Perched high atop my sometimesy folding ladder... the first floor steps rising perilously below, I stood balanced between motivation and my exhaustion. That was tough place to be.
Task: Hang chandelier over first floor steps.
I went to Home Depot Expo with moms a few months ago and saw a modern looking stainless steel four-light chandelier that I knew would do well in the house. In particular, this fixture had individual moving lights and I wanted to use one of the lights to focus on the 9 foot tall niche that stands adjacent to the steps. But as with all things... it was like $50 cheaper online.
Needless to say... It was difficult and dangerous (had to call some folks on the phone to let them know that they should check on me in about 20 min in case they needed to come collect my mangled body from the stair below after my untimely fall)... but I got it up and sat on the step ready to turn on the switch and rejoice in a job well done... and as soon as I smiled in the new abundant radiant light and walked down the steps to try the other switch...
I remembered where I was.
So in a nutshell...the electrician, in his infinite wisdom, wired power to the light switch for the downstairs foyer. No problem there... but then homeboy decided to run power from THAT switch to the courtyard lights and the new chandelier area. So basically, I have to turn on one light in order to turn on the others.
Why would you do that?
In that one white wire/black wire decision, he robbed me of the ability to bask thoroughly in my moment. I hate when that happens...... and that type of incomplete moment is none too infrequent an occurrence at the house. So I turned off the power, rewired the switches and was back in business. It still irritated me. Some things should go smoothly... why does it always have to be...
My hard work balanced against some joker's minimalist work ethic.