Wait! Don’t blow the hatch!

It’s been one hell of a week, to put it mildly. First off, flying solo again at work, and we had a hellacious round of storms and tornadoes on Sunday night, for which the station’s coverage kicked copious quantities of butt. (See the work blog for examples of how we’re “POPping” that coverage – I’ve added quite a few brand new spots.) But that has meant epic-length work days. And last night when I got home, something was wrong – I think it was the fact that every receptacle that’s supposed to drain water had backed up. Toilets overflowing, bathtubs and sinks filling themselves, mass hysteria. So the inevitable call to the plumber went out this morning; I stayed home longer today to meet him when he finally appeared in the afternoon with his robo-rooter. Just snaking that thing through the pipes blasted some clogs out of the system, but there was still something amiss. So there was no choice but to dig up the yard – it was time to blow the hatch.

Even Xena couldn’t have done this much damage to the yard. And it’s not like she hasn’t tried…

Wait guys! Don’t blow the hatch! (OK, I admit it, I added the “numbers” later.)
Actually, the hatch blew me backward – when they popped that lid open, the smell was enough to rock you back on your heels. The contents didn’t exactly look pretty either. (Then again, that’s what I get for standing about three feet away, I suppose.) The tank is completely packed solid – and worse yet, since the house is technically below the tank as far as ground elevation goes, it’s going to flow back toward and into the house. They’re having to send someone else to see if it can be pumped, or if it’s a total loss – it seems like about a 50/50 proposition at this point. (And even if it’s a total loss, it’ll still have to be pumped before it can be removed and replaced.)
Needless to say, a crappy situation has resulted. 😕