With the weather in the low 70s the past couple of days, I turned off the heat. Lil’ Smell, who is seemingly not as concerned as I with the $100+ electric bills, keeps turning it back on. With her on tour, I was able to be frugal this week. Unfortunately, last night turned cold again and I forgot to turn the heat back on. So I awoke freezing in my bed this morning. I realized what the problem was and so I jumped out of bed to switch it on quickly and jump back under the covers. I clicked. Nothing. I adjusted the temperature. Nothing. I groaned. I flipped from Auto to On. Nothing. I clicked the emergency heat. Nothing. I was too cold to curse. I put some heavy socks on and crawled under the covers for another half hour.

At 8, I called the landlord. At 3.45, the repairman came by. Five minutes in the attic and the heat was flowing again. Squirrels. Again.