Copyedits, Plumbing, and Scorpions

It’s been a week in the Mihalik household and it’s only Wednesday. In the best news, I turned in copyedits for Hunt the Stars yesterday, which means it’s continuing to inch ever closer to becoming a real book. To that point, I saw a sample of the interior layout this morning, and it’s looking really good! As a hint, let me just say that I will still need my metallic Sharpies for signings. :)

In less great news, last week our kitchen sink decided that it was done being a sink and wanted to try life as a tiny pool filled with icky drain water. Despite our best efforts (and a 25′ plumbing snake), we were unable to fix it over the weekend, so we called in the pros.

Kind of.

Our normal plumber was busy, but he recommended another company. They were… adequate…ish.

Yesterday, the plumber came out and started working, but after an hour or so, he decided that he needed a longer snake, which he didn’t have, so he’d have to come back.

So today he arrives with his snake and an extension he can hook on to make it longer. So far, so good. He runs 65′ of snake into the pipe, which is probably only 30′ from the sewer clean-out opening, but it doesn’t make it through. So he attaches the next part and keeps going.

Finally, we see the snake in the clean-out, but it doesn’t really look like it has anything on it, and water still isn’t draining. So the plumber decides to pull it back through with a bigger head on it. Still seems reasonable.

Only, he somehow manages to disconnect the two lines, so one gets stuck in the pipe without either end attached or accessible.

The plumber puts in a panicked call to his boss, they confer for a while, and he finally manages to fish it out. But then he’s spooked and refuses to try again, so he puts everything under the sink back together and tries running water.

It drains!

He doesn’t know how or why, but he charges us and skips off on his merry way. We let him go and considered it a sunk cost. Hopefully the drain will continue to work, but if not, we’re hiring someone else. 🤷🏻‍♀️

And, finally, to add insult to injury this week, while I was cooking bacon last night, a scorpion crawled out of the vent hood and fell onto the stovetop. By the time I safely moved the pan without dumping lava-hot grease everywhere, the scorpion had disappeared.

And lest you think I imagined the whole thing, it was Mr. M who pointed it out in the first place. He erroneously claimed it was a lizard, which is why I was trying to move the pan away to save its life. When we both saw Mr. Scorpion chilling on the stove, we switched from rescue to murder and started scrambling for appropriate murder equipment, but the scorpion had vanished.

Today, the scorpion is still missing. I’ve named him Phil and I hope to never see him again.

So that’s how my week is going. 😅 How about you?

13 thoughts on “Copyedits, Plumbing, and Scorpions”

  1. So in February a new water heater was installed. The city contacted me twice in June since the company had yet to pull the permit and get it inspected. After calling them almost every day for a week and a half, the correct permit was pulled. Today the inspector came while I was out. The inspector will be back tomorrow. Hopefully that will be the end of it.

  2. You need to get tips on scorpion murder from Ilona Andrews. . . They seem to have mastered a successful technique that I think involved a shoe.

  3. Aha I have Cathy PLUS Jessie.. in the last two weeks we have gotten a new hot water heater installed, attempted to fix our kitchen drain ourselves, and then had to call a plumber on it. In addition to a garage door opener that has been broken for over a month because the crew we called to give a bid on fixing refused to do so until we cut away the drywall surrounding the track so they could see it better. And somehow despite having three people in the house who don’t have neck and arm issues, this has not yet happened. I would be the person with neck and arm issues, otherwise the drywall would be gone by now…

    No scorpions though, we don’t get those a lot in San Francisco. Say hi to Phil for me!

  4. This kind of experience can scar one for life. I spent a year-ish in Arizona decades ago and I still bang out my shoes before I put them on!

    1. Luckily, our scorpions aren’t too dangerous, unlike the ones in Arizona. I’ve yet to be stung (:knocks wood:), but I’ve heard it’s like a bee sting. I still shake out my shoes, though, from growing up with an excess of spiders. :)

  5. Phil interrupted the cooking of BACON?? How rude! I hope you saved the bacon at least, although I’m sorry the murder attempts were unsuccessful.
    Aaaagh, what a week! Here’s hoping today gives you a nice easy entry into the weekend. :)

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