up to my forehead in dirt...

I had an adventure today. While I was vacuuming out the Head Custodian office (which is shared between the five of us crew members) I accidentally sucked up an unseen, gallon ziplock bag. Incidentally, the vacuum became quite clogged, so I had to figure out how to get it out.

Problem-my fingers couldn't reach the bag in the tube. Neither could the scissors, tweezers, or any other sharp, grabby object I could find. So get this. I flip the vacuum right side up again and realize that the bottom can become detached. It has screws in it! So, I pull out the drill and start going.

Problem-drill twists screw in tighter, and the backwards function on the drill doesn't work. Lame. So I decide to get a regular old screw driver. Very nice. I worked at the screws, and out of habit I placed one in my mouth. It was burning hot! At that moment, Dustin came in, took one look at me covered in dirt, and said, "What happened now?" See, I clog or dismantle my equipment regularly enough that this was said calmly. I'm incompetent when it comes to my job.

I finally dismantle the vacuum in a way that I can reach the stupid bag that caused all the trouble in the first place. It took me about twenty minutes to take it apart. Dustin sat down next to me and began watching as I picked up the pieces to put back together. It was a lot easier than taking it apart. No need for instructions. Just the concept of inverse operations.

For the first time in my life, I have now taken apart something bigger than an old video game controller. And this time, I was able to put it back together so it worked just the same. :)

Next problem-I didn't realize that I had cut my finger open while working on the vacuum, or that my hands were extremely black with dirt from the inside of the vacuum. When I got out to the car, mom asked me why my face was bleeding and why I was covered in black grime. I looked in the mirror above the dash and had to laugh. Forehead, nose, cheek, neck, and ears had black dirt with a little mix of blood from my finger. I must have wiped my hand across my face and hadn't realized that I'd gotten all dirty.

All in all, it was a great adventure. I'm quite proud of myself, seeing as I put the contraption back together without a hitch. And getting dirty isn't all that bad. It's actually kind of relaxing to just let go, take something apart, and get completely messy in the process.