A Long Week and a Half

After getting home on 7/14, I tried to readjust my mental clock to Pacific Daylight Time by just taking it easy over the weekend. It was hot and the AC seemed to be keeping up until Sunday morning when I heard the air blowing through the vents but it didn't seem to be cool. I checked the compressor to find that it wasn't working - dang!

I went up to Ace Hardware and picked up two new fuses for the unit hoping that was the issue, but to no avail. So, while the temperature climbed within our house (especially in our bedroom), I left a message for an AC repairman on Sunday and was able to talk to him Monday. The first available appointment was Wednesday so I knew I was in for several days of hot weather.

Wednesday, the repair was made, and, thankfully, it was only a bug which had died across the contact points, so it was just a service call, rather than a new compressor. All went well, except for the realization that without Carolyn around, I don't eat that healthy, preferring the ease of fast food to the planning and effort required to cook for myself.

On Monday, July 24, the day before Carolyn's return, I came home from work to find that the electricity was totally off in my house and those of my immediate neighbors. So, no AC, lights, television, electricity - nothing. I wandered around with a flashlight in hand and tried to balance it on my shoulder while attempting to read. That night, the heat drove me downstairs to sleep on the couch in relative coolness.

When I awoke, the electricity was still out and I thought about reserving a hotel room to welcome Carolyn home as opposed to the hot, dark house on Islamare. As it turned out, Carolyn was supposed to arrive at 7 pm, but an engine warning light caused a four hour delay in her arrival which allowed me to go home and check on the house before leaving for LAX. At 6, the electricity was still off, but a crew was across the street removing and reinstalling a new transformer. Thankfully, we were connected by 7 and I was able to crank on the AC before driving up to LAX.

Carolyn appeared from the Customs area at around 11:30, tuckered and tired from her 18 hour trip from Edinburgh hauling her suitcases packed with her clothes and Ashley and Bryce's books. We were home by 12:30 am - tired and thankful to find the AC pumping cool air out like crazy.