dumpster diving, you should try it

i tell you the adventures never end. wednesday after work i had to run the backpack i borrowed for my arizona trip back to my friend for her trip to disney. when i got home i decided to get the few cups and bags out of my car and put them in the dumpster. so i grapped my keys and the garbage and tossed them in the big green dumpster next to my apartment. yes, i tossed everything in my hands, keys and all. i've done weird things with my keys before, locking them in the car, locking them in the car with it still running, leaving them in the outside of my apartment door all night, putting them in the freezer, etc. i have key issues and i got it from my mom.

so luckily my apartment complex just said no more outside furniture so a nice sturdy wooden bench was next to the dumpster. i dragged it over and climbed up. i could see the stuff i threw in and figured my keys were under that. i got a flashlight from my car, that wasn't locked but my apartment was and my roommate was mia. i was able to reach the garbage i put in, moved it and saw my keys, but i couldn't reach them. i needed a hanger. i thought about asking my neighbor who is a library patron, but his car wasn't there. so i hauled myself over the dumpster edge and made sure to land on a big black bag. this knocked the keys down and wouldn't you know it rained the two days prior and there was lots of cold, gross, water in the bottom. and where do you think my keys fell? oh yeah. at this point my neighbor came home. i'm hoping he doesn't see me in the dumpster. luckily he is on the phone and doesn't notice me. i threw the flashlight on the ground and put my hand in the muck. i got the keys and threw them on the ground. now how to get out. i'm a big girl and my upper body strength is lacking. but the thought of being stuck in a dumpster was enought incentive to pull myself out of the stinking container.

i got the door opened, washed my hands, my keys, my flashlight, the doorknob and light switches i touched and changed my clothes. my roommate arrived home 10 minutes later, perfect timing. what i learned: the clicker on my keys still works, i do have some upper body strength, and put your keys in your pocket before you put things in a dumpster. plus i got a funny story out of it.