Sounds Like...

Oh the shame!!! So, after a night spent listening to the incessant beeping of the alarm, I "awoke" (and I use the term verrrrrry loosely) with the firm intention of getting the blasted thing fixed A.S.A.P

My quest started with the security company. I rang them up, explained the problem and this time at least, was asked for my details. The woman at the other end said that she'd find out what she could and get back to me. I hung up the phone and settled in for a loooooooonnnng wait.

Surprisingly though, the phone had barely left my hand before it was ringing again. The reason for her prompt reply was soon evident; the "problem" was not one that could be handled on the phone, it would require a house call - a €100.00 house call.

Next stop, the management company. Once again, I was asked to give my details and explain the problem. When I got to the part about the €100.00 I was once again, ever so nicely told that someone would get back to me shortly with an answer.

The word shortly can mean so many things to so many many people...

Six hours and no reply later, I called back to check how things were going. The alarm was still happily chirping away in the background. I tried thinking of it as a pet bird but only succeeded in imagining those canaries that get sent into mines and wishing I could send my little "bird" into a mine of it's own...

After a brief game of "Find the estate agent who I spoke with this morning" it came about that we were waiting on a reply to an EMAIL that had been sent to the owner of my house seeking permission to pay for the service call. Ummmm.... an email? Haven't these people ever heard of a wonderful new invention called the phone? Instant connection + immediate answer = Horrible beeping noise goes away and nobody gets hurt.

So it was off to wait some more. At 4:30 I bundled the baby and myself into our finest wet weather gear in an attempt to escape and find some peace and headed into town to get a library card. 5:00pm came and went without a whisper from the management company. It seemed the beeping was ours for another night.

And then, about an hour ago whilst baking cookies, a little thought that had been niggling at me all day long came back to rest on my mind.

How was it that we had managed to stop the main, indoor alarm the night before by removing the fuses indicated by the security people and yet the beeping sound remained? The beeping sound that I had described to everyone from the "emergency operator" the night before to the woman at the alarm company this morning and again to the management company later this morning as being reminiscent to the sound of a smoke alarm with a low battery...

You can see where this is going, can't you?

The answer was obvious. The reason the beeping sounded JUST LIKE the beeping of a smoke alarm with a low battery was because.... (drum roll please!) It WAS a smoke alarm with a low battery, and once the 9volt culprit had been safely removed, silence reigned once more and my sanity was thus restored.

My pride however is another matter. I foresee my tail as being oh so firmly and uncomfortably entrenched between my legs as I call back the management company tomorrow.

Hey guys! Wanna hear a funny story?

I hope they will be amused.