I Didn't Have It My Way

I spent the entire morning on the floor of the Hill Air Force Base Burger King fixing their sink. They were complaining the floor drain sometimes backed up, so I went to investigate. I fixed the floor drain in no time, but while I was down there, I noticed the drain pipes beneath the sink were leaking, so I decided to fix them. The old lines were plastic, and due to the crazy hot water going down the lines, they were starting to melt. My solution was to replace them with copper lines, which aren't susceptible to hot liquids. I removed the old lines and told the Burger King worker guy to make sure nobody turns on the faucets because all the water will go all over the floor. I went out to the truck to get some parts, and I return only to see a puddle the size of Lake Erie on the ground...the very same ground in which I have to lie to fix the damn sink. So I mop it up, and start working on the drain lines. With copper lines, you have to solder them together. That means you have to get a torch and heat up the fittings and melt a little strand of metal between the pipe and the fittings. This is next to impossible when there's even a few drops of water left in the line, because the water keeps the pipe and fittings from reaching the required temperature to melt the solder. Keep that in mind. So, I put the whole assembly together, and I have to run back out to the truck to get the torch and the solder. I tell the Burger King worker guy to make triple absolute sure nobody turns on the faucets because I can't finish the job if there's water in the lines. I run out to the truck as fast as my legs can carry me and retrieve all necessary tools. I come back in to see TWO faucets running and nobody standing near the sink. Livid is an understatement. So, I turn off the water and wait for the drains to dry out, which took FOREVER. I finally get back down on the floor, solder the joints, and gather up my tools to leave. As I'm on my way out the door, the manager stops me and says how much she appreciates the work I did, which makes me feel a little better. Then she had to cheapen it by giving me a coupon for a free value meal. "What?" I thought. "A free value meal? After the shit I went through this morning, you better treat me to dinner at Red Lobster, bitch!" Oh, the things that go through my head that I wish I had the balls to actually say. Oh well, I guess that will teach me to go the extra mile. From now on, I'm Mr. Bare Minimum.