Murphy's Law

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December 1, 2009

Murphy’s Law #7

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Electrical Outlets

Murphy’s law is an adage that broadly states: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”

So I had been having challenges with the computer, as I’ve told y’all.  The other day, I came downstairs to check my e-mail before the girls got up.  The 10 minutes in the morning with a hot cup of coffee is usually an indicator of how the day will go.

If I get to enjoy 10-15 minutes of coffee, it’s generally a good day.  If I don’t well, it’s usually a long day.

So I made some coffee and sat down in the computer chair.  The monitor was black, as usual.  It goes to sleep at night. So I jiggled the mouse to wake it up.  Nothing happened.  And it was silent.  There was no chugging coming from the self-destructing hard drive.  Then I saw that the power lights were not illuminated.

So I figured we must have lost power during the night and I just needed to reset the power on the surge protector.  I crawled under the desk and fought with the 6 inches of dust (living in the desert is miserable!).  I turned the switch off and on and off and on and off  and on. Nothing.  No lights, no chugging, no nothing.  Then I noticed that the wireless router had no power either. I thought that was strange because it’s plugged into a different plug.

So I grabbed my jacket and headed out to check the circuit breakers.  It’s about 35 degrees outside and I was struggling to get the freezing cold metal box open.  My neighbor was leaving for work and came over to help me open it.  He had a tough time too, but managed to pry it open.

Everything was on.  So for good measure we flipped all the ones that say, “lights and plugs” (nice and vague, huh?) Figuring that solved the problem, I thanked my neighbor and wished him a good day at work.

I came back inside, still no power.  So I went out again and flipped all the switches that were marked for places downstairs.  I came in again.  Still no power.

So I grabbed the baby monitor (it’s the smallest thing around that is plugs in).  I took it around to all the outlets in the living rooms.  I found three outlets not working.  Well technically, 2.5 outlets not working.  One outlet is split between a wall switch and just a regular outlet.  So the half controlled by the wall switched works fine, but the other doesn’t.

It makes no sense to me. There is another outlet five feet away on the same wall as the one the computer is plugged into that works fine.  The half an outlet and another non-working outlet are on different walls.

Frustrated with it all, I got a big extension cord from the garage, plugged the computer into a different outlet and went about my day. I figured I’d deal with the outlets later.

By this time both kids are up and whining.  My coffee is cold and I am crabby.

Just for fun, I check later in the day and miraculously one outlet and one half of the “broken” outlets are suddenly working.  So now I have two outlets that are only half functional.

Did you follow that? The one split on the wall switch is still not working.  And the one the computer was originally plugged into is not working.   And to be honest with you, I don’t care anymore.  It’s at about the same spot as the lawnmower in terms of my priorities.

 

November 25, 2009

Murphy’s Law #6

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The Computer

 

Murphy’s law is an adage that broadly states: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”

 

 

Chalk it up to another one of those things.  Yes, computer crash.  I know it will happen that’s why I back-up frequently. It’s again just one of those timing things.  We are fortunate that our deployment is short.  It’s only four months so one would think that the number of “Murphy’s Law” entries wouldn’t be that long.

 

I mean yes if we were subject to a 12- month deployment, I can see how lots of things might break or need repairing within a year, but four months?  C’mon.

 

So it started a few weeks ago, I was playing some dumb game on Facebook when the computer froze.  It happens often (but not often enough for me to stop playing dumb games!).

 

I tried to close my browser, all I got was that loud chugging sound.  You know the one that indicates the hard drive is working way too hard in there for a simple task like closing a browser.  As I sat there waiting for smoke to come out of the CPU, the screen went blue.

 

AHHHHHHH! The blue screen of death. The problem is that I hadn’t backed the computer up in about three weeks.

 

I went into panic mode.  I booted up the laptop and got a “registry” error.  Are you freaking kidding me?  Yes, we bought them both at the same time, on the same day but it cannot be possible that they would both self-destruct at the same exact moment.

 

I went to work on the laptop figuring it would be easier to fix than the blue screen of death.  It was.  I googled ways to get around the blue screen of death, without much success.

 

I couldn’t even get the thing to start up in “safe mode.”  So I turned it off, then turned it back on.  I then sat on the couch and started praying.  It didn’t seem to do any immediate good.  So after an hour of blue screen I went to bed.

 

I kid you not, when I came downstairs the next morning, my computer had re-booted and looked just fine.  The computer fairies came in the middle of the night.

 

I immediately backed everything up and waited.  It was slow, but still working.  Periodically the hard drive would start making the horrible chugging sounds as it seemed to be eating away at itself.  (at least that’s how it sounded!).  I proceeded to back up new files every day for about 2 weeks.

