why metal ladders were invented...

we had the mother of all thunderstorms last night, and i am almost positive our chimney was struck by lightning. after a very close and very LOUD thunderclap, i went into the kitchen and noticed that it smelled sooty. like a chimney. so i went outside and didn't see anything. well, nothing besides sheets of rain coming down with hurricane like force. but... nothing was burning, so i went inside and tried to study.

so when we went to bed, i noticed that the chimney in our bedroom was cracked... and that the plaster surrounding it had wet patches on it, so i knew it was leaking. it it definitely was not there before.

nick however, did not think that lightning had struck the chimney. so i decided to climb on the roof, look at the top and prove him wrong. there was an old wooden ladder leaning on the side of the house and i proceeded to climb it.

suddenly, there was a loud snap, and my body instantly followed every law of gravity. my shins smacked on the rung below and i stood there panting, hanging on for dear life to the rung above me. i regained my footing and stupidly thought. the other rungs look sturdy enough, they can't all be bad, right?

no. not right.

this time, i get up to the next rung and that too, snaps, about as easily as a chicken bone. again, gravity takes over. this time, i bang my thigh on the ladder and decide that i don't give a rat's behind whether or not the chimney was struck. my legs hurt this time, and i go limping inside.

nick looks at me and asks, "well?"

"well," i say, through gritted teeth, because i'm in alot of pain, "if the flipping ladder hadn't broke on me, i might have been able to find out."

he dares to laugh.

needless to say, i have a few nice bruises.

me -- 0 : ladder -- 1