Fans do not help in Hell

Today I spent most of the day attempting to install a ceiling fan. In the end it did not go well.

The ceiling fan in question has a remote control instead of pull chords. I am not typically an old fusty pants about new-fangled technology, but I tend to lean towards the elegant simplicity of pull chords for ceiling fans. That way the internal and external wiring is much simpler and the fan has a rhythmic sound as the pull chords bounce off the light fixture. It is a nice soothing sound.

I see where the usefulness of a remote may be helpful to those of us in the household who do not happen to be over 6 ft tall. The usefulness is immediate and apparent. In that way I am no dullard. Plus, I have seen the lack of utility in action with the up-stairs ceiling fans and the inability of the Lilliputian members of the family to control them. It is true, in the house, I am a Wind God! For I have control over the speed of the breeze!

Anyhoo… I was able to wire up the remote receiver and the fan to the ceiling, get everything mounted, and victory was mine! The ceiling fan was operational. The remote worked and all was happy, except that we did not have the correct light bulbs for the new fan.

I went to Target for said light-bulbs. When I returned home and triumphantly screwed in the light bulbs to witness my success, to my consternation, nothing happened. I could hear clicking from the remote receiver illustrating that the fan was ready to operate, but no spinny wind making and no shiny light emitting.

I disassembled the fan and found one of the wires had broken at the point where it had been stripped for the wire nut. No biggy. Re-strip the wire, re-wire nut, re-mount, and the light worked like a champ!... but the fan was still lacking a certain fan-i-ness since it would not spin and create sweet sweet breezes for my furrowed brow. I re-disassembled and re-checked the wiring. Lo and behold, another wire was not connected. Strip, wire nut and re-mount. No problemo

Okay, one problem. The mounting fixture decided to strip itself out of the swanky 1980’s junction box. Whaaaaaa?!? The fan is not going to work when it is not attached to the ceiling, by more than wires and wire nuts. Now this full day project has just gone out of my reach. I have done junction box kind of work before. I have not done it with old decrepit wiring. Looks like I will need to bring in outside help for a stupid ceiling fan.

To recap:
Stupid freaking ceiling fan
If I can put together what I want to tomorrow’s Digital Thursday will rock
I am hungry
Little Man was grumpy today
So was I
I am surviving off of caffeine
Wifey is amazing
There is waaay too much foliage growing in the gutters of our carport
Yet, I feel no need to remedy that
Listening to The Beast and the Dragon, Adored by Spoon from Gimme Fiction
Thanks to Dr B Dawg for introducing me to Spoon
Little Man is watching Backyardigans right now