I've got the engineer genes too!!

Choo! Choo! Ok, just kidding, I haven't quite scored a chance to steer Thomas the Train Engine yet. No, I have only accomplished a major engineering feet in my very own kitchen. Coming from a family chock full of engineers and other more logically minded folk, I've often felt like I'm holding down the more artsy side of the boat. Tonight, however, I have truly proven my worth on the smarty-pants side.

Upon starting to wash the dishes in my sink, I noticed the water was quickly starting to fill up, signaling a plug in my pathetic filterless drain (i.e. open pipe). I sighed, turned off the water and waited for it to trickle out so I could see what the culprit was. I try to be careful with food and my chopsticks so as to not clog up but at the bottom of the pipe (where it narrows just out of reach) was a bright white water bottle cap. I sighed again and grabbed a fork. No go... not long enough. I reached for my trusty wooden cooking chopsticks. I was now able to reach the plastic cap, but had only enough leverage to twist it around and flip it over. I grabbed the other choptick and tried to pry the cap upwards using one chopstick in each hand. I held my breath as I managed to lift it about five inches, then swore as I inevitably dropped it.

I stood back up, rubbed my lower back and looked back in the silverware drawer. I decided to try a knife, as it had been singularly successful when I had dropped an avocado pit into the pipe.. but not only could I not stab the plastic cap, I dropped the knife too. Now I was a bit panicked, as any fix-it guy was sure to laugh his arse off at the white chick who had to be saved from a plastic bottle cap and knife stuck in her kitchen drain. Nice. Fortunately I managed to tug the knife back out with a fork. There had to be another way, right?

Right. After I checked that I couldn't unscrew the pipes without help, I came up with my masterplan that proves I am indeed, a proud member of my Sherman/Schmidt Family Gene Pool.

I grabbed the duct tape.

(ok, more like packing tape,... but its all I had at the ready. I know, shame on me).

I made a nice ball of the stuff and stuck it to the end of my chopstick. Then, because I could visualize the ball sticking to the cap and falling off the chopstick, I taped and double taped it to the end of the stick. Then, after testing the contraption on a free bottle cap on a table, I held my breath and gave it a go. I nailed it on just the second try and with a grin and a "Yee-ah!", tossed the bottle cap in the trash.

Then I smiled as I washed my dishes. Yep, I'm just as dorky as my brother! :) Ok, just kidding, he's still dorkier.