a pack-rat vindicated!

Submitted by mivox on 15 July, 2006 - 4:19pm.

silicone o ringsI randomly take a liking to things for no real reason, sometimes. Like years ago (oooh, probably 7 years ago now?) when I worked as a janitor in a semi-conductor chip factory, I took a liking to the small silicone o-rings I'd find on the floor now and then. The maintenance staff would repair one of the incomprehensibly weird machines in the fab, and they'd leave these teeny little black silicone o-rings lying around. And I thought they were cute, so I'd pick them up and keep them.

I collected probably 20 of them, in two sizes, in the few months I worked there. And to this day, I still have them. For no real reason, until today.

This is every pack rat's dream. See, I took the sprayer head off my handheld shower thingie the other day, to fill a bucket partway with water. When I put it back together, it leaked. About half the water that should have gone to the shower head was now spraying out the swivel-joint where it connected to the hose. Apparently some critical little seal had come out when I dismantled it, and was pretty well gone for good. And my showerhead was now mostly useless.

Until I remembered those little silicone o-rings, and thought, "I wonder if I still have those?" And in that special way only a packrat understands, I knew exactly where they *should* be, and went looking. Sure enough, there they were. And one of the larger ones fit perfectly in my showerhead. And now everything is all better. All because I randomly picked up some industrial garbage 7 years ago, and saved it.

I'll probably still have the rest of those little rings when I die, after this.

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Neotoma Mivox
Submitted by Allen (not verified) on 17 July, 2006 - 8:52am.

Neotoma Mivox - native to interior Alaska, generally friendly but given to occasional emotional outbursts known as 'rants', noted for taking bright pictures and posting them online, prefered nest being a large stick structure built in a sheltered area, new? behaviour includes whirlwind dances of lust and debauchery by the light of the midnight sun...

Which combination of pack rat ancestors are yours:
* drawer(s) of junk.
* closet(s) of decades past.
* fridge of meal remnants.
* attic/basement of mystery boxes.
* garage/shed of 'stuff'.
* rented storage until...

Which pack rat behaviours are yours:
* jumbled or neat?
* memorised or labeled?
* extras for emergencies and touchups are a good thing.
* almost empty isn't really.
* an empty shelf is a lonely shelf.
* floor space is storage space.
* just needs a little tlc and it'll be as good as new...

Note: should you be apprehended for absconding with vital national security o-rings I volunteer to come feed you peanuts through the bars.

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hahahahaha!
Submitted by mivox on 17 July, 2006 - 2:11pm.

Lessee, my ancestors include the drawer, fridge and garage pack rat subspecies ... myself, I am fond of a jumbled junk drawer, memorized naturally, and aspire to someday have a garage to carefully line with mystery boxes (none of my housebuilding plans currently include an attic or basement, so the garage will have to do). And "almost empty" by definition is NOT empty at all. haha

I have mostly discarded my stuff that "just nees a little tic", am making excellent progress away from the "floor space is storage space" behavior, and my fridge is quite tidy these days. ;-)

I absolutely draw the line at renting storage units though. My crap must at least fit in/on my own property. ;-)

(What is this "empty shelf" you speak of???)

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...oh!
Submitted by mivox on 17 July, 2006 - 2:13pm.

And the peanuts will be much appreciated, should they become necessary!

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Don't forget -- those
Submitted by Sarah S (not verified) on 19 July, 2006 - 12:51pm.

Don't forget -- those o-rings can be used as knitting markers...

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OOH!
Submitted by mivox on 20 July, 2006 - 11:58am.

Excellent! I'll have to dig them all out and put them in my knitting bag! YAY! :-D

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