Wednesday, December 9, 2009

When It Rains...

So yeah, today was one of those days.

First off, Sophie got up at the arsecrack of dawn. Again. And since I was insomnia-bound again last night, waking up every few hours worried that I was sleeping through her hacking cough, I didn't exactly bounce out of bed well rested. She's had a phlegmy, nasty cough the last week or so that has gotten progressively worse. I finally took her to the doctor yesterday, only to be told that there was really nothing they could do. The good news was that evidently I had been doing all the right things. Honey, chamomile tea, Vaporub, humidifier.

When we came downstairs this morning, the ceiling in the living room was leaking. We have a cape cod and one of the dormer windows is right over the living room. This happened a month or so ago and Neil went out and cleaned the gutters and it seemed to fix the problem. We thought it might be backing up in under the flashing. But that did not fix it today. Which means that it is a much bigger problem. And bigger problems with roofs mean $$.

Finally, as my twitter and FB friends know, our big tv died last week. It's a 62" rear projection tv and the bulb blew up. Like, BLEW. UP. Loud noise. Shattered glass. While this is not great, it wasn't completely unexpected. These tv's need new bulbs every so often. So we ordered a new bulb. Which is not cheap, but a whole heck of a lot cheaper than a new tv. And since this tv is not even three years old, we're not ready for a new one. We ordered two bulbs, figuring that it would be nice to have an extra one, plus it saves on shipping. We got it the next day and Neil popped the new bulb right in. Fixed.

Wrong.

The next day it went black. No picture. We called a tv repairman and he came out that afternoon. He charged us $60 to open and close the tv panel and somehow it worked again. For about a day. And then the bulb blew up. AGAIN. So, thinking, foolishly it now seems, that something must have been wrong with the first bulb, we put in our last bulb. Fixed.

Wrong.

The next day, that bulb blew, too. So that's $400 worth of bulbs in two days. We called out the repairman. Again. He came out this morning and once he opened up the tv, he found that something was wrong with the ballast, which I guess is the power supply for the lamp unit. The guy was Russian (da!), quite odiferous (nyet!) and more than a little difficult to understand. Not that he didn't do a great job, it just meant that communication was challenging. So $500 later, we have a new ballast, a new bulb and a very stinky tv room.

So that's $900 on our tv and god only knows how much the roof is going to wind up costing. Not to mention we had to fix my car a couple of weeks ago. All this right before Christmas.

I need to get the lead out of my ass and get our tree up so I can get some holiday spirit. Because as of right now? I am NOT feeling it.

16 comments:

  1. You want me to throw you a snowball on FB to get you in the Christmas spirit. {{not}}! :)

    Some days are those bubbles you had last week, and some are the damn arsecrack of dawn.

    {{sorry}}

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  2. Oh God, that DOES suck. My mom had one of those tvs, same issues. THen they got one of those new fangled really thin things with the picture that is so crisp it feels like your 'there'? Lasted a year. lol (Made it just past the warranty)

    As for the little Bean? Try putting Vicks Vaporrub on her FEET and covering them with socks when she goes down for the night. Sounds insane, but works! My daughter tried it here and now does it everytime she's got a stuffy chest.

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  3. Why is it that big expenses always seem to come around Christmas? Murphy's law, I guess.

    I hate Murphy.

    He can go suck a big one.

    And maybe bring you a new TV while he's at it.

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  4. Cara, this sucks! We have moments like this, seems like everything happens at once. The name of the roofing co. we used was Pulaski Roofers. They replaced our ridge vent, not a huge repair, but the cost was much lower than we expected and now we have no leaks!

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  5. AAAUUGGG so sorry about the TV for all that $$ you could have gotten a flat screen.... but now that it's done why did he not find it the first time and one bulb earlier! so maddening.... Hope all is better in TV land and I hope the roof thing is not too bad... that sinks as well ... I have the feeling every time I get something new I should just trash it because some how by someone other than me it gets ruined and just makes me upset.. so I currently will get nothing new.. until I can lock it away.. which will never happen.. O well hope you get your tree up!!

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  6. Holy Moly! I knew about the tv but now a leaky roof too?!

    No wonder the Christmas spirit is absent. If it makes you feel better, I will will volunteer to be pissy with you. :)

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  7. Oh, man!!! Seriously? Why do things like this happen in DECEMBER? The most freaking expensive month EVER? How annoying, I'm sorry! I just spent 500 dollars on my winter tires. I guess it's okay, 'cause I'll be safe, but really? I could have bought so many other things with that money, you know? Anyway... poor you guys!

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  8. Holy CRAP! You could have bought a new tv after all... Sending you some spirit and joy and crap.

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  9. I am living in the same rainy world. From worrying about the basement flooding AGAIN - to the $2000 car repair bill (which got me to get a new one) to Katie getting a new brace today (that is a $600 Christmas gift that she doesn't especially want!)...stuff suck.

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  10. I am SO sorry! That totally sucks. I can totally sympathize too because we just spent $1k on our roof and that,s before cosmetic repairs inside :-( tis the season for rain and leaky roofs around our house. Sending you a hug!

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  11. Listen, sista... I am the Mistletoe freak'in Fairy and I am here to fah-lalalala you until I crack a smile. Or until I can bribe you with baked goods.

    Hope it gets better soon :o)

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  12. Let the pouring cease. Not fair at all. Totally sucks.

    Do you want me to be super annoying and say something like, "You are lucky you have a roof and a television." A comment like that would make me want to kick someone.

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  13. I opened the cabinet under the kitchen sink today... and found a puddle of water.

    Niiiiice.

    Shane's working on it as we speak. Well, as I write. Whatev.

    I'm pretty sure there will be some wine consumed tonight. I'll raise a glass in hopes today was better for you!

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  14. I see Sheila already offered up my bit o'advice on Sophie ... seriously, you'll feel like an idiot doing it, but coat (like REALLY coat) the bottom of her feet with Vicks and put on socks.

    As for the tv - I'm not into big electronics (our biggest tv is 36"). Ha! But I can totally sympathize with roof problems. Good luck ~ maybe the Christmas tree will put you in the holiday spirit ;-)

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  15. My Russians, mercifully, believe in the saving power of deodorant.

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Give me some sugar, baby!