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When I grow up, I want to be a plumber.

haha you must be wondering what kind of a title is this. Let me bring you back to a statement my manager told me 2 years ago. "Plumbers are said to be the happiest people in the UK." You must be going "Huh" right? This is apparently so because they are one of the highest paid people around (besides those strike-loving Tube drivers). And today I had a taste of it.

Our bathroom sink and the bathtub have been getting more and more clogged in recent weeks. At first, I tried to tahan. And the situation became worse. To get an idea... after brushing my teeth, the whole sink will be filled with water till almost to the brim before it takes like a good 5 minute to subside. It was very, very frustrating.

M said her colleague recommended getting this liquid thing called One Shot and pour it in. Should be very effective, she said. So I went for a hunt. Oooh turns out that this "liquid thing" is proper industrial strength sulphuric acid! whoaa.. a bit scary. Full of hazard symbols on the box. On Sunday morning, I poured 2 caps full of strong sulphuric acid into the sink and bath tub. It immediately brought me back into the days of chemistry lab classes coz I saw fumes coming out, followed by a choking pungent smell, and some kind of fizzing chemical reaction. Yes, it is that powerful. (Well, at least it looked very powerful.)

Guess what, the sink was "cured" but it must be that all the dirt went into the other pipe which is the bath tub's. And then we couldn't really shower coz the water just didn't want to flow down! Oh the agony. I had to shower in the office for 2 days before the plumber came this morning. And thanks to my colleagues who kept scaring me about using too strong acid. "You might burn away your pipes!" said Cyrus. "Are you sure there is no dead animal in it, esp after using strong acid and it didn't work?" added Bridget. *roll eyes*

Mr Plumber turned up with this black vacuum cleaner-like machine and I swear, he was out of my bathroom in 20min. Thankfully, no dead animal.. just a lot of hair. Gosh I wonder how much hair could cause this much blockage?? And how much did it cost? GBP80! 60 per hour (minimum) and additional 20 for transport. When I gave him the shocked look, he coolly replied "I had to travel in from Bromley, mate." I nearly fainted.

Now will you excuse me while I go practice on some plumbing skills.

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