User:Woozle/blog/2009-05-17 0806 In which the hypertwins are not engulfed in flame
|
In which the hypertwins are not engulfed in flame 2009-05-17 0806
|
Woke up abruptly at about 2 a.m. to the smell of acrid smoke, after a dream about being in an airlock (without a spacesuit) as it was slowly evacuated.
"Oh crap, that smells like when Josh overcooks his chicken," I thought to myself. I got up, grabbed a flashlight, and dashed downstairs (the smoke was worse out in the hall), in case it was still cooking -- but it wasn't. On the counter in front of the microwave was a paper plate containing two very charred pieces of chicken.
Well, at least it was a paper plate this time, so we didn't ruin another plastic one. (I had to wonder, though: this one didn't seem as overcooked as last time when the chicken was totally turned to charcoal and was reportedly glowing when it came out, but what if it had been? Would the paper catch fire? Could the microwave contain it if that happened?)
I turned on the kitchen fan, shoved the plate and ex-food into a plastic bag (so it wouldn't continue contributing to the smell), shoved it in the trash, and went back upstairs. Later, when the stench kept getting worse and I had gotten paranoid that maybe the char was hotter than it seemed and now the trash was on fire, I got up again and belatedly opened some windows.
I just now checked and yes, the smoke alarm does have a battery. I don't want to test it because everyone's asleep, but it is a relatively new alarm (got it last year because our old one kept going off randomly, even with a new battery) and they usually go through a period of long-interval beeps before dying completely. Maybe they only detect visible smoke?
I'm really hoping that either the latest therapeutic foster home opening (meeting tomorrow morning) or better yet the group home opening in Charlotte (no meeting yet; still trying to reach them) will work out.
The stench is still pretty strong, but at least the air seems breathable now. It took about a week to go away, last time.