Burning the Candle at both ends…
Not that I gave it much thought, but the one thing that I didn’t expect to have to do when I arrived back home today after spending a week away, was to clean candle wax off my toilet seat. I was prepared for the usual airing of the petrii dish that is my room; the cobweb sweeping; the routine check for ants, spiders and frogs hidden in the four corners of my room as well as the bathroom; the close inspection of my clothes and bed sheets for (a) bad smells; and (b) mould – these are all things I have come to expect from abandoning my home for anything longer than about a normal day’s work. But candle wax? Off the toilet seat? What happened in there while I was gone?
And speaking of toilets, I had the unfortunate experience of getting to know one (almost) intimately while on my week away in the field. I will put it to you to decide which of the following foods caused this short-lived, but intense relationship between the toilet and both ends of my person:
(a) too much junk food on the bus on the way;
(b) one too many cups of cha; or
(c) the prawn “chop” from the street stall in the small town of Birgonj.
I was laid out for 24 hours, as I’ve heard is usually the case with these things; and it was a miserable 24 hours. I will unashamedly admit that I reverted to my childhood at one point where I craved for my mummy to bring me an ice cube to suck on because I couldn’t hold down the water I was drinking. But, in the absence of my real mum, I did have three lovely ladies tending to me – one working my brow with the cold, damp cloth, one on “hair caressing” duties and one massaging my hands. They each adopted me as their honorary sick daughter, so I’m glad I was able to fill some kind of void for them while they were spending their precious time tending to me.
I think I’ve been extremely lucky to have avoided such a bout in my time here so far – and I’ve eaten some pretty dubious foods, let me tell you. At least now I know that my stomach is only part cast iron.
Anyway, getting back to the original story, as it turns out, I had a plumber come to look at my toilet while I was away. The problem was diagnosed before I left. They named it “leaking”, although I couldn’t see any water anywhere it shouldn’t have been. I assume that the power blacked out half way through surgery, which would explain the candle wax. However, this was not the only thing the plumber left. He also left me with a REAL leaking toilet, so that now when I flush, water dribbles out of the s-bend all over the floor.
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