The Leak in Review

I’ve heard people say the Internet is putting traditional brick-and-mortar stores out of business. They’re partly right, but there’s a certain local store that wouldn’t have gotten my business last weekend if it weren’t for the World Wide Web.

I had a plumbing problem that had started about a week before – a telltale dripping sound coming from the shower. You’ve heard of the 5 stages of grief? I went through the leaky shower equivalent: denial (earplugs), anger (“It’s getting worse!”), bargaining (“If this leak would just magically stop, I promise to clean the garage.”), depression (a bucket) and acceptance (“It’s not going away. Gotta do something!”).
The great thing about the Internet is that whatever your problem is, chances are someone else has experienced the same thing and has blogged, chatted or consulted someone else about it.
Sure enough, I Googled and found someone with the exact same leaky shower who’d posted the entire repair process in a handy sequence of pictures.
The folks at Home Depot were also helpful, and here’s where they’ve got the Internet beat. While I was there, I picked up a few other items that I’d been needing for a while, plus a few impulse buys (every home should have a giant economy-size roll of Day-Glo orange duct tape).
Back home, a few turns of the strap wrench, maybe a skinned knuckle or two and the shower was good as new. No Web site could have provided that same-day satisfaction!
A plumber would have cost a bundle, and nothing compares with the rewarding feeling of having done the job all by myself.

I’m not saying the Internet allows us to do away with repair crews across the board. I’ll call a professional every time for something major. But it sure was handy when this budget-minded gal needed little free advice. Best of all – that drip is history!
Playlist:
1. Drip, Drip, Drip — Spike Jones & His City Slickers
2. Bleep Blop Blues — Manhattan Transfer
3. Drip Drop — The Drifters
4. Who Can I Turn To — Sammy Davis Jr.
5. Every Picture Tells a Story — Rod Stewart
6. All I’ve Got to Do — The Beatles
7. Dirty Work — Steely Dan
8. My Way — Frank Sinatra
9. Even Flow — Pearl Jam
10. Silence Is Golden — The Tremeloes