You really DO learn something new every day
Tonight, Lee was trying to replace a lightbulb in the living room. He was trying for several minutes before he got frustrated and said "Stupid French lightbulbs". Being the sweet, loving wife that I am, I asked if I could help. He said, "No, I just have to figure out how to remove this old lightbulb". I said, "You can't just screw it off?" He said, "No, it doesn't work that way. You have to pop it out or something." So, he tried for several more minutes, until finally he started unscrewing it from the bottom. And he said, "Oh, you just have to unscrew it."
4 comments:
Ok, in my defense, it's not like the lightbulbs were in a lamp or a stable lighting fixture. One of the more charming aspects of renting an apartment in France is that you are expected to supply your own fixtures (curtains, curtain rods, wall sconces, refrigerators, countertops, etc.). The previous tenants had removed the wall sconces in the living room, and since we couldn't really find anything that we liked enough to justify installing and later removing, we decided to leave the bare bulbs hanging from the walls. It's not the most elegant option, but we were both raised in the South by Europeans, so for us this is perfectly normal.
Anyway, the base where the light bulbs are supposed to screw in isn't attached to anything except a couple of wires sticking out of the wall, and the base itself is comprised of several interlocking pieces that weren't properly connected. In unscrewing the burned out bulbs, I gripped the base at different levels, but the rest of the base (as well as the light bulb and the wires) just twisted along as well. The dilemma was to figure out how to connect all of the parts of the base so that I could hold it steady. I had to "pop in" (not "pop out") several different pieces to get the base to remain stable, and only then could I unscrew the old bulb and put in the new one. Oh, and the wires are sorta frayed and they carry 240 volts of current, so I was being just a wee bit careful not to get fried like that bad guy in "Tango and Cash" while Pegs offered helpful advice like, "Don't fuck it up" and "If you get electrocuted, try not to fall back against the table. You might break it."
Whatever. At least I had the initiative to replace the bulbs. If it weren't for me, Pegs would still be in the sitting on the couch in the dark, trying to read her new copy of Elle using the glare from the TV.
uh, huh. whatever you need to tell yourself.
"240 volts of current", eh? Well, I'm no engineer, but...oh wait, I am one. Yeah, that phrase doesnt make any sense.
Lee, even your comments are longer than my posts. Good lord man.
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