I Am Woman, Hear Me Blow Fuses...
So for some reason last night- possibly because the living room has become rather crowded with stuff since I got my big tool orders- I decide to finally put together the ventilation system for my torches, so I could perhaps try them out.
Assembly was easy, got the wires hooked up the way the Home Depot guy told me to & plugged it in to one of the power strips I've got around here. It turns on as soon as I plug it in, despite the switch saying "OFF". "Hmmm, must have wired the white & black wires to the opposite sides, I'll switch them." Flip the switch & the living room lights blink. Huh? Try it again to make sure that the lights really did blink off. Yep, they blinked & even worse, I hit the switch on the power strip since it had popped itself off & blew the fuse for half my apartment. Nice! Dad would be proud, as Dad frequently had strange mishaps when he tried to fix things around the house. Looked for the fuse box & discovered that it must be in the storage area, which for some reason the landlord locked a couple of weeks ago. (Very frustrating for J next door as that's where the lawnmower is & he's dying to mow the lawn. Seriously.) Decided the landlords would not appreciate me calling them at midnight or so, so I curled up in bed & got some reading done for class. (Speaking of...I think I have a chapter to read before class). Landlady came over, only to discover her key wouldn't work. Came back with every key she could find in the house. None worked. Asked me to try. Metalsmithing muscles are a good thing-- the lock's really sticky & turns out she just did't have the key in all the way. Turns out I have an old-style fuse box with the round fuses that you screw in (mental note to keep pennys handy). For some weird reason, all the spare fuses were only 15 amps despite all the fuses in use being 30 amps. A quick trip to the hardware store & I once again have power to my living room- yay!!!
Me being me, I'd already rewired the switch & decide to try it again. It still starts running when I plug the cord again, despite the wires being changed & the switch saying "OFF". Flip the switch, it stops running & the lights all blink. Hmmm. It would appear that I am not an electrician. I have to go to Little Bro's tonight to get my paper cutter anyways so I'm taking the contraption along so he can take a look at it. He worked for Radio Shack for a while so in theory, he knows stuff about electricity.
Despite the ventalation set-back, yesterday was a great day. Got up at 10 am, called the docs about my meds, went up to Erie, swung by Target & picked up the world's cutest microwave & a few other assorted items, including a nifty new pair of crop pants to wear at the studio & a fire-proof box for important papers (it occured to me recently that I needed a better place to keep my divorce papers than in my end table). Got my bike- yay!- and really nice paper so I can print out my show postcards & flyers & such. (Yikes! Not cheap, although cheaper than paying a printer. And faster.) Today I also got up around 10 am. If I can keep that up for a while, I'll be in great shape.:)
Assembly was easy, got the wires hooked up the way the Home Depot guy told me to & plugged it in to one of the power strips I've got around here. It turns on as soon as I plug it in, despite the switch saying "OFF". "Hmmm, must have wired the white & black wires to the opposite sides, I'll switch them." Flip the switch & the living room lights blink. Huh? Try it again to make sure that the lights really did blink off. Yep, they blinked & even worse, I hit the switch on the power strip since it had popped itself off & blew the fuse for half my apartment. Nice! Dad would be proud, as Dad frequently had strange mishaps when he tried to fix things around the house. Looked for the fuse box & discovered that it must be in the storage area, which for some reason the landlord locked a couple of weeks ago. (Very frustrating for J next door as that's where the lawnmower is & he's dying to mow the lawn. Seriously.) Decided the landlords would not appreciate me calling them at midnight or so, so I curled up in bed & got some reading done for class. (Speaking of...I think I have a chapter to read before class). Landlady came over, only to discover her key wouldn't work. Came back with every key she could find in the house. None worked. Asked me to try. Metalsmithing muscles are a good thing-- the lock's really sticky & turns out she just did't have the key in all the way. Turns out I have an old-style fuse box with the round fuses that you screw in (mental note to keep pennys handy). For some weird reason, all the spare fuses were only 15 amps despite all the fuses in use being 30 amps. A quick trip to the hardware store & I once again have power to my living room- yay!!!
Me being me, I'd already rewired the switch & decide to try it again. It still starts running when I plug the cord again, despite the wires being changed & the switch saying "OFF". Flip the switch, it stops running & the lights all blink. Hmmm. It would appear that I am not an electrician. I have to go to Little Bro's tonight to get my paper cutter anyways so I'm taking the contraption along so he can take a look at it. He worked for Radio Shack for a while so in theory, he knows stuff about electricity.
Despite the ventalation set-back, yesterday was a great day. Got up at 10 am, called the docs about my meds, went up to Erie, swung by Target & picked up the world's cutest microwave & a few other assorted items, including a nifty new pair of crop pants to wear at the studio & a fire-proof box for important papers (it occured to me recently that I needed a better place to keep my divorce papers than in my end table). Got my bike- yay!- and really nice paper so I can print out my show postcards & flyers & such. (Yikes! Not cheap, although cheaper than paying a printer. And faster.) Today I also got up around 10 am. If I can keep that up for a while, I'll be in great shape.:)