Sunday, November 15, 2009

Damnit, Jim, I'm a Doctor, Not an Electrician

I finally had the time today to fire up the Grumpy family hot tub for the winter.

So I cleaned it out, filled it up, added chemicals, put in a new filter, etc.

For whatever reason, though, I couldn't find the power cord that comes with it. Because I'm a guy (and therefore inherently stupid) I just grabbed an extension cord out of the garage. Mrs. Grumpy kept telling me I wasn't supposed to do that, because the special hot tub cord had extra circuits or fuses or breakers or whatever in it, and you couldn't use something else.

But I wanted to get the hot tub going, so I told her it would be fine, and hooked it up.

The kids were excited, so I had them out in the yard with me. They counted down from 10 for me to flip the switch, turning it on for the winter.

"5-4-3-2-1- HOT TUB!". I pressed the button. The jets whirled, the water swirled, the kids laughed.

For about 5 seconds.

Then there was a loud "POP!"

And the hot tub turned off.

And the kids stopped laughing.

And all the lights in the house went out.

Another 5-10 seconds of absolute silence went by, finally broken by Mrs. Grumpy saying "You bozo."

She went around to futz with the switch box. She found the correct power cord in the garage. And I am in trouble.
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30 comments:

  1. ElizabethNovember 15, 2009 at 9:10 PM

    you are a married man, which means you are wrong 50% of the time and your wife is right the other 50%. It's just the way it is...you can't help it..

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousNovember 15, 2009 at 10:09 PM

    Not stepping with the right, when it shoulda been the left. Few more years to learn the dance, or in this case, maybe learn to dance? Don't get anxious, some of us are stepping on each others' toesies after 30-40 years.

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  3. Easily LostNovember 15, 2009 at 10:16 PM

    Typical male. Not a darn thing you can do about it either :P

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousNovember 15, 2009 at 10:34 PM

    so u married miss right!
    what u didn't know at then was she would be right all the time.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The DuchessNovember 15, 2009 at 10:53 PM

    Somehow I can see your office staff enjoying a giggle over this tomorrow :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. EllieNovember 15, 2009 at 11:14 PM

    What's this 50% business? Overly optimistic, I think.

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  7. An Open HeartNovember 15, 2009 at 11:51 PM

    Man, I'm sorry I missed that adventure.....

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kimbra KaschNovember 16, 2009 at 12:05 AM

    Can't be good at everything - plus, like you said, you're a guy and inherently stupid - those were your words and I trust doctors so I'm just agreeing with you.

    And ELIZABETH the wife is right 100% of the time - who's side are you on...?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Doctor DNovember 16, 2009 at 12:05 AM

    Your chances of naughty fun in hot tub with Mrs. Grumpy may have decreased dramatically.

    ReplyDelete
  10. ausduckNovember 16, 2009 at 12:39 AM

    Dr G, you broke teh cardinal rule of marriage - the missus is always right. And you have no excuse - you've been married for a while LOL.

    LMAO - Beats my hubby's effort with the airconditioning duct (yes, we are now having all the ceiling outlets replaced as a result) :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. FrankNovember 16, 2009 at 12:44 AM

    ... I hope you have a comfy couch, Dr. G!

    It's times like this, where being single doesn't sound quite as awful!

    ReplyDelete
  12. JulieNovember 16, 2009 at 1:08 AM

    maybe next time you suggest she has a "real" look BEFORE you substitute power cords ???

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  13. AnonymousNovember 16, 2009 at 1:31 AM

    I hope you enjoy sleeping on the couch. Or maybe you can sleep in the hot tub?

    ReplyDelete
  14. RiverNovember 16, 2009 at 2:23 AM

    Ha Ha!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. GertNovember 16, 2009 at 4:05 AM

    Proof positive that doctors aren't God!

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  16. ER's MomNovember 16, 2009 at 5:52 AM

    You ARE a bozo. And your typo is amusing.
    ;)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Sildenafilx13November 16, 2009 at 6:31 AM

    lol.. sounds like something i'd probably do..

    ReplyDelete
  18. SumDoodNovember 16, 2009 at 6:55 AM

    You're not dumb, you're smart. You got your wife to find the power cord for you.

    And from now on, guess who's gonna be setting up the hot tub every year?

    ReplyDelete
  19. AnonymousNovember 16, 2009 at 7:25 AM

    Clearly not your fault.

    Check closely and you will find that the lightweight cord you found does not have a label warning against use on that model of hot tub.

    Must be time to find someone to sue over your emotional distress :-)

    - Word verification was broken French for what you might have needed had you been in the tub:

    "aedlemi" (my AED).

    ReplyDelete
  20. ElizabethNovember 16, 2009 at 8:20 AM

    Kim Kasch - read what I wrote carefully... it basically says the man is NEVER right.. hehe

    ReplyDelete
  21. AlisonNovember 16, 2009 at 8:50 AM

    I'm just glad that my husband isn't the only one that doesn't listen to his wife.

    ReplyDelete
  22. axlNovember 16, 2009 at 9:27 AM

    That was just a warm-up for the Christmas lights.

    ReplyDelete
  23. HelenNovember 16, 2009 at 9:30 AM

    This reminds me of Clark Griswold.

    ReplyDelete
  24. The MotherNovember 16, 2009 at 10:09 AM

    Not to insult you, in any way, but this is when I thank my lucky stars that my husband is both a doctor and a competent handyman.

    I sew and knit, so between the two of us there are very few household projects that require hiring help. Which is great, because plumbers and electricians charge lots more per hour than medicare pays--something I try to explain to folks who whine about doctors' fees, usually to no avail.

    ReplyDelete
  25. student dr. blazeNovember 16, 2009 at 10:29 AM

    just be glad she didn't videotape the whole thing & put it on youtube. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  26. MaggieNovember 16, 2009 at 6:36 PM

    Doc, you need to do one more stupid thing, and make it snappy. First thing: Rent-a-Dildo. Second thing: Oh, a cord is a cord is a cord, la la la. Third thing: _______.

    I suggest something tried and true: do a load of wash that contains one woolen sweater of yours, a sweater that you hate and never intended to wear again anyway. Wash the laundry, throw it in the dryer, then bring out the shrunken sweater, show it to her, and whimper piteously.

    Then you'll have your Cycle of Three Stupids done for the moment. Just make sure it's not a sweater she gave you.

    ReplyDelete
  27. ChrisNovember 16, 2009 at 6:48 PM

    I can't think of a better response for that situation than, "you bozo".

    Perfection.

    ReplyDelete
  28. AnonymousNovember 16, 2009 at 10:32 PM

    is it better now?

    ReplyDelete
  29. Kimbra KaschNovember 17, 2009 at 12:13 AM

    Elizabeth: I went back and read it - now, you're a woman after my own heart. Love it!

    Speed reading - is like driving faster to get to the hospital - sometimes you don't get where you're supposed to end up

    ReplyDelete
  30. WWWebbNovember 17, 2009 at 11:50 PM

    The ad that was below the comments when I read 'em:

    "Compare spa and hot tub prices and SAVE!"

    ReplyDelete

So wadda you think?