Monday, March 27 5:27AM it begins with a text from Steve. Diagrind is flooded.
-Arrive at work to find water tank has burst at some point over weekend. Women's bathroom and large portion of the shop have water. Some left pump on top of water tank ON all weekend as well.
-Tim is on vacation, so cleanup and repair fall to me. Call JimBen for help as I have no idea what I'm doing.
-Immediately try to fix tank AND order another tank. JB Weld for the win on count one...however, the tank has been DISCONTINUED by manufacturer. Need to find another long term solution.
-JimBen arrives and we collaborate on finding another horizontal tank. There is ONE available "locally," 45 minutes away in Bourbonais. I decide to go grab it...and Jim gets a phone call for an emergency with his aunt.
-Drive to Bourbonais...but first stop at Michelle's school to get truck because not sure tank will fit in car. Tank fits fine, so stop at school again and throw in car. Back to work by 12.
-Unbox tank...it won't work. Decide to plumb in our second tank that hasn't been used in years. Run to hardware store, buy PVC, joints and elbows, and have the whole works done by the time JimBen gets back. Prime the pump aaaaaaaand...nothing happens.
-Pump being left on all weekend has fried impeller. Immediately order another from Grainger...delivery date says TOMORROW.
Tuesday, March 28
-8:30am receive notification from Grainger that pump has shipped. Pump does not show up ALL DAY. Day two of lost production.
Wednesday, March 29
-Order another pump...this time I'm going to pick it up as soon as it is available! 10am...still no pump available to pick up...BUT...the one ordered yesterday FINALLY shows up at 10:30.
-Tim is back, and he rewires pump from 220 to 110, gets everything set up...at 1:30 I go to help him get it fired up. 3:30 pm...after TWO HOURS of trying to get it primed....we cook our first tool in 3 days. Called JimBen back....and of course it started working as soon as he showed up.
Thursday, March 30
-Holy shit, a normal day. I even find another tank on Toro.com and order it for a backup.
Friday, March 31
-Normal day at work...BUT THEN.......THE FLIGHT THAT WASN'T.
A Bullet-point timeline brought to you by Mother Nature, Southwest Airlines, and the Mike and Michelle Adventure Team.
- 1:45 PM Spring break is here. After a torturous and ridiculous week of work for BOTH of us, we head to O'Hare International Airport for what would become a torturous and ridiculous afternoon/evening/night.
- 2:01 PM We know a storm is incoming, and supposed to hit JUST about the time our flight leaves (4:25). In fact, every flight AFTER ours has already been cancelled...we are hanging by a thread, but willing to give it a try. The first text arrives from SW...flight delayed until 5:51. At this point, we should probably have gone home...BUT...looking at radar, we see that there IS a window of opportunity for us to leave between waves of storms...so let's give it a try. Have to kill a couple hours...so Short Fuse Brewery seems like a good option. I highly recommend the German Chocolate Cake Stout.
4:00 PM - Do we park the car...knowing that they are gonna charge us for a day? YES WE DO. Jump on shuttle, and head to the airport.
4:20 PM - We have just cleared TSA and get a text from SW...flight has been delayed until 6:37. No big deal, what's another hour? Plus there's beer at the terminal.
5:51 PM - Ah...another SW text, we are delayed again...this time 7:08 departure. Skies are looking pretty ominous, and the radar is looking even ominous-ererer. We are more frequently voicing the phrase "why don't they just cancel it?" You see...if they cancel it, we can rebook for something...ANYTHING...on Saturday. The longer we wait, the less chance of getting a flight. But NOOOO....we are only delayed. My airport beer is empty.
7:56 PM - In this interim period, we have gotten three more text from SW, delaying us to 8:08, 8:38, and now 9:09 PM. The storm is hitting in a big way, including potential tornadoes down by our house. We also find out the CO is on fire...so we have torrential rains, floods and severe thunderstorms here, and fire in CO. At least both places had high winds in common. We are STILL holding out hope that SW needs to get this plane to Denver, and that's why they haven't cancelled. ONE MORE PROBLEM...the plane isn't at O'hare...it was diverted to Milwaukee (originated out of Dallas) because of the storm and both airports have been on a ground-stop.
8:05 PM - The guys sitting next to us find out from Flight Tracker that the plane is in the air coming out of MKE. This gives us hope.
8:30 PM - Hope that was giveth, hath been removeth in a big way, as airport security comes through and tells everyone to find shelter away from windows. After trying to get into a bathroom, then another bathroom, then another bathrooom (thankfully we didn't make it into any of them...from the looks of it, people were jammed in and it was hot), we find a hovel with an emergency door that has signage indicating that in an actual emergency, we could press on it for 15 seconds and get to a sheltering staircase. This will have to do. For the next hour. Ugh.
9:30 PM - WE HAVE GIVEN UP HOPE. After the front passes, we walk back to our gate just in case something has developed (we know our plane WAS in the air, after all). Gate agent tells us that the flight crew will likely be timed out....BUT...they think another crew will be available. Three more texts from SW increasing the delay, and we decide to pull the plug. The final text has us leaving at 12:06 AM, we've already been at the airport for 6 hours, and simply cannot BELIEVE SW has not cancelled the damn flight. Oh...and what happened to the plane during the storm...IT WENT TO MIDWAY.
9:45 PM - We have FOUGHT our way through the teeming masses of the international terminal, and by fortunate circumstance, the shuttle to our parking lot is sitting there with door open. We jump in, fully ready to put this horror behind us...BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE.
