Leak Update and some other stuff..

I haven't posted for a while because I have been dealing with this unraveling disaster at my house. To recap - our washing machine door busted open a few weeks ago, spilling water onto and under our laminate floor. We could not get the water up so we thought we would replace the boards. Lo and behold though, there is water everywhere, too much to be just from the washing machine. Long story short - we had a leak from 3 inch "stack vent" pipe caused by someone, maybe the original builders, putting a nail into the pipe. Water pretty much runs down this pipe all the time and was slowly leaking out into the wood around the pipe and into the wallboard and all underneath our kitchen cabinets for who knows how long. Over time, that's a lot of water damage and that's what we have. If it was not for the washing machine spilling open though, the problem could have gone on a lot longer. We really had no idea the extent of the damage being caused. It was all hidden.

So far, we've torn out all the wallboard in our kitchen from counter-top height on down. It was soaked and moldy and just yucky. It had to come out so we armed ourselves with n-95 respirators, rubber gloves, detergent, bleach and any power tool we figured could help and had at it, taking pictures the whole way through. Even though its disgusting, I saved the wallboard we tore out. Its in garbage bags in our back deck. Our insurance adjuster is coming Tuesday to assess the situation and I need to make a call to a contractor to have our own estimate done. Because this was a pipe inside the wall - a common pipe too, I figure the condo insurance is going to get involved as well.

As far as how we are dealing with all of this -- we've moved through all the phases to acceptance. We cried, we screamed, we bitched and we've certainly worried. Of course, our friends and family have been there to support us. Now we just need to get the insurance issues figured out and we will be well on our way to having a livable home again.

On the job front, I'm wondering if it isn't time to pursue an advanced degree or a certificate and then a degree. In what, I'm not exactly sure, so I am going to take some assessment exams, like the Briggs-Meyers deal in order to find out what I might be interested in / good at. From a purely professional level, it makes sense to do something like NYU's Graduate Certificate in Information Technology (Applied Database Technologies concentration) and try to parlay that into an M.S. in Management and Systems. I figure if I am such a big picture guy, its better for me to move into management than to try and spend years becoming an expert DBA. At the same time though , I'd like to think that my DB skills will all improve through coursework, experience and my own studies.

Of course, this will be both a personal and financial challenge - but one that I've got to do. Maybe its the IT certificate and grad program. Maybe not. Something's coming though. Bet on it.