False Alarm

     Today for the first time since living here the smoke alarm went off. It happened after I took a shower. And having never been properly trained in how to turn off a smoke alarm I fanned at it wildly with a pillow. Although this was the first time I've heard it, it was not the first time the apartment was filled with smoke. Recently my boyfriend Michael was preparing to cook something so he had some oil heating up in a pan. The oil was forgotten about until there was a huge flame leaping up to the ceiling. The smoke alarm was silent. It was a good thing we didn't suddenly decide to go for a walk or take a nap because the entire building would have been reduced to ash. 

     I wonder why one might place a smoke alarm directly outside of the bathroom? Also known as the 'water closet,' water a substance that is said to extinguish fires? Could it be that it's because it's also near the bedroom? Which commonly contains a mattress which is more flammable than a can of gasoline. I guess it comes down to this: Would I rather experience the very unlikely horror of being burned to a crisp in my bed? Or would I rather prevent a fire in a place it's most likely to start (kitchen) and risk the possibility of burning in my bed in the event that I decide to light a giant candelabra and place it on my mattress and nod off? It's hard to say. I do so love falling asleep in candle light. 

The Ring

About five years agoI found a gold ring on the ground. I didn't think it was very pretty but I kept it anyway simply because it was a treasure. Today, on my lunch break I took it to a strictly coins and jewelry pawn shop near the office. The door was locked and the man inside buzzed me in. I showed him the ring and he got out a rough-grey slab, a few droppers of mystery liquid and some old crumpled up paper towels. He scratched the ring on the slab and it left a mark. "yep, fourteen karrot gold." he said. He picked up a magnifying glass and said "it looks like its got four little diamonds. I'd buy it for $100." Cha-ching! Sold. He asked for my I.D, gave me something to sign that says I didn't steal it and then handed me the cash. It was so easy. It takes me a day and a half of work to make that much money. This took me about six minutes.
I was grinning untill I started to feel guilty about it. Some poor woman loses her wedding ring and then I get money. At the time I found it I was tempted to put an add up somewhere, but the problem was that I found it in seattle and I didn't want to sort through tons of people trying to claim it whether it belonged to them or not. I'm hoping that perhaps she threw it out of her car window as she was driving by, maybe after walking in on her husband with another woman. Maybe it was stolen and it fell out of the thiefs pocket. I just worry that by gaining from someone elses loss that god or someone might put a hex on me. I'm scared. But at least i'm $100 richer than I was before my lunch break.