Odd things that you never thought you'd hear; "There should be a matchmaking service for electrical devices". Sounds bizarre, doesn't it? Well, maybe my recent happenings will help to explain the statement.

Some time ago, my home theatre receiver had died. Not as a result of age, but of poor airflow design. So when I got my tax refund, I figured that it was finally time to find a replacement.

I hadn't planned on buying a receiver on this particular day. One of the stops on my errand list was to a local music store, in search of some comedy cd's. While browsing the store, I happened to find one of the receivers that I had been researching online. Hemming and hawing, I walked out of the store without it. However, after running some more errands, I went back, and bought it. Little did I know at the time what "fun" would soon ensue.

As I happily headed home with my new purchase, I noticed that my car's outdoor temperature sensor was acting up. Even though it was around 70 degrees that day, my display was saying that it was only 41 degrees. I just figured the car was having a mental moment, and would clear itself the next day.

After getting home, I unpacked my new toy, and went about hooking up my various components to the receiver. Cassette deck, check. CD player, check. The VCR, well, that took a little time. Once I finally got a picture, I threw in a VCR tape, to make sure that it worked. There was a picture, but the tracking was off. As I'm trying to adjust the tracking, there is suddenly the sound of a loud "Pop!", and grey smoke comes rolling out of my VCR.

Part of me wants to laugh at the visual before me, but the saner side (and you thought that I didn't have one!) of me is telling me to quickly disconnect everything from the back of the VCR, and get it the heck out of the house! Fast-fingering the disconnects, I head past the kitchen with smoker in hand, only to notice that the clock on my stove is flashing 6:08. Thing was, it was 3 in the afternoon. Once my VCR ceased smoking outside, I headed back inside to reset the clock. Little did I know that the real fun was about to begin.

I found that my dishwasher had decided to act up as well. It would get down to a minute, but would never complete the last cycle. And now, instead of starting at 91 minutes, it would start at 2 hours. It's a conspiracy, I tell ya'! *chuckle* My electronics don't like the newcomer, and are giving me grief!

Off I headed to the computer, the click-clacking sound of keys a steady rhythm, as I roamed the Internet, looking for an answer to my newest problem. I finally found the answer to my problem, but wasn't too thrilled for the process involved in getting my dishwasher back up and running. It appears that some Bosch dishwashers have a bad heater relay joint, and the soldering lets go. However, it was either the process, or shell out $140 for a new circuit board, and a technician to install it, on top of the $140. Ryan's going to be learning how to solder!

With no disassembly instructions, nor soldering skills, I was off to roam the Internet again. After doing some reading about soldering, and watching a couple of short soldering videos, I began the task of figuring out how to disassemble the dishwasher. It took some time, but I finally managed to get to the circuit board, resolder the heater relay joint, and put the dishwasher back together. All well and good, but would it actually work? With crossed fingers, I ran the dishwasher, and watched it as it ticked down its final minutes. Success! It finished, and shut itself off.

So here I am, thinking that everything comes in threes, so I should be all set. Nope. Apparently, three things have to BREAK, before things return to normal. That Sunday morning, the pipe underneath my bathroom sink broke. *sigh*

If by chance you've been having a streak of good luck, that's because I've been getting all the bad luck lately. But I also know that once it's done, it's done for awhile. Better to get everything out of the way at once, than little by little.

I think that from now on, before I bring any electrical devices into the house again, I'm going to unplug everything that I have, and arrange it in a semi-circle on the living room floor. Then I'll bring the new device into the house, and everyone can have a little meet and greet. Maybe that way, I won't be subjected to so many breakages all at once. Your day doesn't sound so bad now, does it? *chuckle*

18 May 2008- I have now disproven the theory that things happen in threes. The television blew up on Tuesday. One of the capacitors had a meltdown, but with my new found soldering skills, I think I can fix it.