Sumpin Silly

 

The good news is that our battery-backup sump pump worked.

The bad news is that our sump pump died.

Post-failure analysis revealed that the start capacitor for the pump had a crack in it, evidence of age and/or overheating.

Funny thing about those electrolytic capacitors; they are the component most likely to fail in electronics like pumps (sump and HVAC and fans) and LED lighting.

This particular unit, according to Cheryl's research, was purchased a scant 4 years ago. This is far too short a lifetime for a sump pump which hasn't actually been run much. But the first sump pump in the house -- which was installed by the contractors -- only lasted six months. The next one lasted ten years. So they are very inconsistent.

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I got up early on Saturday morning to make Cheryl's coffee and first noticed that the back deck had water standing so I knew there had been substantial rain the night before. And then I heard what sounded like an airplane passing overhead -- except it didn't fade away. And the floor was rumbling. And then I realized that it wasn't an airplane, it was the sump pump, and it didn't sound right. It sounding ... different. So I immediately panicked, not because of the thought of water rising in the basement, but rather the fact that I couldn't just rush down into the basement to check it because first it was necessary to notify the renters downstairs so I wouldn't presume upon their privacy.

So I sent a text to Mary and (luckily!) she responded quickly and positively, and down I went to the mechanical room.

The floor was wet but only near the backup battery, which was odd. And the backup pump was kicking on about every 30 seconds. It was impossible to tell how long the pump had been running but the meter on the battery indicated that the voltage was dropping down to about 8 volts instead of the normal 12, so it was obvious that it had been running quite a while.

Having no idea how much longer it would keep going, I rushed over to the hardware store and bought a new pump and brought it back home and pulled the "pump assembly" (containing both the primary and backup pumps) and disconnected the old primary and installed the new one and then dropped the pumps assembly back into the sump and plugged it all in and -- it worked!

Taking the old one back into the garage, I tore it down, being careful to do it inside a plastic tub (because the pump is full of mineral oil) and found the cracked capacitor. Because I just have to know.

Nap Time

Friday, May 19th, was my last day of contract work. That means I've been out of work for six weeks. After having a job for only a couple of months. Which came after nearly four months of being out of work.

So out of the last 7 months, I've been out of work for 5.

It's been awfully frustrating not being able to find anything. And this is with two companies trying to find me a job (over and above my own efforts). I've updated my resume several times to try to find something that will 'bite', but nothing seems to be garnering any attention. Either my resume is badly written, contains all the wrong information, or there just aren't any jobs that match up with my specific qualifications.

The one job I was able to get ended in disaster; after two months of effort, doing something I really enjoyed, they canceled the contract because I wasn't getting anywhere with it. I was flailing.

So it was back to looking for work again.

At first it appeared that there were several opportunities, but most of those have dried up and blown away, except for one I'm still waiting to hear back from. (And that one doesn't exactly line up with my skills, and will probably result in a huge increase in my stress level.)

If that isn't a good excuse for depression, I don't know what is. I'm trying hard not to get too depressed about it, but it's difficult when the number of bad things that have happened over the last year-and-a-half keeps increasing. Like:

• Friends dying
• Relatives dying (2 uncles and then Mom)
• Cars dying
• Jobs dying
• Dreams dying
• Body dying (little by little, piece by piece)
  

And the number of unfinished tasks on my plate have been doing likewise.

• House maintenance list spiraling out of control
• Number of car repairs started but still not finished
  
• Yard maintenance barely hanging on (including mower repair still not quite completed)

July is almost here, and I still can't see the light at the end of this huge, dark tunnel.

I just want to crawl into bed and stay there.

Overwhelmed by so many things to do, and so little time ...

but on the other hand ...

There are a few bright spots in life:

... a granddaughter to spoil ...

... a brilliant wife / CFO who is managing to keep us financially above water ...

... a wonderfully loving family scattered across the globe ...

... a host of friends scattered across the globe ...

... a body that miraculously keeps on breathing ... so far ...

Mom's Birthday

Today is Mom's birthday.

I was always proud of the fact that Mom and I shared a birthday month, that her birthday was less than a week away from mine. It always felt like I had a special connection to her for that reason, although that's not really much of a reason at all. But I felt closer to her because of it.

I like to imagine that she's in what passes for a heavenly Red Lobster having a feast with all of her kith & kin, enjoying the company of all those who've gone before, especially her beloved big brothers who have promised to go tractor-racing after dinner.

I can't wait for my next opportunity to see her again, to just sit and talk and listen to her stories, especially the funny ones, even if I've heard them over and over again. She could be such a chatterbox at times! And I loved every minute. Sitting around the living room or table or standing in the kitchen with a hot sink full of dishes while listening to her stories were among my favorite memories.

How I miss her.

Birthdays

June 2024

I really don't feel much like celebrating so I won't. We'll get around to it eventually, and today just isn't convenient for everyone. So I'll just keep working on things around the house and try not to think of how I brought us to this low point.

We were going to head down south an hour or so to grab pizza at one of our favorite restaurants but it just didn't work out, so instead I just puttered around in the garage and then did some coding.

Actually, it's kind of nice to just putter. I don't like the stress of figuring out what to do when everyone has their own agendas and schedules and they can't be aligned properly. It's not worth getting stressed over.

So I won't. I'll have fun instead.

Happy Birthday, Me!