having ascertained that the cut supply was only in our house ( comes from yelling across the fence to the neighbours), we went about looking for the source of the power leak. we couldn't pinpoint it. it seemed to have come from the kitchen but where exactly, we didn't know. a peek into the fuse box only added to the confusion. the master switch tripped but nothing else. the island was out, the microwave, toaster, kettle all out. we had to wait it out because, well, it was a sunday, and also there was THE wedding in the evening.
when mr koh, our friendly contractor, appeared the next day, he couldn't figure it out either. i was out when he called to say, sorry but nothing was wrong. when he pushed the master switch back on, everything worked. well, almost everything. this was when my super sleuth of a helper named divina came in.
while mr koh was on the phone with me, she later told me that she still felt something wasn't quite right. acting on her instincts that maybe one of the sockets might be faulty, she then started plugging in one appliance at a time. by the time she reached the microwave oven, she hit pay dirt cos the circuit tripped!! mr koh then tested it with two other sockets and voila, they tripped each time so conclusion: faulty microwave oven.
so that should have been the end of story, right? i didn't think it was worth repairing so i thought i should get a cheap one. i was at giant hypermarket the other day but what they had were really tacky and flimsy looking. but then, what do you expect from a $79.90 microwave? i hesitated.
came back and asked divina if we really needed a microwave. she wisely shook her head and said she could steam food for reheating cos that's really what we use the microwave most for.
then two days later, the super sleuth asked me if i smelled something funny from around the microwave. yes, it was still there cos i hadn't bought a new one and didn't want to leave a gaping hole on the shelf. i said no. she thought there could be a dead lizard or something. AND THAT IT COULD BE THE CAUSE OF THE MICROWAVE'S DEMISE!!!
now, i always pride myself on my keen sense of smell but this time, i really found my match. divina is much better, not just in her sense of smell but also in her powers of deduction. but when i proposed this to mr koh for him to investigate, he pooh-poohed the idea and laughed aloud. why got such thing? but if you want, i'll open the cover and we'll look inside.
he removed the screws and then the cover. lo and behold, the look on his face was PRICELESS!!
THERE REALLY WAS A DEAD LIZARD RIGHT BENEATH A CIRCUIT BOARD AND IT WAS BARBECUED TO A CRISP!!
we looked at one another, eyes wide open and then we laughed. his worker gingerly picked up the cooked, unfortunate reptile and disposed of it while mr koh kept saying: your maid very clever, your maid very clever.
it seems that the lizard must have crawled in and got electrocuted the moment it touched the circuit board and caused the trip.
all's well that ends well, except for that once-upon-a-time curious lizard. i am glad giant's microwaves didn't appeal to me. and super glad for my super sleuth of a helper.
