This Christmas turned out to be one of our more eventful ones. It started off with no electricity when we arrived at Brian's mom's house early that afternoon and ended with a power surge in our neighborhood soon after we arrived home later that evening.
Brian, Jordan, and I were sitting at the dining room table at about 8 p.m. when the lights went out. While Brian went downstairs to check the circuit breaker, the lights came back on, accompanied by a popping sound, complete with light bulbs popping out over our heads! A lovely burning smell ensued, and, alas, our dinner became inedible thanks to the bits of light bulbs scattered across the table.
Within moments, I could hear people talking outside, and I noticed many houses were dark. I went outside to talk to some neighborhoods, and a couple minutes later, two fire trucks were on the scene. Apparently a transformer/wires (no idea exactly) were burnt.
All in all, it made for an exciting, electrifying evening. I was pretty freaked out about the light bulbs popping; even Sadie was shaking for a few minutes after, and Jordan refused to go to bed for probably another half hour.
The downside was no cable, phone, or Internet for three days. Verizon's handling of the situation did not make me happy, but I have since forgiven them, thanks to three months of HBO and Cinemax. (Long story short, a CR first said it would be fixed that night, then changed it to three days later; his supervisor said it would be fixed the next day, then changed it to three days later. Don't jerk me around like that!)
It remains to be seen if Duquesne Light will accept responsibility for the occurrence. I can only hope, since we had about $475 in furnace repairs thanks to the surge. Throw in about a dozen light bulbs and a lamp, and we are out over $500. Our homeowner's deductible is, you guessed it, $500.
Not the merriest way to end Christmas, especially when you are hardly working. But, I tell myself we could have lost a lot more (like our beloved 42" flat-screen HD TV), and one of us could have been injured thanks to the shooting bulbs.
Just keeping it in perspective.
Brian, Jordan, and I were sitting at the dining room table at about 8 p.m. when the lights went out. While Brian went downstairs to check the circuit breaker, the lights came back on, accompanied by a popping sound, complete with light bulbs popping out over our heads! A lovely burning smell ensued, and, alas, our dinner became inedible thanks to the bits of light bulbs scattered across the table.
Within moments, I could hear people talking outside, and I noticed many houses were dark. I went outside to talk to some neighborhoods, and a couple minutes later, two fire trucks were on the scene. Apparently a transformer/wires (no idea exactly) were burnt.
All in all, it made for an exciting, electrifying evening. I was pretty freaked out about the light bulbs popping; even Sadie was shaking for a few minutes after, and Jordan refused to go to bed for probably another half hour.
The downside was no cable, phone, or Internet for three days. Verizon's handling of the situation did not make me happy, but I have since forgiven them, thanks to three months of HBO and Cinemax. (Long story short, a CR first said it would be fixed that night, then changed it to three days later; his supervisor said it would be fixed the next day, then changed it to three days later. Don't jerk me around like that!)
It remains to be seen if Duquesne Light will accept responsibility for the occurrence. I can only hope, since we had about $475 in furnace repairs thanks to the surge. Throw in about a dozen light bulbs and a lamp, and we are out over $500. Our homeowner's deductible is, you guessed it, $500.
Not the merriest way to end Christmas, especially when you are hardly working. But, I tell myself we could have lost a lot more (like our beloved 42" flat-screen HD TV), and one of us could have been injured thanks to the shooting bulbs.
Just keeping it in perspective.
Comments