My family got a swimming pool installed for free this week! Just kidding – though our bathroom sink did spring a leak, which flooded all the tiles with enough water to swim in. So, I guess in a sense we did get a free swimming pool. I wanted to keep it, but my dad called a plumber so the water didn’t destroy the walls. What a bore.
The plumber arrived at our house a few hours later wearing a fluorescent orange shirt and large rubber boots all the way up to his knees. At least the guy was prepared.
Before following me upstairs, he got out his tablet and opened an app with a grey hammer as a logo. Seeing my curious expression, he told me that the app wasn’t about Norse mythology, but was actually a job management software for tradesmen. Australia is apparently the most innovative country for management software apps and therefore the trade had a lot of different options to choose from, but he preferred this one for his small business. He read off the quote to my dad, and once it was approved the plumber started draining the bathroom with some special equipment.
Because I had nothing else to do that day – and also because this was the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me – I sat on the top stair and watched the plumber work.
I told him that I wanted to study coding when I got to high school. He told me that I should consider creating software like the app he uses for his work. Apparently, there’s a real dearth of plumbing job management software designed for Melbourne businesses, and if I’m smart about it, I could fill that gap in the market and make a lot of money.
Luckily, the plumber promised he wouldn’t copyright that idea in the time it took for me to graduate high school. He enjoyed plumbing too much to change careers, anyway.