Wednesday 3 February 2016

Why I take my phone everywhere

So I'm not the most technical person. My I-phone has very few purchased Apps and possibly the smallest collection of music known to Apple. It's not synched with anything (that I know of) and until a quick tutorial from my neighbor yesterday, I was unaware of its ability to understand my voice and act accordingly. Sigh. 

But from now on it's never leaving my side.

See, the other day I locked myself in our downstairs loo (bathroom) with no phone and no means of getting out. Utter panic. Just utter panic. The door knob has been dodgy for some time, and ironically, the replacement had arrived in the mail that morning - only to be boxed straight back up because I had ordered Antique Brass instead of Unlaquered Brass so it didn't match the others. Can't have that now can we?

I hate these door knobs, but unfortunately they are all over the house and it would cost a ridiculous amount of money to change them all. Most of them aren't a problem because they're just door knobs, but a select few are privacy locks which look like this - 


See that little pin thing on the side of the rosette? You're supposed to push it in when you want to lock the door then pull it when you want out. Problem is, due to wear and tear, the pin now comes out in your hand. Most of the time we screw it back in and then it operates as it should. Yesterday however, although I screwed it back in, the knob itself continued to turn round and round without making any different to the locked-ness of the door.  

Ours is not one of those loos/bathrooms that houses everything but the kitchen sink (or bathroom sink in this case). Underneath, there's extra toilet paper, soap, tooth-brushing equipment and a towel. That's it. No point in even looking for anything to unscrew the entire look from the door, although the 12 year old swears blind that the implements to clean around his braces would have done the job! 

As I said, blind panic. The loo is in the basement and in the middle of the house, so no amount of shouting would have helped. (Did I mention I was alone in the house?) My husband was out of town (of course) and the 12 year old didn't have a key. All I could think of was that he would arrive at the front door, not get an answer and then not know what was going on. Of course, he would have phoned me but my phone would go unanswered, and he would have no idea what to do. And - he was the only other person due home that day. No sibs, no dad. Nothing. 

I spent a good few minutes trying to do the utmost damage to the door by pulling with full weight on the handle, to no avail. By this time I was shaking and in disbelief. A few more minutes of fiddling with the bloody pin and still nothing. Then, just as the tears were looking imminent, I gave the pin one petulant shove and it engaged, or clicked or something, and I was able to operate the locking mechanism. 

Such was my relief that I had to kneel on the floor for about five full minutes as my legs would simply not support me! I swear it took me a few hours to calm down, even after two cups of tea. 

Lessons learned - 

1. Carry your phone at all times
2. Give the 12 year old a key
3. Remind everyone where the hidden key is (with code for lock box)
4. Disable the latch thing on the door with three layers of duct tape
5. Tell everyone they have to sing loudly when using that loo!

Never again! 


15 comments:

  1. Oh hell...I would have been crying. Get that door fixed!

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    1. I think I was beyond tears for most of the time. Just shock!

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  2. You can live for 4 to 6 weeks on just water. I'm sure someone would have come looking for you if you didn't turn up in a week or two ;)

    Seriously, scary, and so easy to do. Glad you got out quickly.

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    1. Thanks Mike. If you're gonna get locked in somewhere it might as well have a loo and a sink in there!

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  3. I'm glad you weren't in there all day!
    When i was a student I lived in a house with a dodgy door lock on the loo. We all knew not to lock it, but then a friend came to stay and immediately went the loo, and got locked in. We had to call an emergency locksmith, and spent most of our evening waiting for them to come...

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    1. Oh no! Actually, one of the workmen replacing the dead water heater had locked himself in that morning. Fortunately I was on the other side of the door and knew how to save the day. He had to phone his colleague to tell him though 'cause I was in another part of the house. That one was just funny, not scary!

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  4. Think how many blog posts you could have written on the loo paper! Maybe you didn't have a pen with you...

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  5. A friend of my Mom's lived on a busy street in a small town. She was out front pruning her azaleas and fell and broke her hip. Husband was indoors watching football. Friends of her's and other drivers would pass by and return her wave.....but her's was not a wave but a cry for help. I don't know how long she lay there, but from then on, my Mom carried her phone with her everywhere too. Glad you got out ok in not too long of a time, scary though!

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    1. Goodness. Similar story with an older neighbor who, to this day, says I saved her life. I was driving up to my house with my young kids in the car. Neighbors were on their front porch looking at something on its roof. Husband goes inside, wife stays outside for a while and then walks backwards off the porch steps and literally flies through the air. I couldn't see how or where she landed but it didn't look good. I had to safely park my car and leave the kids inside then run to her aid. We were on a dead end street so I had to leave my kids comforting her while I ran to the end of the street to catch the ambulance. Husband in the house the whole time and no clue. (She broke shoulders and ribs. Not good.)

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  6. And as I'm reading your post, a Life Alert advert is showing (really!)... Coincidence? I think not.

    Glad you're safe and at liberty, if rather traumatized.

    Women's clothes need more pockets. We need to carry stuff with us, too.

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    1. Yes. Problem is, when I do carry my phone it's in my back pocket and my daughter has emptied more than her fair share down the loo.

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  7. That sounds terrifying! I've locked myself *out* of places a few times, but never been locked in. And I'm pretty claustrophobic, too. Glad you were able to get yourself out without extensive trauma (although just what you described had my heart pounding.) And may I also add - excellent use of duct tape!

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    1. But you know, even though the duct tape is on there, I still have a momentary panic when I use that loo. The replacement door knob set is apparently arriving tomorrow so I will be breathing a sigh of relief.

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