Honey-do

The project I tackled this weekend was replacing the last of the old yellowing outlets with white ones to match all the other updated rooms. Eight plugs and two switches. What could go wrong? I've only done dozens and dozens of them in my lifetime. White to white, black to black. No problems.

Turn off circuit breakers.
Replace 10 items.
Turn on breaker #1. Erica yells down the stairs, OK!!! Good. One room works.
Turn on breaker #2. BZZZZZZZZZT! Sparks fly out of the control box. Um, that's not good. Off again. On again, no sparks. Also, no "OK!!!!!"

Go upstairs, check out the work I did on that circuit, six plugs and one switch. Bust out the multimeter, no juice anywhere. Well, the problem is in the box, and that's something I won't fuck with. Wait until Monday, I guess. No major inconvenience. Erica can always bring her laptop downstairs.

A little while later, I hear a giggle in the kitchen. Erica has crossed "replace outlets" off the list. She has also added "call electrician."

Thanks, babe. I love you too. Wiseass.

As it turns out, it wasn't my fault. My wiring was fine, the breaker was just old and crapped out. Great. $95 for 20 minutes of work. Oh well. I can't sell this place fast enough.