Tad is convinced that our electronic devices are turning on us. To whit:
- The CD player on the stereo stopped working. It was a slow and gradual process, which gave us hope that it might be temporary. First it was only certain CDs that wouldn't play. Ok, so I don't have to listen to Tori Amos. Maybe the stereo has a thing against chick music. But then it stopped playing even more CDs. And then, miraculously, it healed itself. And then, it died altogether. Which means we have the world's largest radio. We were playing CDs on our DVD player and listening to them through the TV, but: (1) it doesn't sound all that great, and (2) you have to keep the TV on, so all you see is an obnoxious electric blue screen--not exactly soothing. Tad went out yesterday and bought a word to hook up the DVD to the stereo speakers, so at least we can now listed to our CDs, played on the DVD player, and pumped back through the stereo. Makes my head hurt.
- Our laptop died. As Tad noted, it's never really been the same since it absorbed the lightening strike. And, in retrospect, we probably should have gotten a new computer with our renter's insurance. But we went and got another network card, hooked it up externally, and went on our merry way. Except that the computer has at times just completely shut down--and it's happening more frequently lately. This weekend, it crashed and Tad didn't think he could get it back. But then the computer did some sort of strange self-recovery thing and came back to us. Neither one of us has particular faith that it's healthy, so we're going to look into getting a new one. I can get a deal through UNC, and fortuitously, Consumer Reports just came out with an issue rating laptops.
- Our refrigerator leaks water randomly. As with the stereo, it will stop leaking for weeks. Then in the space of several days, it will slowly leak water. Then it will stop. I can see absolutely no pattern in terms of what makes it leak and what doesn't.
- Our sprinkler system out in the mulched area of the yard is busted. Ok, so it's our own fault, since we tripped over two of the sprinkler heads and snapped them off. Even the ones that are intact don't work right, which may or may not be our fault. We can turn off that section of the irrigation system, but I know Tad views it as one more thing that's turning on us...
When Tad hears a bump or clang around the house now, I know he's anticipating that the roof will fall in. As for me, I choose to cope by just going into denial / rationalization mode. "CDs sound great through the TV!" "We needed a new laptop anyway!" "The refrigerator doesn't always leak water!" "We don't want to water that part of the yard anyway--it just encourages the weeds to grow." So while Tad sits and imagines the house plotting against us, I sit and envision puppy dogs and rainbows in my head. Hey, we all have our own ways of coping.
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