Bummer Day: RIP TV :(

I usually don’t write about RL stuff, but this has been a pretty rough week, and I just need some blogging therapy. Yesterday was a super bummer day.

Vet Bummer

To start, I had to take Sebastian to the vet for the teeth cleaning that was discussed at his last vet visit. I was crossing my fingers that the antibiotics he took were enough to clear up the tooth issue, but it seems it was more serious than that.

The vet had to pull two teeth – the infected one, and a second one that had a cavity and was being reabsorbed. I knew this was a possibility, and will gladly do that for Sebastian, but it was still a $200+ vet bill in the end.

Storm Bummer

Second, we had that really nasty line of storms roll through the south yesterday.

Of course, this had to hit the very time when I needed to go pick up Sebastian from the vet. I’m talking the kind of you-can’t-see-in-front-of-you and they-let-schools-out-early rain and wind. It made what would normally be a 10 min drive much, much longer.

I get to the vet and all but one of their computers are down due to storm. I’m also rocking a terrible migraine that just came out of the blue (probably from the meeting I just got out of at work).

My first attempt to pay the vet bill was met with a denial. I told them I had plenty of money in my account, so they entered it manually, and it finally took.

I then had to rush my yowling cat out to the car in the downpour, soaked myself and my best pair of shoes to the skin, and struggled through the storm to drive home. Unpacking the cat was just as soaked… and as soon I arrived home, I knew something was wrong.

Power Surge Bummer

The storm was mostly rain and wind, but there was a bit of lightning and thunder. Nothing that I thought was too serious. I was wrong.

First, I noticed my surge protector/battery was beeping — that thing they do when there’s no power. But I could see power on my microwave clock in the kitchen. My place is pretty old, so it’s been known to lose power to half the house, but it usually takes a pretty good surge. I’ve never seen it happen during a storm.

Well, something had surged and popped two of my breakers off. I flipped those back on, power was restored. I started checking my stuff to see if everything was alright.

It wasn’t.

First thing I checked was my Nintendo Switch. That, my Wii U and my Blueray player were okay – as far as I can tell.

But my Roku, HDMI hub, and TV were all dead. 

I’m not much of a TV person, but this was the TV I just bought a year and a half ago… and I really loved it for gaming. It made Zelda look and sound fantastic. I was so proud of it when I got it to work with my Shield tablet here…

And I worked so hard to try to kitten proof it when I first took in Spriggan. Only for it to get killed by a power surge. Bummer! X<

I’m kicking myself for not unplugging things before I left the house. I used to never plug in the TV when I wasn’t home, but once I got a Roku and my Wii U, I started leaving things plugged in when I was at work.

I’m still worried that I might have later troubles with my Switch on down the line. I’ve only been able to try it in handheld mode, and that seems to be running okay for what I tested it. It’s just weird that they were all on the same surge protector and some of them blew while some of them didn’t.

Oh, and the surge also killed my happy rainbow lights I strung up in my bedroom around my plushie hammock.

Ugh!

Anyhow, more money lost yesterday on a fairly new and gently used TV.

TV Replacement

I am, however, thinking more along the line of upgrading my PC monitor to something I can use as a monitor/TV combo. This is mostly because I rarely use my TV for anything but Netflix and gaming. But I use a computer monitor all the time. I definitely want some kind of bigger screen for my Switch because when Mario Kart comes out later this month, I can’t see myself playing it on the handheld mode.

Whatever I do get will need speakers – either a monitor or a small TV – and the ability to hook up to my PC along with other HDMI inputs (Switch).

At least I’m getting my tax return back and a bonus from work for my yearly anniversary. So I have money to cover all the expenses. Still a bummer.

Here… have a random Sim City track to end on a happier note.

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