Sometimes I pretend to be one. This past weekend, I finally decided to fix our toilet that seems to keep running as the flush chain keeps hanging. Since I had to muck with the toilet, I decided to replace the major components. It isn’t rocket science to do plumbing, but it is harder than it looks. I figured I could replace the parts in 30-45 minutes. I open the directions (after the trip to Home Depot), unscrew some of the stuff and then get to removing the bolts from the tank. The bolts were rusted and wouldn’t budge. 2 hours later after using my Dremel to cut them off (without putting a hole in the tank), I managed to get the bolts off and put the toilet back together. I didn’t see any leaks from what I put back together, but the next day, the only part I didn’t replace started leaking…another trip to Home Depot to get that part. This part only took about 45 minutes to replace instead of the 3.5 hours to get the other parts replaced. However, I cheated and gave up installing the “LeakSentry” feature as the little piece of plastic didn’t want to cooperate.

So, after a few days, my toilet isn’t leaking and it was a job well done (knock on wood).

This experience (I curse plumbing work every time I tackle it), reminds me of a Fraiser episode where Niles is talking to the plumber working on the toilet. In Niles’s “I’m better than you attitude”, he considers the plumber just a hired hand that doesn’t make as much money as he does since he’s a psychiatrist. They are talking about their cars and determine that the plumber had the same BMW that Niles had. Niles inquires as to why he doesn’t have it anymore and the plumber responded that it was too small and he got the larger model. (OK, maybe my synopsis isn’t great, but you get the idea.) I have a new found respect for plumbers and while I might not want to pay whatever rate they charge, it is probably better than me doing a plumbing job myself and doing it wrong.

The image CD I ordered from the marathon showed up today. I’ve put up the pictures for all to enjoy (OK, maybe just me). These images are for personal use only and as such, Action Sports International has granted me permission to put them up here. They have done an amazing job with the pictures and the number of pictures they were able to capture. (There are more pictures, just click on one below to see the rest.)

I’m not sure what to do now that I’ve run a marathon. I spent over 4 months training and that took up a lot of time. Now that I’m not training, what do I do? Get a hobby? Hmmm…I’ve been threatening to get a hobby for awhile now, but I’m a workaholic. Maybe things will change on this attempt; I want to get into model railroads, but it requires space and time; I’m impatient for results (that’s why I write software). I’m thinking that Lego trains might be the way to go as they are easy to put together, easy to customize, and I really like Legos. Now, I just have to commandeer part of our guest room for them.

Today I went back to the cycling class that I haven’t been to since I started training in January. There was a different instructor today who seemed to have a thing for pain. The 1 hour workout made me felt like I haven’t exercised in a year, but then I remembered I ran a marathon last week!

I’ll keep going as well as run a few times a week as exercise is one of the best ways for me to get out of the house and allows me to clear my mind for a short period of time.