It's a banner of a day today

Happy Halloween!  I'm of the firm belief that our house is haunted, so I will not be able to post the blog about Karen that I wanted to.  Sorry, Karen!

It started this morning at 6:15 when Steve's alarm went off.  I said, "Wow - it's really cold in here!"  Steve checked the thermostat, and it said it was 66, which is what it's supposed to be at 6:15 in the morning.  I had a niggling feeling, though, so I took a closer look. Sure enough, "HEAT" was flashing, which is a bad thing.  The same thing happened in May, so I knew we'd have to call someone in.  We weren't happy with the place who had been servicing the furnace, so I hopped on Angie's List and found someone else.  I called and left a message, then I got ready for the day, about 2 hours earlier than I normally do.

The repair guy came around 12:30 or so, and while he was working, there was a BOOM.  Yes, a boom.  Not an earth-shattering kaboom like Marvin the Martian always expects, but it was startling nonetheless.  The guy said nothing, so I called down to make sure he wasn't dead.  He wasn't.  Whew!  But there was a smoke cloud, and he was coughing.  He washed up and continued his diagnosing.

I occupied myself today working on the computer.  I printed out tutorials for tomorrow's class, I sent some e-mails, and did various other computerish things.  That is, I was working until my computer stopped working.  It froze, and I mean FROZE.  Holding the power button down for 10 seconds (or even 30) doesn't turn it off like it's supposed to, so right now I have it unplugged, waiting for the battery to discharge.  Theoretically I could take the battery out, but I can't find it, and I can't find information online as to where it is.  Steve looked, and I looked (on my iPad, lest you think I'm lying about the computer being frozen).  Le sigh.

The repair guy was able to fix the furnace, but he needed someone to bring him a part.  While we waited, I talked to him (his name is Rick, not "repair guy").  He mentioned the explosion - that's a scary word - and I asked if the soot went just "this way" and gestured towards me like I was facing the furnace.  He said, "No, it went everywhere."  I went downstairs, and... it went almost everywhere.  All of my show stuff is covered in soot, and Steve's model railroad layout has quite a bit of soot quite a ways back.  That's going to take a lot of cleaning.

THEN... While Rick and Scott (the part-bringer guy, and no, they're not Rick Scott from Florida) were finishing up, I started typing this blog on my iPad.  I finished with the repairman, and when I came back, my post was gone, so I had to try to remember what I typed.  Fortunately I didn't get very far.

By the time they were finished, it was after four.  I didn't want to eat lunch because I didn't know when I'd be needed, so I just ate pretzels to stave off my acid reflux (at Steve's suggestion).  It's too late to nap, so I'm awake all day like a normal person.  It kinda sucks, but I'm pleased with how much I got done until my computer froze.

So, that's been my day today.  It's had some good points, such as chatting with my mother and Xuron Abby on the phone (as well as chatting with Steve on Facebook during his lunch break), and right now Fe is sitting on my desk purring.  But in general, it's been a frustrating, expensive day, and I would like the ghosts to move along to someone else's house for a while.

Barring more catastrophes, I'll be bringing you all the wonder that is Karen on Tuesday.  I hope you all have a good weekend and don't get too much snow.  There have been dustings in the area, but it shouldn't amount to much or stick for very long.

Frisco just walked by.  I don't know where he's been all day.  I hope he wasn't hiding in the basement and is now covered in soot.  He's black, so I can't tell, and he won't let me pet him to check.  I think he's under the bed now.