So I was getting ready for work this morning, actually I was ready and sitting at my computer doing some pre-work, when I heard a really odd sound. The best way I can describe it is that it sounded like the compressor on my refrigerator kicked on, but it was at least ten times louder. So, naturally, I got up to check out what it was. When I got to my kitchen, however, I could plainly see what and where the noise was coming from…the two fire trucks outside my building. Apparently one of them was a pump truck and I was hearing the pump engaging. Obviously this was not a good sign, and seeing a hose going from the truck and into the building next to mine (which is actually connected to mine, they share an exterior wall) was an even worse sign. I had heard the sirens for the trucks but seeing as they were not blasting and lasted only a moment I had thought it was coming from the main road that I am right next to, apparently I was wrong. I am so used to hearing the sirens, seeing as we live next to a main road and less than a mile from the fire station, that I didn’t check to see where it was coming from when I did hear it. The issue was resolved rather quickly as the trucks left in under an hour. I later found out (from talking to one of the maintenance guys on my way out to work) that someone had a small grease fire in their kitchen and there was not a whole lot of damage. It did however make me realize that I have been meaning to look into getting renters insurance for a very long time. Seeing as we don’t have any, if that fire had been more serious and spread through the building we could have lost everything with no means to replace anything. So while I was on my lunch break today I got a couple of quotes and once I got home I promptly purchased my first renters insurance policy. It doesn’t actually go in to effect until February 1st, so now I just have to hope that in the next week no one burns down the apartment. Surprisingly, I do feel better knowing that I have this policy, especially after this mornings activities.
Monthly Archives: January 2011
Plymouth Ice Festival 2011
Today Kylie, Melissa and I ventured out to Plymouth to take in the ice show. The annual ice festival seemed smaller this year compared to memories of past years, but it was still neat to go and see. Despite it being very cold this year we all enjoyed it. It was Kylie’s first time going so she was very impressed with all the ice sculptures and enjoyed seeing them being carved out as we watched. Hopefully we can go again next year and it won’t be so cold. Here is a picture of Kylie all bundled up at the event (the rest of her from this day are in her album here) and as you can see she was really enjoying herself. All the pictures of the ice sculptures can be found in the gallery here.
All Wheels Are A Go
Well that wasn’t too bad, the 4 wheel selector switched has been replaced and they even did it for less than the quote, a dollar less but still less. Surprisingly I was only at the dealership for about 40 minutes, I think I am happier about the speed of getting in and out than I am about the lower cost. Though I looked at the receipt and wish I had the tools, knowledge and ability to perform some of these repairs myself as the part was only $28. That would have saved me some money, but then again maybe not considering I would have had to have the tools and such as well. Oh well, it’s fixed now and functioning properly and that is what is really important.
An Odd Heart Issue
I got o a phone call this morning from Tiffany saying she was on her way to take Kylie to the doctor and asking if I could meet them there. I told her I could most likely move some things around on my schedule and meet them at the office, and then I asked why they were going. She said that yesterday Kylie was supposed to have a hot lunch at school but when she came home she told Mommy that she didn’t eat. When asked why she didn’t eat Kylie said that the chicken fingers were to hot. Mommy told her she could have blew on them to cool them down and Kylie said she decided to just eat her carrots. Everything seemed fine and they went about their day, later that evening Mommy had plans to go out to a hockey game and while she was gone Mimi had asked Kylie how her day at school was. Kylie told her about her day and when she told Mimi she didn’t eat her lunch and Mimi asked why she was given the same response of the chicken fingers being to hot. However this time, when Mimi said she could have blown on them, Kylie responded with a slightly more expanded answer that seemed rather odd, and so Mimi told Mommy about it when she came home. It turns out that not only were the chicken nuggets hot but Kylie said she couldn’t blow on them because her “heart was beating very fast and was hurting her chest and back” so she just ate her carrots. When Mommy asked Kylie about it this morning Kylie said the same thing and that it was to hard for her to blow on them so she just ate her carrots. She said she told the “lunch teacher” as well, but didn’t say what that teacher said and nothing was said to Tiffany about it when she picked Kylie up. So Tiffany called the doctor and explained the situation to them and they said to bring her in right away because they wanted to check on her. When I met them up at the doctor’s office Kylie seemed perfectly fine, as usual, but I was still interested in what the outcome of this would be. The exam went smoothly and all seems to be well, but the doctor said there still could be an issue. He said it could be something as simple as she pulled a muscle in her chest from coughing and that is why her chest and back hurt and she relates it to her heart because it is on that side, or she could have a case of costochondritis which Mommy also has. Alternatively, he said it is possible that she had an episode of Supraventricular Tachycardia, which apparently is something that children often flip in and out of, and “means that from time to time your heart beats very fast for a reason other than exercise, high fever, or stress.” It is really difficult to diagnose in children Kylie’s age due to their inherent lack of fully understanding their bodies yet and also the limitations of their vocabulary (though Kylie’s is extensive) and how they express themselves. He said it is nothing to worry about seeing as this is the first time she has ever mentioned anything like this, but if she does mention it further that we should make note of it and depending on the frequency we may do some testing at a later date. Either way she had a clean bill of health for today’s exam; weighing in at 52 pounds and having a slight fever (99.7), but her heart sounded perfect and her lungs were clear; additionally there were no signs of ear infections and surprisingly no strep.
The Cost of Ownership
Called the dealership today and got a quote to repair the switch for the four wheel drive, as it turns out they can’t replace just the knob but instead need to replace the entire switch. They gave me a quote of $97.40 for parts, labor and tax and they are estimating it will take 30 minutes to an hour to do the repair. The part needs to be ordered because they don’t have it on hand so I made an appointment for next Monday seeing as I don’t have work then. I guess next Monday I will be spending around an hour at the dealership and be $100 poorer when I leave. Such is the cost of owning a vehicle I guess.
There Goes The Four Wheel Drive
It was bound to happen eventually, especially in the winter. The switch that controls the four wheel drive on my truck finally stopped working tonight. When I purchased the truck over a year ago (my how time flies) the knob on the switch was already broke. It could slide out of the console and I could see that the plastic stem that connected to the switch mechanism was broke, but it could still be used to engage the four wheel drive. Tonight it stopped properly activating and deactivating though. I was able to put the truck in four wheel high tonight, which I needed to drive home down 94 (thanks for doing such a fine job of snow removal on the highways MDOT) but when I got back home I could only drop it into Auto-four wheel, not back to two wheel. I guess I will need to call the dealership on Monday and find out how much it will cost to replace it, hopefully we don’t get to much snow before I get it fixed.