A Series Of Unfortunate Events...

At the end of this post will be a poll (no it is NOT a quiz... sheesh!) and if you would be so kind as to participate. Believe me, by the end of this post... you'll be wanting to weigh in on the decision...

I asked my husband a couple of weeks ago to take the air conditioner out of the window. When the first hard frost comes and I'm shivering under the covers due to the draft coming through the air conditioner... well, it means it's time to take it out, winterize it and store it in the basement.

That is his job (when he is home and not off on super suit duties). Those air conditioners are heavy! How heavy? Read on...

So I bugged him a few more times about it even though I know he's been amazingly busy.  Time just flew as it sometimes does and he just never got around to it. (I know, the Red Sox games are riveting but still... actually, that's not really fair... it truly has been a very busy year and the truth is, it was 'I' who got impatient..)

Well, where we live there is this strange phenomena that happens twice a year. A couple of weeks in the spring and a couple of weeks in the fall, there are swarms of ladybugs. I had never seen anything like it until we moved here. When I say a swarm, I mean literally thousands of these flying insects. I used to think ladybugs were cute.

So the last few days, the ladybugs have been getting in through the air conditioner in our bedroom. On Wednesday night my husband vacuumed up hundreds of them that covered our bedroom ceiling, walls and windows. And still left the air conditioner where it was.

There is another bit of information about ladybugs that I wish I was still blissfully ignorant about. When ladybugs are squashed, batted or sucked up by the vacuum, they let off a bad odor. It's one of their defense mechanisms. Truly, I could have lived an extremely full and happy life without knowing this first hand!

Yesterday afternoon, it was cool in the morning and warm in the afternoon which is the only time they come out. Since I had woken up at 3am and could not get back to sleep, I had decided to take an lunchtime nap. I woke up about an hour later, covered in ladybugs... UGH!!!

They had, again, come in through the air conditioner in the window and were still streaming in as fast as I could vacuum them up. Finally, my last thread of patience snapped. I went to get the drill. I was going to take the air conditioner out of the window and put it on the bedroom floor for my husband to take care of.

Here's where the law of physics slapped me upside the head. I am about 5'3 and weigh just under 120 pounds. I figured the air conditioner couldn't weigh any more than about 50 pounds. (Yeah, well I was a tad bit off)

So here I am using the little screwdriver do-hickey on the drill. I remove the screws to the frame so that I can raise the window. The air conditioner is balanced on the window sill and with the window down and the air conditioner frame screwed in, all is good. BUT, when a 120 pound woman leans on the front of the 100 pound air conditioner as she is raising the window to release it, well.... had you been out side looking up at our second floor bedroom window you would have seen said air conditioner almost pull said woman out the window.

Luckily I caught the window frame in time to keep from heading south head first at a rapid rate of speed. Unfortunately for the air conditioner... well it's demise will be sorely rued come next summer.

Unfortunate also for the internet satellite dish that sits on the side of the house below our window... it is now sporting a new look. A beautiful divot. AND it was hit hard enough to knock it out of alignment, so NO internet.

I'm sure the oops look on my face was priceless as I leaned out the window to survey my handy work. **cough**

So I call the husband at work to tell him that he doesn't have to worry about taking the air conditioner out of the window any more.  

"You can thank me later. Oh, and by the way? I need you to pick the air conditioner off the ground outside our window. Okay?"

Silence greets my pronouncement. I can hear the wheels spinning.

So here is my poll...

If this were your husband, would you:

A. Vote him off the island for not having taken the air conditioner out when you asked him the first half dozen times or so.

B. Thank him profusely for picking up the air conditioner and putting it in his truck for disposal and attempting to re-align the satellite dish so that you could have your email and internet service back.

C. Laugh like a loon as you imagine just what you must have looked like to the neighborhood at large. (BTW, the squirrels and wild turkeys were not overly impressed by the entertainment)

D. Hand your husband a pillow to gently lay his head upon while sleeping on the couch.

E. Just say to yourself, "Suck it up, Buttercup" and chalk it up to 'Life's Lesson number 3,849'...

QOTD:
Earthworm: "It's not dirt, but it tastes good."
Spider: "Mmmmm. Better than ladybugs."
Ladybug: "What?"
Spider: "Excuse me."
From the movie, 'James And The Giant Peach'

 (Originally posted on 19 Oct 2007) (BTW, the last time I posted this it was almost split completely even across all five options... just goes to show that the guys tend to stick up for each other while the women are in complete agreement)