9:46 PM - SW sends us a text...HOLY CRAP...the flight is STILL not cancelled! They are gonna bring it over from MDW...departure is now 10:29 PM!!! We make a quick decision to ride this thing out, jump OUT of the shuttle, race back through the crowds, skip the line at TSA...and just as we check back through...get a SW text saying the flight has now been delayed to 11:18. Yes, I am now glad I'm writing this down so I remember every detail that I am going to recite to whomever I speak to at SW.
10:00 PM We are back at the gate. There are two flights SW has apparently chosen to give hope to...Denver and Dallas. At this point, I figure they must REALLY want this plane in Denver, and have pulled every string they have available to make sure it goes. I'm actually CONFIDENT for the first time in many, many hours. 10:45 PM This confidence is toyed with by the gate agent, who comes on and says "I've got bad news and good news for you..." and then coyishly informs us that WE ARE BOARDING. A great cheer arrises from the crowd. LET'S GO.
11:18 PM - The flight is surprisingly full...amazing how many of us stuck it out. Seatbelt is fastened, seat is in the upright and locked position, tray table is folded. I'm in Row 3, aisle seat, and can see into the cockpit. Flight attendant comes on the intercom and informs us that the pilots have just landed a plane from Vegas a couple gates down, and will be walking over and jumping into their seats to take us to Denver. Oh boy! I put my phone on airplane mode and prepare to take a nap.
11:22 PM - After seeing a pilot get on the plane three times and look down the aisle, smile, and then leave again, the gate agent steps up to the intercom. Not so coy this time...he tells us THE PILOTS HAVE REFUSED THE FLIGHT, so we are sorry, cancelled. I know you aren't supposed to use the word "bomb" on a flight, but I pretty much had to drop bunch of F-bombs at that point.
12:20 AM - We arrive back at home...and book a flight for this evening...on UNITED. I'm not sure the relationship with SW is gonna work out.
End communication. Also…I realize it’s April 1…but this has been anything BUT a joke. Unless it’s Southwest’s version of a really bad one…
April 1 - We fly to Denver on UNITED. Halfway there the lights come on and the flight attendant says "IS THERE A DOCTOR ON THE PLANE?" Dude has a diabetic episode. We hurry to land at DIA and have to wait for EMTs to remove the guy before we can get off the plane. Anyway we make it to Evergreen at like midnight.
April 2 - We have a good day at Loveland
April 3 - Back on a plane AGAIN. First time with checked baggage in EONS. We land at O'hare early...and because we won that prize...we got to sit on the runway for 50 minutes for a gate to clear. Oh...and then wait 45 minutes for my bag.
April 4-9 Things are almost normal...except for the 1.5 hour round trip back to Bourbonais to return the tank that wouldn't fit. Michelle flies to MX on 5th.
April 10- Again MONDAY. 7:00am and Tim comes in to tell me that the pump stopped working. Got super hot and shut down...so we are AGAIN stopped on production. F*&K. I order a pump AGAIN. This time I'm gonna pick it up. Drive to Alsip and get a new one.
-Tim rewires and installs. Hooray, we are back up and running.
-End of day....oh...no...wait....THE FUCKING TANK (second one now!) BURST. Goddammit.
-I call on delivery of the new tank I ordered. I had been suspicious because when I placed order, it said "Delivery in 180 days." Now...I figured that was a default. Talking to "customer service," they tell me...oh since you ordered 8 days ago, it will be 172 days. I lose it. Cancel order. NEVER EVER do business with Zoro.com.
April 11
-So...now I have a pump, but two burst tanks. Scramble for a solution, find a VERTICAL tank that might work at Home Depot. Pick it up and deliver it after hours for an early AM install.
April 11 - Tuesday morning and determination. I need to get this thing working before I leave for Alaska on Wednesday. Find out after opening box...a bunch of the stuff that is pictured...isn't there. Run to Home Depot, buy $100 worth of accessories, go back and get to work.
-Takes many hours, but we get it rigged up. Fire it, pressure builds quickly....and we are GOOD. However, pressure drops quickly...and won't go back up quickly. Something is wrong. Pump is running WAY too long. I give up and call a well-pump pro. He says he will TRY to get there today, but it will likely be tomorrow morning.
-This is 4.5 days of lost production, by my count. Tim accidently breaks off a piece of PVC by the prime area...so again I'm buying more stuff to fix it.
-Oh yeah...our Sage software has gone down...so no order entry either. Sigh.
-Michelle is coming home from Mexico, so I am to pick her up at 8:50pm. I leave the house at 8, having looked at FlightTracker and seeing that the plane was landing early. She calls to tell me she made it quickly through customs. Awesome. I go to the terminal to pick her up...only to find that she is at Midway and I'm at O'hare.
April 12
-Arrive at 5am, Tim and I fix the broken stuff and fire it up just to see what happens. Again, pump is working overtime and not in a good way.
-Well-pump pro dude arrives at 8. He agrees that everything is plumbed correctly...why the pump isn't pumping is a mystery. He thinks a blockage at the venturi and volunteers to take a look. We say go for it. Conclusion...it's not that.
-Well pump guy gets a quote for a new pump...this one is $1500 instead of the $800 I've spent on the last two. He will install for another $200, but if pump doesn't work, he'll take it back. Whatever...just do it.
-5 minutes after well-pump guy leaves, Tim comes in to say pump is no longer building pressure and is heating up. Not even ONE DAY of operation, and pump is toast.
-I say hook the damn system up to hose and just COOK. Our loss of production is now up to 5.5 days.
-We are cooking, and Sage has been recovered. Things are semi-normal. Emphasis on SEMI. Regardless...I'm leaving for Alaska. Good riddance.
-In the Uber, after a considerable delay in finding a driver...10 miles from O'hare...and my flight gets canceled. FUCK. MY. LIFE.
