(Un)successful Independence

Ok as no-one is forth coming, either they were truely successful right from the get go or are too embarrased to share. My first term at University, yes I was nightmare to live with, we had a cooking rota, I decided to cook my house mates a sausage caserole, I served it up it wasn't that warm the carrots were quite crunchy, I ate all of my mine while my house mates pushed theres around their plates I told them to "stop messing about with their food!". Fortunately for them I had to go out so they managed to bin their meals monthes later they told me the caserole was actually only warm. It suddenly dawned on me that was why it wasn't that hot. I hadn't cooked it properly it had been on the grill setting not the oven setting. I eventually learnt how to cook and how not patronise house mates .

Things I have learned the hard way while living on my own:

Never put dishwashing soap in an automatic dishwasher. Ever.

Those little blue tabs that you put in your toilet tank for automatic cleaning also eventually eat the seals.

Always, always, always shut off a breaker when working on an electrical circuit.

Never mix up baking powder and baking soda. Those were the chewiest homemade tortillas ever.

Never fall asleep with a propane heater running. Especially in a house that is well sealed.

Food - if it looks "off" or smells "off", don't chance it.

Electricity is unforgiving...

I was so responsible until about 15, and this was AFTER my FALSE CONVERSION!?!?!, -
when something in my life went really wrong and tore me into pieces -
I was relocated in California, went to a Trade-School and learned how I could make a descent
living on my own, but alas, most of my class mates were older and started inviting me to some
really fantastic parties', and I soon found that 'hard-liquor' was great!!! and so began a journey of
a very lost and lonely time...

just a share to show a piece of who my 'old-woman' was, and to give a total "Thank-YOU to Yeshua"
for weaving my own tapestry into whom this 'new-woman is becoming...

"You really should unplug the lamp before trying to replace the socket..."



Glad that you are learning...

I was just teasing...

But, I see what you mean.

Still --- I am glad that you are learning...

( Make sure you connect the 'neutral' wire to the socket-base terminal and the 'hot' wire to the center-tip terminal. )

When the janitor is cleaning the room, you have to wedge the closet shut from the inside and not merely rely on the lock.

Otherwise he'll tell the landlord and get you in trouble.

Seriously? There's a neutral too? THREE wires?

Ack! I just got my chicken feet back on. Hubby is so going to wire my lamp. Bawwwwk, buck, buck buck buck!

This does not compute. Why are you locking yourself in a closet just because the janitor is there? (Also, doesn't help that I was more likely to be the janitor. lol)

I was saving money by living in the office at the time. Thee was a large utility closet in back. I slept there and kept the best of my worldly possessions therein.

It was possibly illegal because the space was non-residential. If the janitor saw me, I'd be toast.

If your lamp has a third wire in the cord, it should be 'ground'. The two current-carrying wires are called 'neutral' and 'hot' based on, and because of, the way the wiring coming into the house is "arranged" / "configured"...

In the house wiring itself ( in the U.S.A. ), the white wire is the 'neutral' wire - which is the "common neutral" wire from the "center-tap" connection of the 'secondary' winding of the transformer feeding the house. This is why it is called 'neutral'. The other two current-carrying wires are called 'hot'. The most often colors for these are black and red. Both colors will be used when both 'hot' wires are needed in a circuit. Otherwise, it will usually be black - even if it comes from the 'red' wire side coming into the house at the breaker box. ( The actual wires that come into the breaker box will usually all be black, with the 'hot' wires marked with colored tape. It is less likely that one of them will actually be red. The red color comes into play when you have four-wire power transmission for a "220" circuit: green, white, black, and red are the usual colors. ) Then, there is 'ground' - which either has green insulation, or is bare wire.

So then:

'ground' => green, or bare wire
'neutral' => white
'hot' => black, red, blue, etc. - can be almost anything but green or white, but usually black and then red

Back to the lamp...

If one of the blades of the plug is larger than the other ( the corresponding slot it goes in is also larger ), then that blade is the 'neutral' side of the circuit. The other, smaller, blade is of course the 'hot' side of the circuit. The 'neutral' side needs to connect to the "shell" of the lamp socket, while the 'hot' side needs to connect to ( and, possibly going through a switch first ) the metal 'finger' that touches the tip of the light bulb when it is screwed into the socket.

Funny, we've always done everything including electricity, but NOT plumbing! (the first couple of wiring jobs we had a professional carpenter help us; I assume the only reason we don't do our own plumbing is because we've never been close friends with a plumber!)

My hamster escaped and got stuck in the couch. I shredded the couch to free it and had to carry it to the dumpster and find a used couch to replace it.

Oh that reminds me....those blue toilet bowl cleaner tabs don't work well in the dishwasher to clean dishes. ( never had a dish washer before. Our roomate, my husband's cousin still laughs about it to date.)

Des! i don't know whether to scold you or hug you.