Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self. - Cyril Connolly
Sunday, November 19, 2006
One thing leads to another....
Yesterday, I hit the hardware store to pick up new halogen bulbs for the torchiere lights in the living room, replace the ceiling fan unit in my kitchen, and get new air filters for the furnace since I think I might have to finally turn the heat on today.
This morning, I figured I'd tackle the light bulbs while I watched my version of a Sunday morning religious service. Meanwhile, the Sunday Liturgy lay on the coffee table mocking me in unread silence.
Thinking it would only take a few minutes, I was certain I'd still be able to get to the Crossword Puzzle before the end of the show.....right....
First, I had to clean all the dead bugs out of the lamp basin. This required getting the protective glass cover off of the bulb, which in turn required a very small screw driver and much swearing at the IKEA gods. Getting the old bulb out, taking off the lamp basin from the base, washing the lamp basin, and reattaching them, took more effort than I imagined. Replacing the actual bulb took about 30 seconds. One of the lamps was uncooperative and it took me another 20 minutes to determine that a connection was loose, resulting in a spotty connection which caused the lamp to turn on and off at will. Once I got all that done, screwing the glass covers back ON was even harder than getting them off. Especially since the cat had batted the screws off the table and I had to hunt for them on the carpet under the dining room table.
Of course, then came putting the lamps back. They looked weird. I've never really liked their location, and thought that they would look MUCH better on either side of the bookcases, instead of their rather odd location across the room from each other. Of course, the electrical outlet that they would need to be plugged into is directly BEHIND said bookcases. So ensued offloading ALL the books in my living room onto the floor, coffee table and dining room table to lighten the teak shelves enough to move them. Well, of course there was 7 years of dust bunnies and other dirt behind the cases that needed to be cleaned up once I moved them away from the wall....
The lamps are now clean, with fresh bulbs and look much more balanced on either side of the bookshelves, but it took me three hours to essentially change two lightbulbs.
Then, I went down to the basement to toss in a load of laundry and put the new air filter in. To get to the air filter, I'm going to be spending my afternoon rearranging and cleaning the storage room.
