Internal Combustion- Two Ways

It's amazing how money just flows in and out of my hands, especially on unforseen things that happen to pop up when you least expect it.

Last week, it started with my furnace. It was a Sunday evening, and I was sitting at the computer. I was checking my email, playing a game, and checking things out on facebook when I smelled something to the likes of burnt plastic, electricity, and dust. This wasn't a pleasant smell.

I couldn't tell if my house was on fire or not, as my greyhounds (being the lazy hounds they are) were snoozing away. I went downstairs, checked things out, and came to the realization that maybe my air ducts needed to be cleaned.

Well, the smell didn't go away.

I went to the basement, and everything seemed in order. I let my hounds out, as by now they were prancing around the house, thinking that it would be a splendid time to go out, even IF it was -8 degrees outside. It made me wish I had a different house that had a backyard instead of a fenced side yard that I have, as each time I have to let them out, I have to walk them to it. I wasn't happy.

The three of us came back inside, only to still smell the funny electrical plasticky smell. It also felt colder in my house. I checked the thermostat to find that instead of being a balmy 68, it was now 65. This wasn't a good sign. It was especially not good, since it was now about 1 a.m., and not having heat was an issue.
I thought I'd be resourceful and try to fix things myself, so I checked the internet to see if there was something I could do to diagnose the problem. Flipping the breaker (even though it wasn't blown) seemed to kick the furnace in again. And I got a MAJOR dose of the burnt plastic smell again. I thought I would go upstairs and just go to bed.

After lying in bed for about 10 minutes, and stewing about the fact that I was probably going to be asphyxiated by carbon monoxide (being the fatalist I can sometimes be), and worried about how my house would look if someone were to find me, I got up and called the furnace hotline where I got my furnace.

Pavlik Heating and Cooling has a 24 hour service line as I soon found out, and was greeted by a very pleasant man who, after asking a slew of questions, thought it best that I talk to the technician on call. Two minutes later, the guy called. It sounded like he had been awaken from a deep slumber, which made me feel terrible. Unlike me, he was quite pleasant to talk to after being jolted awake by the phone.

Seeing as there wasn't really a whole lot that could be done over the phone, he said he'd be willing to stop over and check the furnace right away. It was now about 1:45 a.m., and I couldn't really justify calling the poor man out, when I would be getting up in a matter of a couple of hours. So I told the guy not to worry, so long as someone came to my house right away in the morning, I said I'd throw on a couple extra blankets on the bed, and that my two hounds would probably end up sleeping with me anyhow, so I would be fine.

Well, waking up, I could just about see my breath. The thermostat was 54. I like a cold house, but 54 is just a bit much.

The technician came later that morning, to discover that my thermostat had gone bad, and that some air flow duct thing was shorted out (hence the electrical smell). $250later, I had heat, and I was happy. It certainly was better than having to have a new furnace.

Well, the next evening, I had fallen asleep on the sofa, and must have placed my new glasses on the end table. Well, waking up in the morning, my glasses went missing. Searching for them all over the house, I went upstairs to find that they were a midnight snack for my greyhound, Siri. I was only able to find about 2/3 of my glasses, with one bow missing (and I am a bit concerned since it is made out of metal). Collecting the 4 pieces of chewed plastic and broken lenses (with a nice canine tooth mark in the middle of one of the lenses), I had to call my optometrist to see if I could get them replaced with exactly the same frames and lenses (after all, I LOVED my glasses).

Low and behold, the assistant at the office must have caught me on a good day, as somehow she convinced me to purchase additional warranty coverage in case something like what I experienced happened. I was a happy guy. All I had to do was to take in the remnants of what was left of my glasses, and I would just have to pay a minimal amount.

Bringing them to the office, they looked at the pitiful pieces on the counter that were my glasses, and laughed. Replacement of the glasses cost me about $80.

The bigger concern however is: I don't know if I want to know where that metal bow is. I'm hoping I find it in the spring in the house, rather than randomly finding it with the lawnmower.

Then again, I'm hoping I don't have to shell out more cash for an unexpected vet bill.

When it rains, it pours....