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...Sigh...
Posted by
wastelander75
,
16 April 2012
·
20235 views
Right. So some of you might be wondering where the hell I've been. Well gather round kids and I'll tell you.
March 30, at around 12:30 that night. I was getting ready to call it a night and save some work I'd been doing when I saw a bright flash of light out of the corner of my eye. I looked up and saw down the road the transformer spewing sparks. And when I say that I mean it was spewing sparks like a fourth of July sparkler.
Half a second after that I hear a very loud buzzing noise all around me followed by every light currently on flaring up and popping. And when I say popping I mean exploding. Glass is going everywhere, I hear more popping all around me, only this time it's coming from things plugged into the walls.
The lights go out and I'm sitting there wondering what the flying blue f*ck just happened. That's when I smell it. That acrid nasty burnt plastic smell. So I get up from my chair, fumble around the nearby desk to grab the emergency flashlight, and flip it on, seeing this fine curtain of smoke all around me. I'm starting to panic so I run down into the kitchen (smoke's down there too), I grab the mini extinguisher thinking "yeah this little f*cking thing...if there is a fire all this thing's gonna do is piss it off."
Anyway, I run down into the basement and slap the main switch to the power box off, run back upstairs and start noticing that the "smog" is stopping, crack open a few windows, open the doors (by the way by then my neighbors are out with flashlights wondering what the f*ck's going on).
Anyway long story short after learning that the transformer went haywire and sent a power spike down the main line before short circuiting, every major electronic device that I own is now DOA. The only way that I'm talking to you right now is because I'm at my sister's and she is letting me use her computer for the time being.
I went one week without power before breaking down and slumming back with my parents. Who do not own a computer I might add. :'(
I've also had to wait for the power company to completely rewire the house, change out the burned out power meter box, and fix their transformer. By the way the power spike went almost two miles before being shunted off by the next transformer.
Anyway those rinkydinky little surge protectors I own didn't do sh*t. That spike tore through them and melted more than a few. Which in turn meant that every device plugged into them had a few thousand volts of electricity coursing through them.
Here's the list of ......casualties that I know of.
1 very reliable but very old digital alarm clock.
33 inch sony flatscreen
4 surge protected plug in boxes. Melted.
microwave
directv cable box
4 month old retro style stereo system with quad surround sound speakers that I got for christmas
3 year old gateway computer
Xbox 360 with a copy of The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim melted/fused to the tray. Yes......Fused. To. The. Tray.
1 cellphone....because guess what was plugged in recharging at the time?
HP deskjet printer
various lamps...two of which I've had since I was still a service man
and last but not least
a sh*tload of light bulbs
Wait. This is where the story gets really screwy.
About a week ago I finally take the list to my insurance agency hoping, with what little deductible I had to pay I'd be able to replace all these things no problem. Which I've had for quite a while with the agency and the last time it was a mere 350 dollars.
However
This last pay period it had jumped (much to my bewilderment since, no, I didn't check) from 350 to....wait for it.....
Waaaaait for iiiiit....
2 thousand. mother f*cking. dollars.
That's right. In one year. In one mother f*cking year it had jumped from 350 bucks to
two thousand f*cking dollars.
To say that I was livid was an understatement. They had jumped my deductible, without notifying me beforehand, that I had to now pay two thousand dollars. And they had the balls to tell me that this had been in effect since 2008.
Well, the funny thing is...I don't throw away old statements. I have billing statements dating back to 2000. So I looked through those and up until 2010-2011, deductible: 350.
Deductible for 2011-2012: 2,000.
So I got with a fellow from BBB, and I'm currently talking to this....agency's corporate offices. And I want them to explain to me, and this man from the Better Business Bureau why the hell my deductible jumped over 200% in one year.
We have a meeting scheduled for Thursday.
Should be fun. I'm planning on baking a cake.
Anyway. So. Yeah. I've been off the grid for almost a month, spent a week without power in my own home. The works.
I've imagined that since I've been gone, things have been oddly quiet without my massive ego getting in the way. I had a thought a few days ago that sort of lifted my spirits. It's a coping mechanism so work with me here.
Some of the thoughts that have wormed my way through my mind since then:
Bofus: without my picking on him, he's managed to grow a lion's mane of hair and is the love of every woman that he meets.
MartB64: quit drinking cold turkey
Munki: struck it rich after he dug up oil in his back yard
Stashnet: Found god and now listens to good christian music
Dimali: quit cursing and instead says stuff like "well gosh gee willikers to heck.....pardon my profane blue language ladies and gentlemen."
Aven: ....nah you're good, stay gold bro.
Anyway all joking aside, yeah I'm down. God am I down. But I'm not out. Not yet anyway. If push comes to shove and I've got to give away everything that I currently own to get back to full power, then that's a small price to pay. I missed you guys and I missed my blog. More importantly, and this goes out to SMB25, I'll be resuming my responsibilities to people who have asked for my help.
And really, SMB from the bottom of my heart, I am so profoundly sorry for leaving you hanging like this. But hopefully, god willing, I can go back to helping you as soon as humanly possible. I just need a few more days and I'll do what I can for you.
