Fresh air and sunshine

"Eww" led to BRAKKABRAKKA, *cough*, *cough*, and "Ah..."

After this region was inundated with rain over the weekend, one o f the drainage pipes started backflowing into one of the main hallways of the unit. The smell was nauseating right outside the main dining hall as a few guys did their best to sop up the mess and squeegee it away..

This unit seems to have been built on a floof plain or former lake because our track floods with the smallest amount of rain. This means the water takes a bit longer to go away and, thus, the stench lingered.

Even though this drainage problem has most likely been present for years, it has always been dealt with in the most typical TDCJ fashion: short-term benefit, long-term disaster. Luckily, we have a new-ish assistant warden who takes care of the things the right way. He called in outside contractors to bust up the concrete hallway and fix the pipe. This shut down the main thoroughfare to the dining hall with loud hammering and clouds of pulverized concrete, To accommodate the traffic, the rec courtyard was opened up for both hallways.

I love having the courtyard opened up. Every time I go to or from work I get to go outside, feel the sun, and get some fresh air. I'm not the only one that enjoys it, either. Another nice thing about the courtyard being open is that is gives us a place to go when my boss leaves the library. Today I was playing a card game in the library during count time when my boss took her lunch break. Normally we would have to stop playing and wait in the hall for count to clear, but today we simply moved to the table in the courtyard. It was great weather, too.

I guess I shouldn't get too comfortable, though. The contractors will probably finish up before the weekend. At least the problem will be solved and I had a nice break from the norm in the meantime.