Thurs Feb 10 2011
The cable TV box I'm attached to stopped sending me it's messages. I didn't know what to think. I wondered if maybe I had done something wrong. Maybe I had sent it some feedback & upset it? But eventually, after my owner called the telephone/cable company, it turned out that the cable box wasn't getting any messages from them either. Phew! Not me after all! The cable co said they were working on it & to unplug the cable box & plug it back in at regular intervals & hopefully, everything would all be OK before morning.
Fri Feb 11 2011
I started getting messages from the cable box again at about 10pm last night. I was so excited that I think I may have blew a gasket! All of a sudden, I don't seem to be able to stay on. Maybe I really did blow a gasket!
It's a couple of hours after my last post & I am not even able to stay on for a few seconds. My owners are getting really concerned & even called the store they got me from. It turns out I'm not "under warranty" any more. Not sure what that means but I'm pretty sure it's not good. My owners have decided to open me up to take a look inside me... Eeek!!
Sat Feb 12 2011
Things are getting a bit scary here... My owners think they've seen something that doesn't look right inside me. I really hope it's not terminal! They talked quietly in a different room for a while (I'm guessing they didn't want me to hear what they were saying) & when they came back, they took something called my "power board" out. I feel really empty without it...
Sun Feb 13 2011
I've had a lot of testing done here in the last few days but I still don't feel like my old self. Could be because I'm in 5 separate pieces...
Mon Feb 14 2011
Progress is still slow... My owner took my power board to a "TV repair man" for some special testing of my capacitors. He must have said they were OK because I have my power board back inside me again now. Except I still don't feel good & I still can't stay on for more than a few seconds. :(
Tue Feb 15 2011
More tests... still no progress. My owners think there's something wrong with my voltages & my resistance but why?? They started getting advice from a TV repair guy in somewhere called Florida but so far, we've just been doing more tests.
Wed Feb 16 2011
My biggest day of tests yet... I've had more tests on more parts than I ever knew I had! I've even had my picture taken... please excuse my lack of appropriate coverings... I'm not feeling very well...
I'll try to post some more later... hopefully my surgery will be over soon & I'll be back to my normal, bright, entertaining self...
Or at least, ditching your cart & walking out can be... Maybe I should start at the beginning?
The last time I left the house for more than 20 minutes at a time was a week ago last Monday. Today was Thursday. It's been a while. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first being The Blizzard of 2011, which dumped about 18" of snow on us last Tuesday. The school cancelled classes for the rest of the week which left me home with our 2 kids & the weather too cold for them to go outside & play in the white stuff.
Then, the oldest one developed a fever which turned out to be the flu (after subjecting him to a battery of tests, which no doubt, I'll be stunned over the bill for), so even when they could go back to school, he couldn't.
Fast forward to today - no school again (thanks to another 4" of snow yesterday), no fever, roads are relatively clear of snow, so we "went out". First we ate pizza. It was deeelicious! Best thing I've eaten in ages! Then we hit the grocery store. Thanks to not leaving the house in almost 2 weeks, I had a long list. Reminded the kids of the best behaviour rules before we went in and...
Almost immediately, it started.
The whooping & hollering. The whining & complaining. The bickering & fighting. The running away & hiding.
I told them to stop & reminded them of the rules several times. And yet, it continued & escalated into racing arond while yelling & running into people. Climbing on & sitting in shelves, on items we weren't buying. Yes, folks, you're not alone when your kids misbehave in public! Finally, I told them that we would leave withOUT our groceries if I had to tell them off one more time. "Oh," they said, "we'll be good - we promise!" Not 2 minutes later, they were back to their race. I told them to put their coats on - we were going home.
They cried. They wanted one more chance. They said they forgot. I said, "No. Enough is enough & I've had more than enough" And we walked out. It's the 1st time I've just ditched a cart full of groceries & walked out of a store.
And it was so liberating.
Of course, I'll have to go back again tomorrow & get the groceries I still need. But the kids will be in school & I'll get it done in half the time, with a lot less stress, which makes me happy.
And maybe, just maybe, they'll remember this little lesson & behave the next time we have to go the store. Then again, maybe not...
