Sometimes I just don’t understand why some people make the decisions they do. They jump out of perfectly good airplanes, put toxic substances into their bodies and run red lights. But today I encountered the result of a past decision even more heinous than any of those.
When we moved into our current house a few months ago we discovered the previous owners had removed the dining room light. My wife has been gently prodding me to put it back up ever since. She usually does this through subtle hints like “could you do it for my Christmas present?” Or “how about for New Years?” Or “maybe Valentine’s Day?” Thinking back I probably could have saved a lot of money on presents and flowers by just being a little proactive.
One of the reasons I put it off so long was because of the previous owner’s method of removing it in the first place. They didn’t disconnect it at the ceiling and take it down in one piece. Instead they unscrewed the bottom of the fixture, cut the wires that went to all five lights and pulled the wire out through the body and stem. Then, without even disconnecting it from the supply wires they shoved five feet of lamp wire into the junction box in the ceiling and covered it up.
I ended up having to rewire the entire thing. This wasn’t complicated but it felt so unnecessary and inefficient, like jumping out of a plane. I’m not sure why I decided to randomly tackle the project tonight. But at least now I can see what I’m typing. And my wife’s happy.