but I'm afraid that this is just a temporary solution. What I really need is a new roof.

Dash has been very moody this week. He doesn't want to eat at the regular time. He turns up his nose at his regular food. Lately, he's been stealing my place on the bed at night. I wish he understood that life is so much easier when he's a good dog. The problems are minor and usually they get resolved. I'd just like a day without any problems though. That would be nice.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day