Saturday, December 1, 2007

Is there ever a convenient time

for things to break? Last night, our furnace stopped working last night around 9:30. My husband, Daddy D, was in the basement when the furnace stopped functioning. We tried to refire the appliance to no avail. At 9:30 on a Friday night with an outside temperature of 23 degrees Fahrenheit with wind chills in the low teens, we are faced with a decision. Do we act like wussies and call the repairman to make a Friday night service call at a premium cost, or do we respond like cheapskates and wait until Saturday morning to make the call? If you know us very well, you selected the cheapskate route. Yes, we choose not to call the service people until this morning. Now, our choice was not based so much on bravery of facing a cold night; our choice was based partly on convenience. If we did ask for service last night, the repairman probably would not have made it to our home until 11:00 or 12:00 at night. By that time, we were fast asleep under our warm blankets. Currently, at 8:38 AM on Saturday morning, we are sitting in our home wearing long underwear, warm socks, and sweaters waiting for the repair personnel to come and fix the furnace. The temperature outside is currently 28 degrees Fahrenheit and the temperature inside is currently 52 degrees. So was this a convenient time for a furnace breakdown?

Earlier in November, our washer machine stopped functioning properly. This occurred right before Thanksgiving. When things breakdown, I wonder, "Is this a convenient time for the washer to stop working?" Well, there is probably never a convenient time for breakdowns; however, some times are more convenient than others. For example, a friend of ours had a flat tire on a bridge crossing the Mississippi River at St. Louis. Of course, having a flat tire is always an inconvenience, but changing a tire on a bridge over a major body of water sounds frightening to me. In her post last spring, Old Pipes and Easter, I remember Gawilli discussing this very issue of convenience.


As we wait for the furnace fix, I wish for you a warm and pleasant weekend with all of your appliances functioning properly and your car running smoothly.

Update: The furnace man did make to our house around noon on Saturday, and we have been toasty warm for the rest of the weekend.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh, MJD. This really is inopportune. I suppose the good thing is that it's not on a work day. I hope all is well soon. If not, you are always welcome at our place! Although like us, I bet you will tough it out.

I had forgotten about that post and enjoyed reading it again. This reminds me of a similar situation one Christmas Eve morning. Only we woke up with the chills. Luckily the repair man fixed us up in good time and the festivities resumed. I hope your story has as happy an ending.

Gawilli

willowtree said...

I'd say that mid June would be a more convenient time for a furnace to break, unfortunately you wouldn't know about it until November anyway.

Nessa said...

I hope your furnace is firing real soon. We always have water problems of some sort when we have a house full of people.

Margaret said...

I've never known a major appliance to go out at a reasonable time. And furnaces always die in winter,when it's cold. (probably because they're working hard!) I hope that you are warm and comfy now as you're reading this!

Tanya Brown said...

Oh, dear. I hope you don't face related problems such as water pipes breaking!

ChrisB said...

This is something I dread happening and I would have done the same as you and gone for the less expensive option! My heating boiler must be over 25yrs old and I keep wondering how long it will soldier on! Do hope you got it fixed and are now nice and warm.

daddy d said...

There are sometimes better than other times to do stuff. But the failure of machines is never fun at any time. We just have to deal with it as the best we can at the time.

Pamela said...

we have a fireplace that would be crackling if our furnace went out on a night like that.

Glad you stayed warm and dry... and are now toasty.

Jenny, the Bloggess said...

We had no running water over Thanksgiving week but not matter...I was with family so little things like water don't bother you as much.

Anonymous said...

Why do they always break down in the least opportune time? Well, I guess summer is asking too much since we usually don't have it on.

The washer - NEVER a good time.


Dreaming What Ifs...

Anonymous said...

Grrrrrrrrr! House repairs are making me grumpy! At least others are sharing in my pain!

http://anticsofacrazymom.typepad.com

Tiggerlane said...

Oh! How awful!! And you know, I would have chosen option c) run to a warm friend's house, and ask to bunk down! Then again, I'm a HUGE wussie!