 

I gave up on it two days ago and now am still in the process of reloading all the important programs and drivers on the new one.   The silence coming from the new machine will take some getting used to.

 

November 14, 2009

Murphy’s Law #5

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The Smoke Detector

 

Murphy’s law is an adage that broadly states: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”

 

This time it’s not so much that it’s broken, but the timing of the need for a new battery.

 

This week has been tough. There has been a lot of puke and diarrhea.  There have been too many hours of crying and fussing and not enough hours of peaceful sleep.

 

So after getting everyone medicated and down for the night, I was optimistic that I, too, would get some well-needed sleep.

 

I headed up to bed and read for a while, then drifted off into sleepy bliss.  I will admit that I did get a very good chunk of sleep.  I slept for close to six hours, which is practically unheard of for me.

 

Something woke me up.  I heard a *chirp*.  In my brain I tried to rationalize that I was imagining it.  Or that it was the yippy dog that lives behind us.  *chirp*  There it was again.  Still in a sleepy fog, I thought maybe it’s a cricket.  *chirp* I can sleep through a cricket.  Nobody is awake.  Nobody is crying.  The dog is blockaded in my bathroom where there is only tile.  I am not getting up to chase a cricket away . *chirp*.   So I counted to see how often it was making noise.  *chirp*  Twenty seconds.  There is no way I can fall back asleep in 20 seconds.  By now I am awake and keenly aware that it is cold outside of my flannel sheets and blankets.   *chirp*  I am now fairly certain it’s not a cricket, rather it’s the smoke detector.  *chirp* CRAP!  I have to go change the battery.

 

So I roll out of bed and stand in the hallway trying to determine which one is chirping.  *chirp*  It’s not the one outside my bedroom.  Please dear God, don’t let it be the one at the end of the hall by the girls’ rooms. *chirp*

 

WHEW! It’s on the one downstairs.  So I head downstairs, get the stepstool.  Climb to the top step and try to figure out how to open the darn thing.  There is writing on it, with directions I presume.  *chirp*  DAMN! It’s loud when it’s 12 inches from my ear.  I don’t have my glasses on so I have no idea what the directions say.  *chirp*  I know I need to get this figured out.  My toes are frozen by now standing on the metal stepstool.  I can barely reach the thing anyway. *chirp* By the grace of God I pushed something and a little door opened and there was the battery compartment. *chirp*

 

I go back down the stepstool, find a 9-volt battery and pray that I remember which way it’s supposed to go.  *chirp*  I put the battery in, close the trap door and count.  *chirp*  Are you freaking kidding me?  So I climb back down the stepstool, go upstairs get my glasses on, go back downstairs.  *chirp* SHUT-UP, stupid smoke detector.  Climb back up on the step stool and find the button that says, “Push to Hush.”  Seriously, was someone trying to be cute with that one? It doesn’t even rhyme for pete’s sake.  *chirp*  I push the dumb button and count.  Wait! I got to 30 and there was no chirp. Hallelujah!  No more chirping.

 

I put the stepstool away, climb back in bed, just start to snuggle in and then I hear, “Mooooommmmmmyyyyyyyy… Mooooommmmmmyyyyyyyy… Mooooommmmmmyyyyyyyy”  Oh well at least nobody can take away my almost six hours of sleep.

 

And yes, if we are healthy enough I will be going to the store to buy more 9-volts and changing all the batteries today.

 

October 22, 2009

Murphy’s Law #4

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HIS Car

Murphy’s law is an adage that broadly states: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”

Are you freaking kidding me? Is about the only thing I can say about this one.   I have been so good about starting the Husband’s car at least once a week. He harasses me about starting it and honest to goodness, I really have been good about it.

It’s parked up on the top side part of our driveway.  Our next door neighbor’s are putting in some cement right next to where the car is parked.  So I’ve told them when they needed it moved to let me know and I would gladly move it so they can get the wheelbarrow up where they need it to be.

So today was the day.  I started the damn car last Friday.  It’s been 6 days.  My parents were here, they can vouch for the fact that I started the car and that it did in fact start.

So just a bit ago, I went out to start it.  I was chatting with the neighbors.  They were giving me a hard time about when I was going to wash it.  The Husband is religious about washing the cars.  He does it at least every other week.  I don’t wash cars.  So they haven’t been washed in the seven weeks he’s been gone.  His car is filthy.  You can barely tell it’s black, it looks more tan with the dirt coating on it.

Anyway, I put the key in and tried to start it.  Nothing.   I tried again.  Nothing.  It was not turning over for anything. Seriously, it’s been SIX days since I started it.

