House rules
Because he pays the electric bill, Speedy has rules. And he gets really upset when his rules are not followed. You know, like switching the lights off when leaving a room or turning the TV off before going to sleep. But because he has this nasty habit of dozing off almost as soon as his head touches the pillow, he is the one who breaks the TV rule most often. And when he does, Sam makes sure that he gets told off. If she catches him sleeping with the TV on, she wakes him up and gives him a lecture. And he can’t complain, really, because it’s his rule but he isn’t exempt from observing it. But he does try to wiggle out of his predicament by insisting that he’s just resting with his eyes closed. Yah, right — like that’s not called sleeping since, in his case, resting with eyes closed is often combined with snoring.
But Speedy’s biggest rule about power consumption is with regard to the use of the aircon. There is only one room in the house with an aircon — the family room. We’ve developed this habit of sleeping there on Friday and Saturday nights — all four of us — snuggled under comforters with the aircon on. We’d watch DVDs until the wee hours of the morning, sometimes playing Scrabble, feasting on midnight snacks and, you know, just taking the time to bond.
There came a time when the kids would ask if we could all stay in the family room even if it wasn’t a Friday or a Saturday night. When the weather justified it, Speedy would relent and we would turn the aircon on. Whether it was a natural consequence or not, the time came when everyone would start arguing about whether it was too hot or still cool enough to determine whether the use of the aircon was justified or not. Usually, the kids would win or, perhaps, Speedy let them win because he really is a softie at heart and he just don’t like letting on.
One day, probably on the day he got the electric bill, he announced he was getting a wall thermometer. It should stop all the arguing, he said. If the reading was 27oC or below, no aircon. And so he arrived home from work one day with a wall thermometer.
But the arguing didn’t stop. Sam said the reading was all wrong. It couldn’t be below 27oC because it was too hot. And I agreed with her although I did try not to aggravate the situation. It was possible that I was often swathed in perspiration because I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, often with two burners and the oven on all at the same time so, you know, I might feel warmer than it really is. So, the arguing went on for a few days with Sam insisting that the wall thermometer that Speedy bought was a FAKE.
To prove his point, Speedy tested it. It was a very warm night, we were all perspiring like crazy but the darn thermometer said the temperature inside the house was something like 25oC. I was cooking at the time, Speedy came into the kitchen with the thermometer in his hand. He placed it near one burner with a pot of broth simmering over it. He watched as the red mark go up while muttering that it ought to prove that Sam was wrong and the thermometer was NOT A FAKE. But the darn red mark never went beyond 34oC. Heck, a few inches from the stove where a pot of broth was simmering? Not a fake, eh?
Realizing he bought a lemon, Speedy chuckled to himself (was there a more proper reaction?), went back into the bedroom and remounted the thermometer on the wall. Then the bloody thing fell off and broke. And I just had to ask at that point where he bought the blasted thing. From one of those Japanese stores, he said, where all items were priced at 88 pesos. Oooooh, the cheapo! I don’t know in which trash can he threw the thing — or pieces of the thing — or maybe he kept it because he likes saving things “for future use.”
What I know is that he bought another wall thermometer — not from the everything-P88-Japanese-store — and mounted it on the side of a bookshelf in my study, a few steps from the door to the family room. But no one really checks the reading, not even Speedy. No one really knows if this second thermometer is a fake too but the good news is that no one argues anymore about whether it’s too hot or not to switch on the aircon. Now it’s more of if it rains, no aircon; if it doesn’t and there’s no breeze, we turn it on. I think those are more accurate than any cheap wall thermometer.
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We feast everyday!
I had a good laugh on this one. With the price of electricity and if I’m paying for it, I’ll probably do the same – buy from the japanese store (but I’ll make sure it won’t go hotter than the limit…hahaha).
Although electricity in this part of the world is not as pricey as Meralco’s, government encourage homeowners to use alternative power source such as solar in one’s home by giving grants/rebates. I read a comment from one of your post that Meralco is allegedly trying to block the entry of solar panels into the country. Sad…I’m really looking forward to the day that we pinoys can choose what kind of fuel to use for their electricity consumption.
haha! Mr. Speedy is like my husband. He also complains about the electricity bill although I pay for it and insists that an industrial fan will do. Now that he’s in Isabela (where the temperature is in the extremes), I think he will be rethinking the industrial fan part. hehe.
I think those items at the 88 store are overpriced, cute but nonetheless useless.
the family man that Mr. Speedy!
LOL this thermometer tale is a funny slice of life. I can imagine the expressions on your faces after the “bloody thing” fell off the wall …
Carol, I think we have the highest power rates, or the second highest, in SEAsia — higher than Singapore’s. Imagine that.
Cheann, we have those too — industrial fans AND exhaust fans LOL
Tin Tin, yeah and may face read: “Thank goodness — finally!” HAHAHAHAHA
Really? It is my fervent wish that Meralco would have an independent competitor that could stand the pressures from outside forces. If they have a real competitor, they would find ways in increasing their bottom line other than increasing rates, such as trimming down their excesses. I have friends and relatives who work for Meralco. Every time I visit them, almost half of the employees were just talking or playing computer games during office hours. The working ambiance there is typical of that of a government agency. Maybe that has change since. With the red tape and all, parang suntok sa buwan yata ang gusto kong mangyari.
The thing about Meralco is how deeply entrenched its powers are. It is a monopoly, pure and simple. And considering how the Lopezes have a pie in almost every public utility — media and communications, especially — and even government, they have been successfully maintaining the monopoly for a century. Only government can break the monopoly but will it?
Ms. Connie, having a family room where our family will spend weekend nights is my no. 1 renovation plan from day one. Good thing you posted this, so I will buy first a reliable thermometer when the renovation time comes, at hindi sa japanese store, hehe.
Sam should be a lawyer.
Ang mga lalake, they use the TV to lull them to sleep.
LOL!
re: 27oC
This morning 20C at ramdam na ramdam ko ang init. Nakalimutan ko na agad yung headache-inducing heat nung sa Pinas nung April. Grabe – sa temp, poles apart tayo hehe
At least may aesthetic value yung barometer nyo. Eh yung 88 pesos na thermometer, swangit. hahahha
Hi Connie, how about ung air cooler? im thinking of buying one although im not sure kung mataas dn sya sa kuryente as compared sa aircon….
We had one like that when we were newly married. Didn’t work. And the water compartment gets smelly after a while.
haha, thanks for the laugh. Back in PH, we used to do the same, but the aircon was in the rooms. Sometimes, we would all sleep in my parents bedroom. But when my ailing grandmother stayed with us, we had to use our own aircon. That brought the bill sky high. And yes, in PH, i realized that the electricity is very high. Here in Taiwan, during the summer months when we usually turn the airconditioner on, the bill would only be about (converted) 1.5k per month. And during the winter months, only about 500 PHP.