12 minutes of Destruction

Belated post [24.10.2009 0640]

Around this time, the only person who was awake at this time would be my Wife as she needs to do her chores. And just halfway through, I was woken up from the smoke in the room. Seems like the night light was flickering and the room lights were giving out very bad smell. So, I quickly switched everything off. But stupid me went and switch it on again for no apparent reason only to have the lights making those alarming popping sounds. The next clue which really woke me up was in the opposite room where the fan and my Notebook was on; the fan was spinning wildly as if someone set the speed to maximum.

Yes. Voltage Overload!!!

So, I quickly switched both the fan and my Notebook off. And there was an awful smell from my Notebook's power adaptor which means its burnt but luckily, the Notebook was safe. Then I rushed down to my wife....

Only to be greeted with darkness. Switching the lights on and off was the most stupidest thing to do. But also, I went and switched off every electrical appliance that was on, standby or not.

Then I got my meter out and measured the voltage.
Sure enough, it was 415volts.

I remembered my Dad telling me this
house was running on three phase, I
took my meter downstairs and also
got the same reading. This is very bad.

I have heard about other people being the victims but this time, we're the victims. By now, almost everyone was up and I told my Dad not to switch anything on as it was an overload. So, my Dad called the electrician to help get things done but he was in Kuala Lupis. By the time I came back from work (Yes, I have to work on Saturdays), we all agreed to make the call to TNB (15454) where the first team arrived in less than half an hour. Why did I call them the first team?

Because there's more. Heh

After checking our meter and so on, they went up to the sub-station and came back to tell us that there is some cabling fault which they will call the second. By this time, they have disconnected the fuses, but promising us that the second team would put it back later. I called back to TNB to confirm the second team and told them the situation about our house and the fuses. Not only that, the whole row of houses was also disconnected in case they had the same problem. Some of the neighbours saw the TNB van parked outside our house and started to demand/complain. I stepped in and tersely told them that it was ME who made the call and they have to be patient while I finished my business with the TNB guy. Some of these rich people piss me off as they think they have the right to command. And no manners too. I really told the lady off and her son looked at me knows that they're not going to get anywhere with me in the way and so, he quietly herded her back to her house. Oh yeah, they just moved in a month ago. Ha ha ha.

With nothing much to do, we decided to go to Tesco for some of Kristine's costume for her upcoming concert in two week's time. This did not go down well with my Mom since I was the only person who spoke to them and could converse well in Malay. Anyway, halfway through our shopping, we got the call from my Dad saying they needed some candles. This is bad news as the only reason we need candles would be that the second team either did not turn up or, they could not do anything.

By the time we came back, it was already late evening and of all the houses, our was still in darkness. So, I made another 15454 call and was told that the second team did come but they only did the sub-station and did not receive any information about re-connecting our fuses. And, it was already nearly eight in the evening, or slightly more. So, the third team came about an hour later. And yes, he told us its not his area of expertise. I was called back from Terasek around half past nine while I was visiting a friend and customer on their Deepavali open house. Yes, as usual, it was always up to me to visit customers since my Boss never shows up for these open houses. I think, one day, the customer is going to get pissed off and never call us anymore.

And so, we have to wait for another team, which came around eleven at night. By this time, everyone was very restless since it was difficult to sleep especially when Kaelynn does not understand why the house was in darkness.

And so, the fourth (and last) team
came in two lorries. After about
half an hour, our electricity was
restored and at the correct voltage

By the time electricity was restored, Kristine was
fast asleep as she was really exhausted from all
the complaining in the dark and also the trip to
Tesco. So, Kaelynn took the opportunity to play
with her sister's golf set.

The next morning, I still could not see the difference in the
work that was done. But you can see a lot of tapping here.

And so, now, we have to assess the damage and draft a letter to TNB. The casualties were:
1) 2x Aircons
2) My Notebook
3) Two washing machines
4) Two fans
5) Lots and lots of lights
6) A water pump
7) And more.

And funnily enough, the Astro, VCR, TV, Fridge, Internet Modem and router survived even though they were turned on. On the next Tuesday, I handed the letter bu Hand and surprisingly, in the afternoon, a technician came to see the damage for himself. Still, I am not too confident about the compensation but we did stress on repair costs and not new units.

Unfortunately, for the time being, the four of us had to move to my sister's room until the lights, fan and the air-con is fixed. I wanted to pay some but with my September salary being so late (and most probably by November) I could not even do anything but suffer in silence. Sometimes, I really hate the job.