help?

[rm]

Just got home.
am comatose with gluten-free pasta, but must run downstairs to borrow ladder from bodega to change lightbulbs. Yay.

ETA: Either all the lightbulbs I was able to find to buy at this hour were already dead or we blew a fuse, which I don't think we did. There are not words for how much I loathe this type of stupid non self-sufficiency. Of course, I should have changed teh fucking lightbulbs before it got to the point I can't see anything to figure anything out.

ETA2: Nothing and no one I admire would be felled by fucking lightbulbs. Of all things. I think there's a grocery still open that might have respectable ones that might work. I go hunt.

ETA3: I just bought bulbs at the supermarket. None of them work either. This is $20 I don't have and I'm confused. It's currently taking every fiber in my being not to flip out.

ETA4: There is actually something wrong. The lightbulbs work in my lamp.

Thank you all who participated in this horrid little moment. I've been climbing ladders in the dark for over an hour.

ETA5: Ahah! At least one set of breakers is mislabelled!

Comments

[miep.livejournal.com]

you're such a nut. Can't the lightbulbs wait til morning? You have candles. and the glow of the monitor...

[rm.livejournal.com]

I have to return the ladder in the morning, and at this rate, probably without this being resolved.

[anathemadevice.livejournal.com]

sure it's not a tripped breaker/blown fuse?

[rm.livejournal.com]

Since there was only one bulb left that worked and I'd been delaying doing this because of the need to borrow a ladder, I didn't think so.

If it were, how would I know? What would I do? There's one of those gray panel things, and everything looks like it's in teh right position, but I can't tell, and I don't know what will happen if I flip things the other way and they were already fine.

[anathemadevice.livejournal.com]

hmmm. the way to check the breakers (as that's what it sounds like you have) is to turn everything in your apartment off and flip them the other direction, and then back.

but, yeah. that sounds fishy. but it's also weird that you would buy a BUNCH of lightbulbs that were broken. if you have a lamp or a friendly neighbor, maybe you can double-check them.

[rm.livejournal.com]

working lamp in my bedroom, good call.

[rm.livejournal.com]

It was a breaker, that's mislabelled. The "on" is "off" and vice versa.

[rm.livejournal.com]

And thank you!

[anathemadevice.livejournal.com]

you're very welcome

[rm.livejournal.com]

Wait, since the TV and toaster are working, I guess I can assume it's not a fuse, right?

[splix.livejournal.com]

They don't always run on the same fuse. Find your fusebox and look for a switch that's flipped to the opposite side that the others are switched to - often there will be a red indicator dot to let you know it's blown. If all the fuses are flipped properly, then call your super.

[splix.livejournal.com]

That is, if they're all flipped properly and the light's still not working. Could be some wiring in your fixture too - if the bulbs aren't flashing and then dying, and it's not the fuses, it might be a loose wire.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Well no, I think they flashed and died (the other did, and I think the last did when my roommate was home). It doesn't look like fuses (but our box doesn't have indicator lights.

Can I be that I just got $20 worth of bum lightbulbs?

[splix.livejournal.com]

$20 worth of bum lightbulbs sounds nuts, but you never know. You could try a bulb from another lamp or fixture and see if that works. And save your receipt, because shit, that's a lot of dosh for friggin lightbulbs.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Okay, it's not the bulbs. And it doesn't look like the breakers. And I CAN"T stay home tomorrow to fight this battle.

[splix.livejournal.com]

No, it doesn't seem worth staying home to fight a maddening battle over a single lightbulb. Stuff like that drives me insane, too, but in this case, since you can't do anything about it immediately [particularly if it's a wiring issue], take a deep cleansing breath, and maybe you can put a call in to your building manager's tomorrow morning and they can look at it for you.

Bonne chance.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Actually, many lightbulbs because I'm lazy.

But, it turned out to be a breaker, because the damn things are mislabelled.

[splix.livejournal.com]

Well then. Excellent. :)

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

It drives me crazy too, to have things I know I should be able to fix and yet get stuck with them broken.

It doesn't sound like a fuse to me either, since you have other eletricity. Try shaking one of the light bulbs; if they're broken or burnt out, they'll make a rattling sound. If they're quiet, they're probably okay, and you'll always be able to use them after you fix the problem; it's not like lightbulbs spoil if you keep them too long. So it's not totally money wasted.

[rm.livejournal.com]

I just spent time in the Fine Far muttering to myself "Richard would not be felled by fucking lightbulbs."

I'm currently in the process of revising that bit of crack!fic opinion.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

My latest "this would never happen to my characters" moment was when I missed a flight, and was left wailing in an airport about how it was ridiculous I wasn't capable of renting a car or getting a train ticket, because surely they would find a way to make it home before anyone would notice what they'd done.

I wish I could help you with the lights, but I know nothing about electricity.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Well, it's at least partially resolved now, and I love lots and lots of lightbulbs.

Just glad I wasn't haveing a Snape moment. The lightbulbs would have met a swift, and apparently unjust, death.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

That's good to hear!

[rm.livejournal.com]

Why did I write love? I _have_ lots fnad lots of lightbulbs. at least that's off the to do list for the next decade.

I need a nap.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Heh. I'd assumed you meant you loved having lots of light around. Which is nice, but usually requires lamps and not just lightbulbs.

You know, given that it's after midnight, most people wouldn't call going to sleep now a nap. *grins*

[marzipan-pig.livejournal.com]

I think I have a journal entry that says "Could I really be such a princess that I have never changed a fluorescent bulb before?" b/c I didn't know they had to be kind of turned, or that the cheaper ones flicker. Lighting is supposed to just happen by MAJIK!!!

[vondow.livejournal.com]

To check for blow breakers, press on them whichever direction they are. If there is a little bit of play, they have been tripped. To reset them you have to flip them and flip them back.

You probably already know this now, but in case not, here it is for future reference.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Actually, I didn't, but it explains everything.

I wonder how we did it. *shrug*

[miep.livejournal.com]

ours regularly flip if there's 2 heat-generating appliances on at once, say a toaster is on and the fridge starts running. space heaters will do it, or blow driers, or a microwave...

or sometimes just plain cussedness.

Gluten free pasta

[http://users.livejournal.com/_lj_sucks_/]

I just learned there are breadmakers with gluten free settings (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FZZ0VE/). If I had to eat gluten free, I'd want one.