Electricity

Last night, I had my first official run-in with Indian electrical wiring and may I just say for the record that an electrical fire is the worst stench I have ever encountered in my life. EVER.

But let’s back up. All my housemates were out for the evening. I was cheerfully enjoying a night alone, eating corn chowder and watching Season 6 of Sex and the City (fabulous!). After I while, I noticed a slight smell of hot plastic but thought nothing of it because my heater sometimes gets a little too warm and smells like that. Okay, no problem.

Then, I heard some popping noises—sort of like the sound of big moths hitting the window. This was slightly alarming and when the sounds progressed into crackling, I got really concerned. I had just gotten up to shut off the power when clouds of noxious smoke started billowing from the voltage regulator we use with the TV. And all the power in the room went out.

I literally could not go into the room for several minutes because it smelled too bad. However, little damage was actually done as the fuses blew before the TV or DVD player could be fried. Thank goodness. But the whole house still smells funny today and we’re down one voltage regulator. Alas.