There are three florescent lights in the drop ceiling of my in-laws' family room. Since I have been living at their house, I have been looking for a particular light switch. It belongs to one of those florescent lights. I know where the switches are for every other light in the house. There was a light there, so I knew there must be a switch, even though I had never actually seen the light on. (Maybe it was just for decoration, I wondered occasionally, but that just seemed strange, even to me.)
Last night I was the last one up since the children and in-laws had gone to bed, and Jeremy was taking his pre-work siesta. (I like to stay up until he leaves.) I headed downstairs to watch a little tv and veg for a bit before Jeremy had to get up. The room looked kind of different, and I was trying to figure out why. Then it dawned on me! The mysterious switchless light was on! I got to thinking, "Now I know this light has a switch somewhere, and I'm going to have to find it before I can go to bed, because I don't want to leave this light on all night! And I don't want to wake Jeremy's parents to ask them where the switch is."
Two hours later, Jeremy is off to work and I can go to bed.
The search is on.
I check all the obvious places. Even though I know what all the switches go to, I try them out anyway - just to be sure.
No luck.
I look over every wall in the family room. I check behind the tv. I check behind the couch. I check behind the book cases. I check in the storage closet.
No luck.
Well, I knew they weren't there anyway because I had done a preliminary search of the house for it before out of curiosity, but I was just rechecking. I decide to look in the next closest room - the upstairs kitchen. I try all the switches by the door. It's not there. By now I'm starting to get a little desperate. I just know there's a switch to this light somewhere in this house! There's gotta be! The light is on for goodness sake!
I have a seat at the kitchen table to regroup.
I start thinking.
I layout the downstairs in my mind: Stairs: to the left the laundry room: the lightswitch to it is just outside the door. On the right: the pantry - no light switch to the pantry....
THE PANTRY!!
I head downstairs and look at the pantry. I knew there was no light switch on the outside of it, but I checked anyway. Nope. No light switch. I open the doors. I look on the walls. None on the opposite and side walls. Then, in a flash of brilliance, I check the wall immediately to my left on the backside of the wall the doors to the pantry are on.
The clouds parted, angels were singing, and a heavenly light shone down upon: The Switch!
I found it! I really found it! It took me 15 - 20 minutes, but I found it! I am proud of my clever self for actually being able to find the thing! It was like a real live actual puzzle, and I was able to figure out the secret of the puzzle!
Now before you start wondering why someone would put a light switch there, let me explain. The family room used to be the garage, but they wanted a little more livable space, so they closed in and finished their 2-car garage in the "basement." When they did this, they had two new florescent lights put in, and they extended the wires from the already existing one with the string hanging from the ceiling to about "switch" height so that they could just flip the third lamp on and off when they wanted it. The thing is, the wires were already put in at that particular spot, so because my father-in-law is not an electrician, and didn't want to pay one a gazillion dollars to run the wire, he just did it himself, and put the switch where the extended wire naturally ran. Now I wonder if they ever sell this house if they will let the new owners know where the switch is, or if they will just let them figure it out on their own? Personally, I'd like to buy a house with a little mystery. On the other hand, a hidden light switch might be more irritating than intriguing.
PS - I'm sure I'm only showing you all how dumb I am for not being able to find a light switch for 20 minutes, but I thought the story would be entertaining anyway, so I set aside my pride to entertain you. You're welcome.
Last night I was the last one up since the children and in-laws had gone to bed, and Jeremy was taking his pre-work siesta. (I like to stay up until he leaves.) I headed downstairs to watch a little tv and veg for a bit before Jeremy had to get up. The room looked kind of different, and I was trying to figure out why. Then it dawned on me! The mysterious switchless light was on! I got to thinking, "Now I know this light has a switch somewhere, and I'm going to have to find it before I can go to bed, because I don't want to leave this light on all night! And I don't want to wake Jeremy's parents to ask them where the switch is."
Two hours later, Jeremy is off to work and I can go to bed.
The search is on.
I check all the obvious places. Even though I know what all the switches go to, I try them out anyway - just to be sure.
No luck.
I look over every wall in the family room. I check behind the tv. I check behind the couch. I check behind the book cases. I check in the storage closet.
No luck.
Well, I knew they weren't there anyway because I had done a preliminary search of the house for it before out of curiosity, but I was just rechecking. I decide to look in the next closest room - the upstairs kitchen. I try all the switches by the door. It's not there. By now I'm starting to get a little desperate. I just know there's a switch to this light somewhere in this house! There's gotta be! The light is on for goodness sake!
I have a seat at the kitchen table to regroup.
I start thinking.
I layout the downstairs in my mind: Stairs: to the left the laundry room: the lightswitch to it is just outside the door. On the right: the pantry - no light switch to the pantry....
THE PANTRY!!
I head downstairs and look at the pantry. I knew there was no light switch on the outside of it, but I checked anyway. Nope. No light switch. I open the doors. I look on the walls. None on the opposite and side walls. Then, in a flash of brilliance, I check the wall immediately to my left on the backside of the wall the doors to the pantry are on.
The clouds parted, angels were singing, and a heavenly light shone down upon: The Switch!
I found it! I really found it! It took me 15 - 20 minutes, but I found it! I am proud of my clever self for actually being able to find the thing! It was like a real live actual puzzle, and I was able to figure out the secret of the puzzle!
Now before you start wondering why someone would put a light switch there, let me explain. The family room used to be the garage, but they wanted a little more livable space, so they closed in and finished their 2-car garage in the "basement." When they did this, they had two new florescent lights put in, and they extended the wires from the already existing one with the string hanging from the ceiling to about "switch" height so that they could just flip the third lamp on and off when they wanted it. The thing is, the wires were already put in at that particular spot, so because my father-in-law is not an electrician, and didn't want to pay one a gazillion dollars to run the wire, he just did it himself, and put the switch where the extended wire naturally ran. Now I wonder if they ever sell this house if they will let the new owners know where the switch is, or if they will just let them figure it out on their own? Personally, I'd like to buy a house with a little mystery. On the other hand, a hidden light switch might be more irritating than intriguing.
PS - I'm sure I'm only showing you all how dumb I am for not being able to find a light switch for 20 minutes, but I thought the story would be entertaining anyway, so I set aside my pride to entertain you. You're welcome.
7 comments:
ha ha you funny! the only bad thing about a mystery is that once it;s solved, it's gone.
That's true. But at least I had one! Which is better than never having one at all. 'Tis better to have mysteried and solved, than to have never mysteried at all. Or something like that...
you kill me. of course, if i'd been there, we'd never have found it. captain obvious i'm not.
But the hunt would have been so much more fun!
This sounds like something I would do, just because it would keep me up at night NOT KNOWING.
This girls is why we're all friends... It's drive me crazy too & I'd have felt so dang happy with myself for finding it.
Rock on you Agatha Cristie you!
ROFL! I am SO glad that y'all are getting me on this! I talked to my sister-in-law Stacey yesterday, and she said she was going to leave a comment on here but was having trouble signing in. She said she had been searching for that light switch too, and only found it when she happened to see someone reach into the closet to flip it off! (I don't think she searched as hard as I had, she probably never had a real need to find it.) She said she was exasperated by the thing too! I feel so much less dumb now that I know it's not just me, and that some really smart people couldn't find it either!
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