Cracking Me Up

About a week ago I noticed our garage door was really struggling to close.  It just seemed out of alignment in the rollers when we hit the garage door opener/closer button.  I gave all of the rollers and hinges a good shot of WD-40 but it was still banging and rattling and not closing smoothly.  Upon closer inspection, I noticed the top panel was split and the door was flexing every time the door opener pushed it closed.  The door is so thin, it really isn't repairable - like trying to repair a soda can.  So I called a garage door company and it looks like a big chunk of our tax money will be handed over to them.  We will probably go with an upgraded door that is insulated so that may help with some heating and A/C costs.

On the way home the other afternoon, a rock flipped up and took a chip out of the Acura windshield.  I am like a rock magnet.  I don't know how many windshields I have had repaired or replaced over the years.  I immediately called GEICO and within a couple of hours, a tech from Safelite was in my driveway fixing the crack!  He finished in about 15 minutes - no charge.  The trick is to get it sealed up before it spreads.  So that worked out well.

The final story, staying consistent with the "cracking" theme, is that I read it is not only OK, but encouraged to feed your dog raw eggs.  No danger of salmonella since dogs can eat raw meat and other things humans can't.  It is a good source of protein and makes their coats shiny.  So every morning I barely crack an egg in Mocha's bowl and she eats it right down!  Britni the beagle doesn't like them though.

You Can't If You Don't But You Can't

That pretty much captures my day so far.  My last post told the happy ending of my ADT story.  The tech came out yesterday and put in a nice new keypad.  Of course he didn't leave a manual or write down the numbers of the alarm zones but I am working on that.  Anyway, the original keypad issue came from their proposed cost for repairs because I didn't have a maintenance agreement.  Since they were kind enough to waive the repair fee, I thought I would go ahead and sign up for the maintenance plan.  I called and asked the rates.  They told me I was not eligible for a maintenance plan because my system was over 8 years old.  My only option was to upgrade the entire system.  So I needed a maintenance plan to avoid a high repair cost but I am not eligible for a maintenance plan.  Nice. At least I tried.

Meanwhile, I have been having terrible internet connection speeds with my internet provider and after 3 calls, I found a knowledgeable rep who determined I had faulty equipment.  He ordered me a brand new gateway (combo modem and router) and said I would get it early this week.  It is not something I can pick up at the local cable center.  Meanwhile, he scheduled a tech to come out and look things over.  The tech was out the next day, checked that all of my wiring was good,  and confirmed the gateway would be delivered within a week.  So I patiently waited a week (until today) for the gateway to arrive.  It didn't.  I called the cable company.  Of course they did NOT order the gateway and said the tech was supposed to bring it.  Wrong.  The rep said she could place the order today and I would get it NEXT week.  Unacceptable.  I asked if I could pick one up at a cable center.  No.  I asked if a tech was driving around in my area with one that he could bring by.  She had no way of knowing that.  After explaining to her that none of this was my fault, and I am paying for service I am not getting, she said she would ship me one priority.  But since it was after 10, I wouldn't get it until Friday.  The tech who came out last week was kind enough to leave his cell number with me so I called him but he couldn't help me either.  Guess I will have to wait and hope they placed the order this time.

And on it goes...

Alarming

Almost 15 years ago we had ADT install a home alarm in our house.  We got motivated when someone stole all of the copper piping from our neighbor's house while it was under construction.  It is a great peace of mind and has only activated three times in all of that time - once due to a bad circuit board, once when something fell over and activated the glass break sensor and another time when a "Get Well" balloon drifted in front of a motion detector.  That one generated a police response and I got to watch the responding officer search the house top to bottom.  (I think she was using it as an excuse to look for contraband...).  For a little while now, one of the numbers on the keypad was wobbly and hard to recognize that it was being pushed.  So I called ADT to have someone come out and replace it.  I about called 911 myself when they said it would be almost $200!  What?!  Of course the phone person doesn't have any authority to make deals so I didn't get too upset at her but I did pull the customer loyalty card.  That got me transferred to Sales where I could get a super updated system for free (including a new keypad) but my monthly monitoring rate would go up$15 per month.  Nope, not doing that either.  So I went back to the ADT page and wrote a brief recap of my frustration on their Customer Service page.  Meanwhile, I did some research on the home alarm system Comcast has and almost switched over.  However, I got a very nice call the next day from ADT and the person said because I was a long term customer, they would waive the fee and install it Tuesday for free.  Nice.

Speaking of Comcast, lately my internet has bogged way down.  If I reboot the modem and router, I get my usual fast speeds.  But during the day, the speeds drops way down.  After 3 phone calls and a tech visit to the house, I am getting a new gateway - combo of modem and router all in one.  Looking forward to that.

