�

i'm very good at toilets.

perhaps i should clarify. this morning, i opened my eyes as socks did her morning rushing around, and i heard something like water running in the bathroom. i thought it was just the shower taps, because socks has "morning hands" (so she says) and doesn't turn the taps off tight enough. i leapt out of bed half-naked (that one's for you, mal) and saw that the toilet was still kinda running. the lever had no resistance. so i took off the top o' the toilet CISTERN i believe it is called, and set to work.

i saw that the chain was broken, and out of nowhere, i said to socks "can you find me a twist tie?" hm. my brain has a mind of its own sometimes. i had a few fumbles (it's an awkward thing to be sticking your arms in ice coldwater, grasping at a small ball chain, trying to reattach the rest of the chain with a twist tie!) but it actually worked. it works like a charm.

i love fixing things. being a clumsy oaf, i knock things over a lot, and have fixed a clock and a vcr simply by opening it up and prodding around. i may not know how to pay a bill or change a fuse, but something like a toilet was a constant in my travels. and there was always an urgency, like defusing a bomb, to fix the toilet without assistance.

(don't you love your first instinct when a toilet is clogged and the water starts to rise....put down the lid. yeah, that ALWAYS works!)

when i was on a sixth grade trip to yogyakarta,, the old capital of indonesia, i held up the bus because the toilet in our hotel room started rising...rising...rising...i remember very well, ashley, my roomate and friend, rushing in saying "turn off the water with this tap down here; i learnt that in girl guides!" thank god for not focusing solely on cookie sales! this guilt and shame has probably been part of the determination i've felt to de-fuse the toilet bomb. to BEAT it.

the simplicity of the mechanics of a toilet has always intrigued me, as well. plugs, levers, chains, water. that's it. nothing to it, so if something was wrong, i could usually fix it.

just don't call me over if it's clogged. that's your own problem, bud.