Monday, October 4, 2010

Another Good Laugh

Need a good laugh? I got another good one at my own expense just a little while ago...and I will even share this one. Currently it is 3:30 a.m., but it all started about an hour ago...

It was very quiet in the house (it is the middle of the night after all), and I was reading in the living room. I heard a beeping/chirping, and I thought to myself "of course the battery on the smoke detector ALWAYS needs replacing at 3 a.m. I got my replacement 9V, and studied the situation...because OF COURSE the chirping was in the living room...and that smoke detector is at the tippy top of the vaulted ceiling. I went out to the garage and got my 8-ft ladder (which I was very thankful I had), dust busted off all the spider webs, and set it up as close as I could get to the smoke detector (did I mention that this detector is mounted over a fireplace that is not yet installed...and that said fireplace wobbles a bit because it is not attached to anything??) I was not sure I would even be able to reach it, and I was a (wee) bit concerned that I would topple off the ladder if I had to stand on my tip toes. In preparation for my adventure, I removed all the Willow Tree figurines and pictures displayed on the (somewhat wobbly) fireplace and moved the (glass topped) coffee table. I did decide to study the smoke detector in the hallway before climbing up on the ladder, and the battery replacement looked pretty easy to manage. I was able to reach the detector and replace the battery (by my fingertips). As I was crawling back down the ladder, congratulating myself on this accomplishment, I heard the chirp again. I looked up at the detector very confused. Did I need to reset it or something? So I went to study the hallway detector again...all the while the beeping/chirping continues. I tested the hallway detector by pressing where it said "push and hold to test, push to hush" It went off when I pressed and held it, but...it wouldn't "hush" when I pushed it again. This probably lasted less than 30 seconds, but when you are right next to an alarm going off (throughout the entire house) and trying to figure out WHY it won't stop when you are following the directions...well, I am sure you understand if I let several expletives fly. I honestly don't remember how I got it to stop, but I don't think it had anything to do with the directions. I was beginning to feel a little like (no, A LOT) like Phoebe in that "Friends" episode where she can't get her smoke detector to stop chirping and finally rips it off the wall and sends it down the garbage shoot (still beeping, I think). The chirping in the living room continues...and my children have slept through the "whole house alarm" during the testing phase of this experiment. (Those you-tube videos were telling the truth about kids sleeping through these...not comforting at all.)
I cannot find the manuals nor can I identify the manufacturer of these detectors (even upon close inspection...I will look again when I am not so rattled.) so I am unsure how helpful an Internet search will be, but I decide to try it (after I have already texted to see if anyone who might be able to advise me is awake...they weren't and I in retrospect I am sooooo thankful for that...I was grasping at straws, hoping that others were knowledgeable about some commonly known "trick" to try ;-). Well my generic search for "beeping smoke detector" yields some possibilities. I go out to the circuit box and turn off the breaker for the living room (why didn't I think of that? rhetorical question only--there is absolutely NO reason for anyone to answer that) I come back in, and it still beeping...I turn off the breaker to the attic (thinking maybe its wired through there)...come back in--still beeping. I have absolutely NO clue what else to try at this point, when a little light bulb dings in my head, and I think...could the beeping be coming from the carbon monoxide detector? (which I just remember we even have but all of a sudden seem to vaguely recall seeing on top of the fireplace as I moved the figurines and pictures earlier) I went cautiously toward the fireplace, and there laying flat on top of the fireplace (and VERY easy to reach) was the true source of the beeping/chirping noise which had cost me my sanity for the last 45 minutes. I am so glad God has gifted me with a sense of humor. I am still laughing, and I will almost bet you are too. Now I just have to get the 8 ft ladder out of my living room before my little boy gets up and wants to play on it.

5 comments:

  1. You're killing me. I almost peed my pants. Of course I have done something exactly like that, but not at 3 in the morning! Love you, Jen S

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  2. Yeah, me too! (But not at 3 in the morning!) LOL!!!

    Every time I've seen you lately, you've had a smile on your face. So nice to see that lovely smile again! I LOVE YOU!

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  3. That's the Susan that I have known and loved for over half of my life!!

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  4. The sad thing is that when this happens again in a couple of years, all you will remember is that there is something different about the chirping sound, but you won't remember exactly what that things is you're supposed to remember. It's kind of like when you place an item in a "special" location so you'll have quick access to it, and then forget where that location. The good thing is in a couple of years, we'll all get another good laugh at your expense.

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  5. Hee hee ho ho!
    I don't ever write this but LOL!

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