(Reading time: 2 – 4 minutes)

As you know,* it’s been raining cats-n-dogs around the San Francisco Bay area last few days.

Makes for good working-on-the-computer weather.

After pounding on blog posts all morning, roundabout noon Wed (20 Jan 2010), I’m getting hungry. I could stay in and create some dude food, got plenty of raw materials for that, but I decide to step out to the grocery store instead.

Down the stairs and splash, I step out into the huge puddle resulting every time we get a big rain. The drain is clogged and the water pools 4 to 5 inches deep at the base of my stairs.

Nice!

Around the corner, Jerry the Plumber is parked in the drive. Jerry’s out at the curb in front, rooting out the drain. After all these years, Esteemed Landlord is Doing Something About It.

I watch Jerry work. The rooter is grinding away in the drain: “grrr grrr grrr grrr.”

It’s pretty cool. All you dudes know what I mean.

Plumbing.

I like it. You show up, you do your work, you’re done. Drains drain, toilets flush, faucets flow, how satisfying.

Unlike anything to do with blogs. Blogs are never done. There’s always more to do: more articles, more linking, more security, more plugins, more design, more More MORE! Even when you think you’re done, there’s some bloodthirsty parasite or lurking predator attempting to crack your blog to use for a phishing scam, serve pr0n or something equally reprehensible.

I had a sudden flash of envy: I want to do something that gets done. At least once this year.

So I stand there and watch Jerry work. The little rooter isn’t doing it. Miles of palm root emerges, but it’s not enough.

Fine. Switch to the big rooter. Grind away with that for a while.

Nothing.

Change bits on the big rooter head.

Grrr grrr grrr grrr grrr.

Still more nothing.

I left for the store at this point, confident that as soon as I pulled away, Jerry would be drenched as a half acre foot of water (I’m being hyperbolic. A little.) comes spurting out the cleared drain.

That’s always how these things turn out, right? Nothing happens until you aren’t looking, then you miss everything.

Jerry is still at it when I get back. The “pond” hasn’t dropped an inch. He’s changed bits again, still kneeling in front of the stupid drain, still feeding the stupid rooter into the hole. He says the drain is probably broken and it won’t clear, it will have to be dug up. Looks like the next storm is about to blow in. Scratch that, the squall just hit; it’s really pouring out there.

Grrrr grrrr grrrr grrrrr.

And I’m back on couch, kicking back with some hot tea and (very) dark chocolate, knocking out articles and writing you this little story.

It’s hours later. Jerry never succeeded in rooting the drain. Last I saw, he had a sump pump running, and it’s just pouring again. Bummer.

(I find out a few days later the yard will have to be ripped up and the drain replaced.)

So, how’s your day going in Blogistan?

*San Francisco Bay being the center of the Universe after all.