Fix it Fix it Fix it Fix it!

So at 5 this morning my lovely wife wakes me up.
"The microwave is broken!"
"Does it have power?"
"Of course there's power."
"No, I mean does the microwave have power?"
"Of course there's power."
"Ugh."

Not the most auspicious start to the morning. So, I drag my ass out of bed, and discover that the microwave itself does not have power. In fact, random outlets throughout the kitchen and living area don't have power. It turns out that the GFI outlet by the sink is tripped, and won't reset. It's broken, or jammed (wait, that would be broken) or there's a short in the circuit, which I highly doubt. For some bizarre reason, this outlet is set up to interrupt various outlets across the room as well. I'm sure there's a reason for that. Right?

Rather than move the microwave, which has accumulated a heavy frosting of random items, I just run a short extension cord... to the next outlet over. Then I go back to bed.

This house is supposed to be worth $300k and change, and the wiring was apparently done by a twelve year old. I take that back. I could have done better at twelve.

I don't understand why the wiring is so poor. This house was built in the late 50's. Apparently grounded receptacles weren't mandated in the US at that time, and a lot of the house still has the original two-prongs, which as anyone knows make plugging anything in other than a lamp or a soldering iron impossible. Still, just because something's not mandated doesn't mean you shouldn't do it anyway. Grounded receptacles have been around since the 1930s. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, though. This country still uses wire nuts. Wire nuts!

It's stupid. So, despite the fact that I've sworn, repeatedly, never to improve a rental property again, it's time to bite the bullet and fix some things. First on my list: grounded outlets everywhere. It's time to move this place into the 21st century.