Today’s Business: 2010-09-21
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010Today’s Activities
- Shower. DONE.
- Cat duty. DONE.
- Vacuum upstairs. IN PROGRESS.
- Pay all pending bills.
- Balance all checkbooks.
- Have new water heater installed. DONE.
Log
06:30 AM: I’m up. This is the thirtieth anniversary of the break up with my first love, and I sense today that sometimes, time really does heal some of life’s most painful wounds. It took lots of time to get over [First Love]. But I’ve been over her for at least a decade now. It helps too that I’ve not seen her in twenty years, and haven’t talked with her in nearly twelve years. Now, instead of pain when I think of her, I feel thankful that we got a chance to try a relationship, and I’m thankful that we didn’t stay together any longer than we actually did; though at the time, I was devastated that our love time was so unfairly short. So this is certainly one area of my life where I’m glad to be thirty years older. 
08:00 AM: Noticed an acrid smell of burning plastic and / or electronic components at the top of the stairs on the second floor. So, thinking that the odor was coming up the stairs from either the first floor or the basement, I went down there to investigate. Found nothing out of the ordinary on floor one. So I proceeded to the basement. Surely the foul air must be originating down here; especially given that our water heater is leaking. But I found nothing overheated or steaming anywhere near the water heater. In fact, I smelled nothing bad down there at all. Yet when I returned to the second floor, the smell greated me with the same ferocity as some of the bullies I remember from third grade.
Upon entering the office, I noticed that the compact fluorescent night light I always keep on, was not working. Ah, that must be what was burning. Indeed, upon removing the bulb, I noticed that same strong smell pervading from its base. Further, the smell out by the stairs has grown weaker now that this light is no longer energized. You know, I like the ides of these CFL bulbs. But so often it’s the supporting electronics that go bad as opposed to the bulbs themselves. But I can’t complain with much legitimacy about this particular bulb because I’ve had it for easily seven years, and it’s been operating for practically all of that time. So I’d say I definitely got my money’s worth from it. Hmmmmm. Now, what to replace it with. Perhaps I’ll find and LED bulb.
08:45 AM: Recorded audio journal episode AJE-2010-09-21-08-28.
12:05 PM: Worked the Water Heater Replacement: 2010 project. Now I’m having lunch.
05:40 PM: Worked the Water Heater Replacement: 2010 project. The water heater has been successfully installed and is functioning well.
05:45 PM: Heading up to visit Mom. Back later.
07:45 PM: I’ve returned home.
08:45 PM: Watched today’s episode of The Young and the Restless on the DVR.
09:30 PM: Talked with sister Mary Ann and gave her an update on Mom.
10:40 PM: Talked with [Emmy] on the phone. We’re both tired. I never realized how exhausting it can be to observe another person install a new water heater. That’s what I did most of today, and I’m bushed.
10:55 PM: Briefly Facebooked, and now, I’m going (definitely not so briefly) to bed. Now that things are back to normal here at the house, I can get back to my routine tomorrow. Emergencies are not fun when they arise out of the blue; like most emergencies do. But the water heater one is over now, and at least it didn’t flood the nearby furnace. I’m thankful for that. Good night.
Received Mail and Shipments
- Weekly coupon mailer.
- Confirmation from our gas company about the gas supplier I selected a week or two ago, in order to lock in a pretty good rate for gas for the next year.
- An advertisement for the EdenPURE quartz infrared portable heater, as recommended by Bob Vila. But we already have more heaters here than we can use. So, not at this time, but thanks anyway.
- Personal checking account offers from First Commonwealth Bank. Not at this time, thanks.
- Balance transfer offer from Capital One Bank. No thanks.