Northeastern University is in town today to play the University of Delaware in men's basketball.  The NU Alumni Association offered discount tickets along with a pre-game social time at Wild Wings.  Elliott and I were all set to go but he couldn't get off of work so Lucie and I are going to the social event, then another friend and I will go to the game.

En Garde

The dogs are actually "on guard" but I made an attempt at a little fencing joke.  There was a big garbage bag blowing around a few houses down and that got Mocha all riled up.  But I noticed when she was leaning on the fence, it was swaying quite a bit.  So I took and old metal fence post and drove it in for support.  The fence is over 10 years old and in pretty good shape overall but a couple of pieces could use replacing.  And of course today I have a swollen and stiff finger from where I nailed it with the sledgehammer.

All is going good.  Very busy with work but it is a good busy.  The weather has been great.  Ashleigh goes back to school on Sunday.  Elliott saved up his money and bought himself a laptop (obviously disappointed he didn't get one for Christmas!).

This month both the Pathfinder and the older Rav4 were due for inspection and registration.  The Pathfinder needed a new windshield (for over a year actually) and rear brakes and the Rav4 needed new tires.  We weren't sure how we were going to pull that off but we had some unexpected money come in that just covered the costs!  What a miracle.  Got all of the work done and both cars passed inspection with no problems.  They are good for 2 years now.  I'm pretty happy and relieved that both of them are safer now (they are the cars the kids drive).

Lighting Up My Life - At Least My Kitchen

What you see to the right is called a ballast.  Not to be confused with the steadying weights found in a boat, this ballast is a power conditioner for fluorescent lighting.  We have a 4 tube fixture in the kitchen that wouldn't come on the other day.  I checked the bulbs in another fixture we had and they were fine so it had to be the ballast.  Ashleigh and I made a quick run to Home Depot to get a replacement and came away with much more - a new ballast, 4 new bulbs, and an education in "new" lighting.  It turns out that the old style of fluorescent lighting - called T-12 - has become obsolete.  So it is very hard to find a T-12 ballast.  Plenty of bulbs though.  So I had to switch the T-12 ballast with a T-8 ballast but for once, someone did an upgrade with some thought - the T-8 tube bulbs fit in the same fixtures as the T-12.  The tubes are thinner but the end connectors are the same.  So I went home and clipped the old T-12 wires like I was defusing a bomb.  Wired in the new ballast, put in the new T-8 bulbs (a T-8 ballast won't fire up T-12 bulbs) and we were back in business.  Brighter actually.  More natural lighting.  And I guess within a year we will save enough money from the more efficient ballast and bulbs to pay for them.

He's In!

As if that part above wasn't good enough, this next paragraph is like icing on the cake:

Elliott had completed the early admissions packages for a few colleges but Northeastern was the one he wanted to get into the most.  Lucie and I got our Master's degrees from there but we really didn't influence his decision.  He pretty much holed himself up in his room, researched colleges offering him what he wanted (accounting and marketing), and emerged with a Top Three list.  Over the summer he and Lucie and Ashleigh took a whirlwind trip to Boston to visit the schools and made a pit stop at the Patriots training camp on the way home.  That sealed the deal in his mind - Northeastern was the place for him!  And now he is in with some grants too!  We still have a few bucks to come up with but if that is where God wants him to be, the money will come.

He is ranked in the top 10 of his class of 350 at the high school with a 4.3 GPA so he can coast a bit.  Lacrosse is coming up soon and he will be traveling to Anaheim, CA this spring for another DECA competition (national business and marketing organization).  The other day, he scored the highest IN THE STATE on a practice test.

If things keep going as planned, Lucie and I will be able to enjoy our retirement with a son handling our finances and a daughter managing our health!

Stink Bug -> Bed Bug

Let me set the scene:  I like to read when I go to bed at night.  Our headboard has individual reading lights so when Lucie goes to sleep, she leaves my side on and turns hers off.  My bookmark is a solid, thin metal bar with an anchor at the top that slides over the spine of the book with the thin metal part in page crease.  So there I am, reading in the mostly-darkness, and out of nowhere something comes flying across the room and hits me smack in the middle of the chest.  That made me jump.  Now I have to find out not only what it was, but where it went!  In true Christmas spirit, I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter...  Then my nose identified what it was - STINK BUG!  Whooey!  And it was on my arm.  They don't bother me much, but I don't like them crawling on me in the middle of the night.  I walked gingerly to the bathroom to flick it into the toilet but it took off and headed into my closet.  Which means in a few days I will pull a shirt out and it's dusty carcass will come tumbling out.  I went back to bed and flopped down - right on top of my anchor bookmark!  My spring sprang again!