Wednesday, April 28, 2010

One of my hobbies

In my mind, a hobby is something you work at but don’t really consider work. It is something you do to amuse yourself after regular work hours. If that is the case, I guess I should consider plumbing one of my hobbies. Last week was my big translation check with our consultant. We worked long days going verse by verse through 33 chapters. We finished by the end of the week, and by Sunday afternoon I finally had a chance to relax. I was just wondering what I could do when I heard a strange noise outside and went to investigate. It turned out that the pressurized water tank had sprung a leak. Sometimes hobbies have a way of demanding attention and this was one of those cases. Being serious about my hobby I took a few minutes to consider my options: Duct tape probably wouldn’t hold. I didn’t have any rubber to wrap around the tank. I decided to go to town for some epoxy.

I did a beautiful job of mixing the glue and patching the tank. Everything would have been fine if the water pressure hadn’t pushed my patch right off the tank. Fortunately, one of my missionary friends who also plumbs as a hobby saw my problem and offered a bit of help.

“Super glue,” he said, “You have to start with super glue and then put the epoxy over the top of that.” Together we went to the store and purchased the super glue and applied it and the epoxy to the tank. People who enjoy hobbies enjoy spending time with other people who enjoy the same hobby. This was definitely an enjoyable experience for me. Thanks, David! This time the patch worked beautifully. No air or water could escape the tank. This was proven the next morning when the tank exploded.
For some strange reason, the folk there didn’t call me to help plumb the new tank. Perhaps they wanted a professional.

2 comments:

Alaska Mom said...

Oh my... We have a little plumbing project. Maybe I should leave it to the professionals! :)

Robin

Anonymous said...

We think you need to find another hobby!!! smile.
tim & esther meisel