So the neighbor moved his car over, jumped the Husband’s car and I moved it to the other side of the driveway.   Not sure what I am going to do now.  I don’t want to leave it where it is.  Our driveway is on one nasty slope and I don’t want it sitting there for the next three months.  But going and getting a new battery doesn’t like much fun right now either.  UGH!

 

October 1, 2009

Murphy’s Law #3

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The lawn mower.

Murphy’s law is an adage that broadly states: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”

Honestly I shouldn’t be annoyed that the lawn mower died, right?  I should take advantage and let my neighbor mow for me like he has volunteered to do.

It’s the principle of the damn thing.  About 18 months ago when the Husband was gone for 6 weeks, our other lawn mower died.   I did mounds of research and bought a new one.   We have a large hill in the front yard, so I got a great self-propelled lawn mower.   I used it once and I paid some neighborhood kid to mow with it once.   The kid loved it, I didn’t mind mowing with it.

So the Husband gets home, uses it once and deems it horrible.   It’s too heavy he complained.   I tried explaining to him that it was heavy because it was self-propelled.   He didn’t like it, so he returned it.

I said fine you go buy one.   So instead of him buying one, he called his dad who told him what kind he would get.   Of course our local stores didn’t carry it.   So my father-in-law bought it for us.   I think we drove it home from San Diego one weekend last fall.

The Husband used it a couple times before winter came along.   Being dumb we didn’t run it out of gas.   So this past spring, the thing wouldn’t start.   The lawn mower repair people fought with the manufacturer on it and finally gave up saying it needed a new carburetor because we left “bad gas” in it.   So we paid $90 to get the dumb thing fixed.

It’s  been maybe six months.   The thing has been used to cut the grass every couple weeks just fine since we replaced the carburetor.   Until today.   Seriously?   Is it because the Husband is gone?   Or another case of “bad gas?”   I think it’s a case of a crappy lawn mower.   Not necessarily the brand but a bad apple if you will.

Of course it could always just be Murphy’s Law.

And just for the record, I didn’t take advantage of my neighbor, I just borrowed their mower and did it myself.   And now I have to figure out what to do with the piece of crap in my garage.

 

September 16, 2009

Murphy’s Law #2

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Not even two weeks gone yet and we have Murphy’s Law #2 of deployment.  Y’all know Murphy’s Law says that whatever can go wrong will.  Granted when it’s deployment-related, its’ more like whatever can break, will break.

So today it’s the DVR.  I’ll let that sink in for a minute. SHOCKING, I know.   It’s like premier week.  A whole bunch of new shows are starting and my dang-blasted DirecTV receiver will not turn on.  When I try to turn it on, all I get are flashing “record” and “power” buttons.

Are you kidding me?  Yes, I will freely admit that when the Husband is gone, the girls watch entirely too much TV.  It’s that last hour before dinner that kills me.  Usually the Husband is home around 4 p.m. But with him gone I don’t get that little break to clean up the kitchen and get dinner going.  So quite often, the girls watch TV from 4:30 until 5:15-ish when dinner is typically done.

Now what am I going to do?  Well, I’ll tell you what I am doing.  I picked up three Wiggles DVDs at the Thrift Store on base for $6 and I am hoping that new DVDs will get me through until the new receiver arrives.

 

September 9, 2009

Murphy’s Law #1

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Everyone who has ever been around a military family know that anything around the house or concerning a vehicle can and will go wrong as soon as the Husband deploys.  I know this and am prepared for it.

I am eternally grateful for the neighbors that I have.  I know that when something goes wrong, they can and will help me fix it.

I was shocked yesterday when after dropping the Big One off at preschool an orange indicator light came on my dashboard illuminated.  My car is only one year old.  It’s a great car.  It’s a reliable car.  It’s made by a very reputable company.  So I was a bit deflated when the light came on.

Let me back-up a minute, the Big One’s preschool is at a church.  The church is adding a huge new building to their facility.  They are at a point of pouring new concrete sidewalks for the new building.  So yesterday the parking lot was blocked off and I had to park across the street in the dirt.

So when I realized that the light the came on was the “low tire pressure” indicator, I thought I was toast.  I figured that I had run over something and punctured a tire. I got out and looked, nothing looked flat so I figured I’d check it when I got home.

So the Little One and I went about our way towards home.

In true car-issue fashion, the light was off again before we got home.   I’ll watch for the light again today to determine if there is an issue with the sensor or just a fun little game of Murphy’s Law that my car is playing.

I suppose I need to search for the tire pressure checker thingie too just to be safe.

 

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