by lucypowell
My Monday started off like any other; I woke up to my alarm screeching “I’m Ready” by AJR at 6:45 am. After rolling around in bed for a few minutes, I finally decided to get up. As I made my way to my communal college bathroom, I thought, “Hummm I could really go for some Iggy Azalea right now!”
Tossing in my airpods, I strut my way down the hall. As I tune into her newest album, I rinse my face off and lather my tooth brush up with some toothpaste. Then the most unfortunate thing that could have happened occurred; my right airpod fell out of my ear, danced around the sink, and then plopped itself down the drain.
I was in shock. I felt nothing. I stood there with foamed-up toothpaste smeared around my mouth. I blinked. I blinked again.
Who knows how many minutes I stood there for, but as I finally began to regain my consciousness, I removed my remaining airpod and glanced down the open (yep, this drain cover for this sink just doesn’t exist… the drain is just a daunting hole) drain. I saw nothing. I turned my flashlight on and leaned my face as close to the drain as I could. Still, I saw nothing.
Immediately, I dropped to my knees and examined the underside of the sink. You might find this shocking, but I have fixed and unclogged a fair share of sinks in my 19 years of life. After examining the pipes to see what tool I needed to acquire to retrieve my airpod, I realized the pipe was fused closed. No tool I had was going to undo that.
With a heavy heart, I whip the toothpaste off my mouth and exit the bathroom. At this point, I’m embarrassed. Who loses an airpod like this! I mean, I didn’t even get to say goodbye!
Immediately upon entering my room, my roommates knew something was wrong as I was met with a concerned “What…?!” After explaining my tragic experience, I dress myself and head back to the bathroom for one final look down the sink.
In the five minutes it took me to tell my roomies and dress myself, someone had used the sink. I came back to it clogged up and nearly overflowing. I knew at this moment that my little airpod was making its way through the pipes of Redstone. This brought a smile to my face. I imagined my airpod befriending the clumps of hair and globs of toothpaste that find their way into the pipes as well. Maybe these friends are helping my airpod find its way back home.
In order to keep my spirits up, I reminded myself that I was in need of upgrading my headphones anyway and this just gives me another reason to do so. And as my dear friend Meredith reminded me, “You can still use your left airpod on its own.” She’s right, and she would know! Meredith’s left airpod exploded one night when she fell asleep with her pods in. Don’t worry. It fell out of her ear before exploding.
Anyway, please use my story as a cautionary tale of the dangerous UVM sinks. I will be submitting a fit it request for the drain, so no one else experiences the same thing as me.
Categories: claire fagan, dec 7, lucy powell, reflections, vol 25