So, as you can see, a fairly eventful evening.
Caffeeeeeine. Must... have... caffeeeeeeine...
Since my mind is on the subject, perhaps it's time to relate the other major water-on-rug-related story.
Set the 'Wayback Machine' for 1995. Or was it 1994. Er, anyway, college. On the 0th floor of the dormitory, below ground level. My colleagues and I had settled in for a quiet evening of contemplation of our studies, as a spring storm lashed our dorm with a furious downpour. Little known to any of us, a problem was developing.
At the end of the hallway, outside the building, there was a set of concrete steps, with walls on either side, attached to the building. This was a fire escape, but the doors were large glass panes, not particularly well sealed. But well enough to keep out the storm. Water, meanwhile, flowed down the steps (keep in mind, we were below ground level), and into a large drain set in the middle of the last, over-sized step before you reached the doors. All was right with the world. Except that leafy crud had clogged up this necessary drain.
Busy in our rooms, none of us noticed as the water level in this natural container began to rise. With concrete on three sides, and the drain plugged, there was only one direction for the water flowing into this little pocket to go, namely, through the bad seal on the fire escape doors. But not at a rate fast enough to keep the water level from rising outside.
We are awakened from our reverie by a horrified "Aiiee!", and, scurrying out of our rooms, we notice several things amiss. 1) Water is in our hallway, and there's rather a lot of it. 2) Those glass fire escape doors show a startling amount of brackish water backed up. Nearly five feet of it, in fact. Water gleefully spurts through the bottom and middle of the double-doors, in a most distressing manner.
Hijinks ensue. I thank glorious fate that my room is far enough down the hallway that the water hasn't reached it yet. People with rooms next to the fire escape now have several inches of water to deal with. In the midst of sheer chaos, someone retains enough coherence to wade out into the water and un-plug the drain. Still, we all emerge somewhat water-logged and quite disturbed by that image of water against the fire doors. That must have been a substantial amount of pressure - it's a good thing those doors opened outwards...
Although the image of the doors bursting inwards, movie-like, as a solid wall of water roars down the hallway is a delicious one to contemplate, it would not have been quite as entertaining to be on the receiving end.
Ah, well. It's for situations like this that we invented the wet-vac.
Next episode: The Muffin-Files.
Rant 'o the day contains no additives, preservatives or alien spores of any kind. Use only as directed. Do not expose to direct sunlight. Do not fold, spindle, multilate or remove identifying tags. Handle with care. Contains less than 3% milk fat by weight, not by volume. Certified 'Syndicate Approved'. Squeeze the lemon. Remember, kids, only users lose drugs.
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