I had a pleasant surprise the night before last. My kitchen light didn’t work so I couldn’t see to make dinner.  I was invited for pot luck at Liz and David’s. I donated what I had planned to eat and we had a lively political discussion during dinner.

David, that scamp, mentioned 2 or 10 times that since I knew nothing about nothing he wouldn’t bother explaining whatever idiot point he was trying to make. Did I say “idiot”?  What I meant was “in depth” point.

Anyway a good time was had by all.

This morning Liz told me that she didn’t want me climbing the ladder to change the bulbs in my kitchen light so she would do it for me. She took down the bulbs and since I didn’t have replacements I went to Home Depot and bought them.

Although Lizzie insisted that I wait until she got home to put in the new bulbs I’m far too independent for that so I climbed up and changed them only to find that  it wasn’t the bulbs.

I called my super who immediately came up and let me know I had to replace the whole fixture which I did. Now am I going to dwell on the fact that I had to buy a light fixture out of my measly money stash or  delight in the speed at which it was fixed?

What is the title of this blog?

Then I decided to check the shows I had taped the night before and was disheartened to see that  the Real Housewives of New York wasn’t recorded . Rather than getting all upset (see title) I recalled that my fairly new replacement of the box had been acting up since I got it so I took this opportunity to get a new one.

I unplugged said box and told Rupert that I wouldn’t be long and made the 2 bus trip to Time Warner Cable. I always like traveling by bus because I get to rub elbows with my fellow New Yorkers, something that rarely happened in my previous life when I would have taken a 15 minute cab ride instead of a 45 minute bus trip.

It actually would have been a bit longer but, silly me, I misremembered the location of TWC and took the crosstown bus on 86th Street instead of 96th Street. That meant I had to lug that fucking, I mean informational, box 10 blocks to trade it in.

I got there and as luck would have it I only had 34 people in front of me so I was able to use that time to fight whatever disease the woman next to me had that results in a hacking cough.

My number was called and I explained to the very helpful guy behind the desk that since this was the third box I’d had in the past 2 months possibly he could give me a new one rather than a refurbished one. This man really knew his business because even though he was playfully teasing the girl standing at the next register the whole time he was helping me he was still able to reassure me that a refurbished box  was every bit as good as a new one.

I left feeling more than satisfied.

I got home, greeted Rupe who had made me some origami out of a tissue box, clever pup, and set up the cable box.

Now, funny story, the box didn’t work. It played but it didn’t record. Did I laugh.

I called Time Warner and was lucky enough after talking to a disembodied voice for 20 minutes to speak to a real person named Gail.

She was just terrific. She restarted my box for the third time and had me read out the numbers that came up. None of which should have been appearing. Gail and I cracked up about this.

She made an appointment for the next day for a repairman to come after I told her , with a smile in my voice that if she thought I was going to shlep up to that shithole they call a help center to speak to another know nothing idiot she can think again.

I’m Jewish, not a saint.