Yes, it is true. I have copped out and joined proper society as a workman. It has been just over a week of eight hour days and already I don't see how you people do this. It is tiring and there isn't enough time to watch all the shows on my DVR. Growing up, I studied hard knowing that math and science, writing and literature would get me a good job and provide steady income. I don't know where I went wrong (my mom does though--and tries to constantly tell me), but I have ended up being a grunt in the working world. I help my brother Nathan manage about sixty apartments located throughout the sprawling city of Tacoma.
He actually hired me on for three reasons. The first of which is that he wanted to take a vacation, and needed to have someone be able to answer all his phone calls and throw themselves at every emergency that came along. I actually don't know the other two reasons, but I imagine one has to do with him having used the uterus before me (and leaving it quite the mess). The other is a mystery, but perhaps I'll figure it out.
The scary thing is that he is already on vacation. I really only spent one week learning from him and his over six years of apartment managing expertise before he jumped ship. He left me and Tyson (his other hired help) a laundry list of things to accomplish in his time off, and I was hopeful that we could do them. But, as Murphy once famously pointed out, life hates me.
Just an hour into my first day in charge, I get a phonecall from a tenant complaining of a water leak. Tyson and i visit his apartment and cut a hole around the lighting fixture that water is seeping from (power off, of course!) and see where the leak is coming from. Tyson then proceeds to pound the leaky spot with a broom so I can hear it and search for it in the tenant's room above. The source of the dripping: a broken water heater. Luckily (or is it unluckily?), Nathan had a water heater go out during my first real day on the job the week before, and I knew what to do to replace it.
1) cut power to current water heater
2) turn off cold water valve that fills water heater
3) attach hose to base of water heater where spout is
4) open the emergency release valve and let the water drain through the hose
5) disconnect the copper pipes from the top of the water heater and disconnect wiring
6) put the new heater in, reconnect pipes
7) open the cold water valve to fill up the water heater--be sure to turn on the hot water on a sink or bathtub first to let the air through the line
8) once water heater is full, connect electrical wiring back up and turn the power back on to the heater
Tada! I think this might be the most useful thing I know how to do in all my life. It is crazy that years of schooling and college have taught me a lot about grammar and the universe, but so little things that are useful in an emergency. It is a lot of manual work, but there is satisfaction in knowing how to do it, especially considering everyone has a water heater, and they will all fail someday; but the greatest part is not being afraid of it. Think of it: what is underneath your carpet? And under that? What is on the other side of the drywall? It doesn't have to be an Alice in "Wonder-what-to-do-Land" situation, and I like that.
