Weekend of Firsts

This weekend was a weekend of firsts...

I took my first toilet out. I was a little weirded out by the wax ring. Didn't know how much was wax and how much was 50+ years of pee grime.

I took my first vanity out. I pulled the sink up and hit/broke the ceramic toothbrush holder off the wall. That ended up being kind of a huge debacle. It was attached to the wall by kind of rare earth stone that nothing could break off. We wacked it with hammers, chisels, insults and nothing could break it. It might be stronger than God's hip bone. I borrowed Steve's grinder (a tool that cuts steel) and that couldn't even cut it. Crazy. Our tile wall will forever have a little nub to remind me of my inefficiencies.

Those two jobs were in preparation of Leah and Chris re-tiling our bathroom. Leah was the tile-cutting wizard. She grabbed this project by the balls and led the entire thing. She's beautiful and rugged all at once. I don't take for granted my luck in life.

I ran in my first 5k race. I was blessed with oppressive wind, rain and 40 degree weather. Luckily, Tyler a veteran racer/marathoner jogged alongside me. That helped keep my mind off the hills and pneumonia-incubating, pioneer-killing conditions.

I got my first medal. I'm no hero, folks. I just finished a race against all odds. Which by the way, the fans lining the streets at 9am couldn't have cared less about. Not a single cheer. I expected more encouragement quite frankly.

I ate at the Westside's crown jewel, Price Hill Chili for the first time. Look for the full review from the Cirque du Savory crew tomorrow. The highlight was when a member of our burger team received a cheeseburger after ordering a hamburger. She got her burger with the unwanted cheese 15+ minutes after everyone got their food. The waitress said, "They put cheese on it, sorry." Then she left and didn't return until it was bill delivery time. Only in the Westside could that happen. A mind-blowing display of customer service. The fact that the server just said, "Sorry," and didn't fix it is so insane that I think it makes me like the place. Not sure why.

I built my first saw horses with my big bro-in-law Justin. We were going to add onto my deck today. We had plans in place for weeks. I had a few things to do in preparation. One of them was to call the people who make sure you don't kill yourself by digging into various lines. I kind of forgot. It's technically illegal to dig without calling those people. So now, I have two fresh steeds out back, grazing away, waiting to go to work (as long as Justin agrees to help again after my slight misstep today).

Tonight, after it gets dark, I will drag a toilet out to the curb for the first time. For whatever reason I was embarrassed to do it in broad daylight. I think it felt hillbilly.

Tomorrow, I may return home and have to do my first hillbilly walk of shame. I have no clue if trashmen take toilets. So I may have to drag it back up the house as my neighbors quietly mock me from their kitchen windows.