More Domestic Bliss in Brooklyn, or Fun with Fuses

[eleanor]

We have the top floor of a two-family house, which was built sometime in the early 1940s. With the exception of the original (and very excellent) stove and the slightly newer refrigerator, all of our appliances are from this decade, which is something of a problem; the circuit breakers (I think that’s what you call them) have a hard time with all

Comments

[genders]

I've been out of LJ for a while, so this move took me aback somewhat. I grew up near Marine Park--is that the home of Brooklyn College?

[eleanor]

Nooooo, Brooklyn college is in the . . . Brooklyn College area. It depends on which side of the campus you're looking at, but it's further north, and along Bedford, which is a little further west.

And while for some time, Bob and I had been talking around the subject of living together, from the time we made the decision until the time I moved in was less than two weeks, so all you had to do was blink and you'd miss it!

[intelligentrix]

My apartment in Brooklyn was much the same. Unfortunately, once the landlords came back home (we had been taking care of the place and checking the boiler, resetting the circuit breakers, etc. for about 6 months while they were gone), I could no longer get into the basement by myself and had to go knock on their door. I'll never forget the very cold morning I had to go down to ask them to flip the circuit breaker for me. The landlady shouted through the inside door that I had to go down to the outside basement door. When I got there, she opened it a crack, heard my request, informed me that she was very busy and then, when I asked her very politely to please do it now so I could finish getting ready for work and that no, an hour or two from now wasn't going to work for me, she told me to "wait right there" (outside, mind you, and in my stocking feet) while she went to flip the switch.

I endeavored to not blow the circuit again.

Congratulations on the move to Brooklyn, BTW, and to this new chapter in your Life with Bob. Huzzah!

[eleanor]

In my previous Brooklyn apartment, I didn't have to go to the basement (the box was in the apartment) and this was really more excitement than I thought reasonable for an attempt to dry my hair.

And thanks!

[catelynn]

So one thing we do. We use power strips. I have one in the kitchen and I have the appliances plugged in there( microwave, coffee maker). Now of course I can not run all the appliances at once. But this way I blow the power strip instead of the breaker.

[eleanor]

The microwave was plugged in to a strip, an innovation (and strip) that came with me to Marine Park.

In the future, I'll make sure that everything is off, including as many lights as possible, when I dry my hair!

[crepedelbebe]

I’m sure that the only thing that saved me was that I wasn't having sex when I was meant to be babysitting.

Harrrrr.

[eleanor]

Go ahead. Laugh. But it was terrifying, I tell you!