When Sh*t Does NOT Roll Downhill

Caution: If you have a weak stomach, you may want to pass on this post…

I used to think that the saying: “Sh*t rolls downhill” was true in real life, just like it was in the corporate world.

I was wrong.

Because we live up in the mountains, I assumed our sh*t would roll downhill. Given that we live near the top of a mountain, and the law of gravity was on our side, I thought it was safe to flush the toilet.

Here I go, learning something newagain.  I only pass along this knowledge  to you, dear readers, so you are not taken by surprise like I was. Graphic images will not be used (like I had a camera at the time – Ha!)

OK. New homes have all the latest fixtures, they get inspected, during construction, to make sure they conform to all the current building, energy and environmental codes.  Even toilets have to “be up to code”  these days.  Gone are the normal commodes with nice round seats. Say hello to the larger bullet shaped toilets. These are the new environment-friendly and up-to-code potty’s, that don’t use much water.

I will agree that they do not use much water. But, they need to.

The long bullet shape means (pardon my potty talk), that you are now pooping on porcelain and not into water.  AND… because the “low-water flow” flush system cannot dislodge a turd from a level porcelain surface… it just stays there. I repeat – it just stays there. Looking at you. Probably thinking “neener-neener”.

Now, what do you do?

Another flush pushes the turd slightly, and it now creeps slowly toward the hole. When the flush finishes, there is now a turd partway down, plugging up the works, so the 3rd flush almost over-flows turdy water on the floor. You dare not flush again.

So, you stand there stunned, waiting for the water to recede, hoping against hope that the offending turd will disappear (roll downhill) and another flush will get you that sparkling water you started with. Well, you can hope all you want, but it ain’t gonna happen that way.

That 3rd flush takes 12 minutes to trickle down, and the bullet bowl now has a chunky brown lining, and no water.

Lovely.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it has come down to the Turd vs. You.  The 4th flush, rapidly accompanied by plunger-humping the toilet bowl, does not go well. The plunger is better at sucking up water than forcing it down the tiny hole. Now you have a whole bowl full of you-know-what AND a poopy plunger to match.

You realize that you are going to have to plunger-hump this stupid bowl  while it’s full of you-know-what, and you are NOT happy. This activity was not on your to-do list for the day. Determined to prevail over this situation (and to hide this embarrassment from your spouse who is due home any minute now), you continue on with this crappy (pun intended) job.

You start plunging very gently, very carefully. The last thing you need is to splash you-know-what all over yourself because that might send you over the edge. After a dozen plunges you figure out that you need to plunge backwards; at a 30 degree angle towards you, instead of away from you, because the bullet bowl’s stupid hole is backwards.

Progress is in the making, and the poop-water in the bowl goes down at last. The 5th flush (along with more backward plunging) goes well, and the 6th flush is accomplished, un-assisted, like the whole thing never happened.

Whew! You vow to never do that again. Then it hits you that all you did was poop, into your very own toilet.  By definition, a toilet is the place for you to do what you did, and the toilet is supposed to take care of whatever you do, in an efficient way.

At least they used to, before they were brought up to code.  😦

10 Things I’ve Learned Since Moving To The Mountains

  1. Food takes longer to cook at high elevations.
  2. Propane stoves cook hotter than gas stoves.
  3. And no, this does not even things out.
  4. You can’t cook pinto beans in a crock pot here – they will not soften, no matter how many days you keep them in there.
  5. Contrary to popular belief  (OK –mine), bears do not meditate in the woods.
  6. Just because you live surrounded by trees and forest land doesn’t mean you’ve seen the last of 100+ degree temperatures OR humidity.
  7. There are no street lights on mountain roads.
  8. There are trillions of night insects – and they are freakishly noisy.
  9. The Sierra Mountain dirt has ore in it, and it’s penetrating rust color does not wash out all the way.
  10. If you want the shelves stocked and your senior discount at the one and only market in town, you have to shop on Wednesdays.

Never Let A Man Pick Out Your Vacuum Cleaner-Part 2

When I calmed down about Big Yellow, it occurred to me that the user manual might help.  I’m a technician for heaven’s sake, maybe I can fix this evil thing.

Sure enough, there were suggestions for what to do if the vacuum is hard to push. Check the  brush roller, and belt for signs of wear. Replace the worn parts.

All-righty then…

In order to do this, one has to remove the entire bottom plate of said vacuum. I find my Phillips screw driver, and remove the screws holding the plate on. When I remove the plate, a bunch of dusty dirt poofs out all over me and the floor.  And there was this black sooty looking crap everywhere. How about that? Men had been vacuuming my house! The evidence was right in my face. Literally.

The sooty crap was coming off the worn and disintegrating belt. I had a another belt in the cupboard. After attaching  the new belt, and syncing it with the roller (which looked pretty worn also), I cleaned up the bottom plate and screwed it back on.

Wah-Lah!!

The test drive was disappointing. Big Yellow seemed a teeny bit easier to push, but he still was too much for me. I got on-line and ordered a replacement belt and a new roller. When it arrives I will install it and then we will see if Big Yellow can stay here or not.

Good grief! I have taken apart a machine, fixed one thing and ordered parts for it. Man  kind of stuff.  Have I begun to turn into a man?   [Hubby is not going to like this at all…]

Oh wait! – I just remembered that I read the manual while  fixing Big Yellow, therefore, I am nowhere near becoming a man.

Whew!!