Oh no! A Backhoe!

A babbling brook snapped me out of my test prep study this morning. No, I haven't retreated to the San Bernadino mountains to study for my English teacher credential test. A water pipe burst underneath the alley behind my house. Dirty water was coming up out of every crevice with a connection down under.

I could hear Mel the Manager and Rob the guitarist (my neighbors) talking about the causes and implications. I figured they were on top of things and all the DWW (Department of Water Works) would have to do is shut something off. 5 hours later, I'm heading out to scope out the test site so I don't get lost and late tomorrow. They've got a few DWW trucks and utilities workers out there assessing the damage. Mel says I'll have to park on the street for a few days. Dwight, the utilities workers, corroborates Mel's story. Oh well, at least I got my car out before it was trapped.

I came back from my reconnaissance this evening to find a "road closed to thru traffic" sign at the front of the alley. "Oh good" I thought, "for the first time a sign like that doesn't apply to me because I'm not trying to weasel through, I live here." But a backhoe, dump truck, and yellow utilities truck blocked my passage to my parking spot. I had to park two blocks away.

As I ascended to my second floor apartment, the noise grew from the backhoe. 9, 10, 11 pm. They're still digging? Don't they know that I have a huge test tomorrow? Water Works waits for no one. At least I'm getting good alliteration practice out of their excavation escapade.

I stay resilient. I'll sleep with soothing music playing in my headphones to keep the exhaust and idle of the backhoe out of my ears.