Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - April 9th

It's better to die laughing than to live each moment in fear. ― Michael Crichton

I think the only way to get through this life is laughing hard and constantly, mostly at myself. ― Shannon Hale

Sitting on my couch doing work on February 25, 2019, I had absolutely no idea how my life was about to be disrupted forever!  As I was working, I smelled something strange.  At first, I did not think anything about it because I was cooking chicken in the crock pot with a new sauce.  However, I continued to smell the “strange” smell that was almost like smoke and decided I better check it out.  As I opened the door to walk outside onto my balcony, I saw smoke coming out of the strike plate (check diagram to understand terminology: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/f9/22/98/f92298b8dcada0f7534b28cb40244800.jpg) in the door and I also saw smoke coming out of a vent in the electrical closet that I do not have access to on my balcony. 

Immediately, I called my apartment complex office and they started looking into the issue.  When I saw the apartment complex manager and maintenance manager walking around outside my apartment, I walked onto my balcony and I talked with them for a few minutes.  Finally, they told me they could not determine where the smoke was coming from and they decided to pull the fire alarm for my apartment building and I was told to evacuate.  Listening to my mother, I grabbed my cell phone, computer, chargers and purse and left my apartment.  I went downstairs and sat in the apartment complex office and one of my friends came to hang out with me when he smelled something strange and heard the fire alarm.  At one point, we walked outside into the parking lot and saw a fireman hanging out of the window in my bedroom talking to a fireman hanging out of the window on the floor above me.  I knew then there was a MAJOR PROBLEM!

About 45 minutes later after walking back into the apartment complex office, the fire alarm stopped and I took the elevator to the fourth floor to return to my apartment.  As I walked down the hallway, the apartment complex manager walked out of my apartment and said, “It looks worse than it really is.”  Walking into my apartment, I discovered I had no electricity and at that moment no water.  Part of my bedroom wall had been torn down by the firefighter’s axes trying to get into the locked electrical closet.  Water had been sprayed throughout my bedroom and the furniture I had inherited when my grandparents passed away was covered in water. 

At that moment, I just stood in my apartment shaking my head wondering “WHY”?  I put my palm on my forehead and just looked around having no idea what my next steps were.  The fire marshals were very nice to me and at one point we were laughing at the sign that was on the mirror in my bedroom that said “I WANT CRAZY!”  They highly recommended I take it down!

Around 9:30pm that night (about 7 hours after I first smelled smoke), the fire marshals finally determined they knew the fire had started between the 4^th and 5^th floor where the electrical closets were, but could not determine how or why!

Next week, I will blog the second part of the story.  In coming weeks, I will write about the many lessons I have learned in the last month and a half. 

CHALLENGE:   LAUGH!