Until then guys, hang in there and I'll hopefully be back with you all.
Wish me luck.
March 30, at around 12:30 that night. I was getting ready to call it a night and save some work I'd been doing when I saw a bright flash of light out of the corner of my eye. I looked up and saw down the road the transformer spewing sparks. And when I say that I mean it was spewing sparks like a fourth of July sparkler.
Half a second after that I hear a very loud buzzing noise all around me followed by every light currently on flaring up and popping. And when I say popping I mean exploding. Glass is going everywhere, I hear more popping all around me, only this time it's coming from things plugged into the walls.
The lights go out and I'm sitting there wondering what the flying blue f*ck just happened. That's when I smell it. That acrid nasty burnt plastic smell. So I get up from my chair, fumble around the nearby desk to grab the emergency flashlight, and flip it on, seeing this fine curtain of smoke all around me. I'm starting to panic so I run down into the kitchen (smoke's down there too), I grab the mini extinguisher thinking "yeah this little f*cking thing...if there is a fire all this thing's gonna do is piss it off."
Anyway, I run down into the basement and slap the main switch to the power box off, run back upstairs and start noticing that the "smog" is stopping, crack open a few windows, open the doors (by the way by then my neighbors are out with flashlights wondering what the f*ck's going on).
Anyway long story short after learning that the transformer went haywire and sent a power spike down the main line before short circuiting, every major electronic device that I own is now DOA. The only way that I'm talking to you right now is because I'm at my sister's and she is letting me use her computer for the time being.
I went one week without power before breaking down and slumming back with my parents. Who do not own a computer I might add. :'(
I've also had to wait for the power company to completely rewire the house, change out the burned out power meter box, and fix their transformer. By the way the power spike went almost two miles before being shunted off by the next transformer.
Anyway those rinkydinky little surge protectors I own didn't do sh*t. That spike tore through them and melted more than a few. Which in turn meant that every device plugged into them had a few thousand volts of electricity coursing through them.
Here's the list of ......casualties that I know of.
1 very reliable but very old digital alarm clock.
33 inch sony flatscreen
4 surge protected plug in boxes. Melted.
microwave
directv cable box
4 month old retro style stereo system with quad surround sound speakers that I got for christmas
3 year old gateway computer
Xbox 360 with a copy of The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim melted/fused to the tray. Yes......Fused. To. The. Tray.
1 cellphone....because guess what was plugged in recharging at the time?
HP deskjet printer
various lamps...two of which I've had since I was still a service man
and last but not least
a sh*tload of light bulbs
Wait. This is where the story gets really screwy.
About a week ago I finally take the list to my insurance agency hoping, with what little deductible I had to pay I'd be able to replace all these things no problem. Which I've had for quite a while with the agency and the last time it was a mere 350 dollars.
However
This last pay period it had jumped (much to my bewilderment since, no, I didn't check) from 350 to....wait for it.....
Waaaaait for iiiiit....
2 thousand. mother f*cking. dollars.
That's right. In one year. In one mother f*cking year it had jumped from 350 bucks to
two thousand f*cking dollars.
To say that I was livid was an understatement. They had jumped my deductible, without notifying me beforehand, that I had to now pay two thousand dollars. And they had the balls to tell me that this had been in effect since 2008.
Well, the funny thing is...I don't throw away old statements. I have billing statements dating back to 2000. So I looked through those and up until 2010-2011, deductible: 350.
Deductible for 2011-2012: 2,000.
So I got with a fellow from BBB, and I'm currently talking to this....agency's corporate offices. And I want them to explain to me, and this man from the Better Business Bureau why the hell my deductible jumped over 200% in one year.
We have a meeting scheduled for Thursday.
Should be fun. I'm planning on baking a cake.
Anyway. So. Yeah. I've been off the grid for almost a month, spent a week without power in my own home. The works.
I've imagined that since I've been gone, things have been oddly quiet without my massive ego getting in the way. I had a thought a few days ago that sort of lifted my spirits. It's a coping mechanism so work with me here.
Some of the thoughts that have wormed my way through my mind since then:
Bofus: without my picking on him, he's managed to grow a lion's mane of hair and is the love of every woman that he meets.
MartB64: quit drinking cold turkey
Munki: struck it rich after he dug up oil in his back yard
Stashnet: Found god and now listens to good christian music
Dimali: quit cursing and instead says stuff like "well gosh gee willikers to heck.....pardon my profane blue language ladies and gentlemen."
Aven: ....nah you're good, stay gold bro.
Anyway all joking aside, yeah I'm down. God am I down. But I'm not out. Not yet anyway. If push comes to shove and I've got to give away everything that I currently own to get back to full power, then that's a small price to pay. I missed you guys and I missed my blog. More importantly, and this goes out to SMB25, I'll be resuming my responsibilities to people who have asked for my help.
And really, SMB from the bottom of my heart, I am so profoundly sorry for leaving you hanging like this. But hopefully, god willing, I can go back to helping you as soon as humanly possible. I just need a few more days and I'll do what I can for you.
Until then guys, hang in there and I'll hopefully be back with you all.
Wish me luck.
