Well, I was able to get the motorized snake from Lowe's on Saturday morning. After forking over $45, I managed to get the monstrosity home, where my wife and I were able to wrestle it out of the van without impaling myself on the conveniently pre-attached blade. (My wife made a joke here about cut rate vasectomies--not funny.) Anyhow, I managed to get the thing going, relying on some helpful advice from Brian E., a friend of mine and apartment owner/handyman, and I got the drain "cleared" in only 3 hours! I got cleaned up and made it to work (3 hours late), where we had an interesting day and a nice holiday luncheon/farewell party (one staff member is leaving)/baby shower (another staff member). It was good to see former and current co-workers and I regaled one and all with tales of my "rooting" expertise. Then it all came crashing down. Last night, after running the second laundry load of the day, I walked into the laundry room to see undulating waves of sewage...