Locksmithery 101

[mollyringle]

Just in case you ever wondered, it costs $45 for a locksmith to come let you back into your house when you've locked yourself out. Or maybe I was robbed blind and it really should cost less. I don't know. I've honestly never done it until today. Go me!

Yes, we do indeed need to start keeping a spare key somewhere outside the house. Like maybe under the mat or under a flowerpot next to the door, because no one would ever think of looking there.

Grumble. So, now, a meme from modmerseygirl.

1. YOUR NAME: Molly
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?: My middle name is the same as my mom's best friend's name. "Molly" just sounded nice and American, which my folks wanted after six months in France.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY?: Hmm...really cry? Hard to recall. Tears in the eyes? The Buffy episode "The Body," watched a few days ago. Yes, I'm a sappy fan sometimes. But that was a *sad* episode--anyone who has seen it can back me up.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?: Not my cursive. My non-cursive, which I use far more often, is OK.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?: Chicken. Or maybe roast beef.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?: Sure, if I ever met me, which would be hard because I don't get out much.
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL?: Far too many.
8. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?: Definitely! (That was modmerseygirl's answer, which amuses me because she's so ridiculously sweet, and I associate sarcasm with harsher people, like me.)
9. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?: Yep.
10. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?: Probably not, though oddly I think I could skydive.
11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?: Cheerios.
12. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?: Not lately.
13. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?: I think I'm stronger than I think I am. If that makes any sense.
14. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?: Any kind with chocolate cookie or brownie pieces in it.
15. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?: Probably hair; it's easier to assess from a distance.
16. RED OR PINK?: Red! I actually eschew pink.
17. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF?: What a very odd question. Uh...my eyes...?
18. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?: I suppose grandparents, and not just mine.
19. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?: No; they should post it on their own journals. ;)
20. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES YOU ARE WEARING?: Faded blue jeans; no shoes.
21. THE LAST THING YOU ATE?: Cookie dough, molasses/chocolate.
22. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?: The cold wind outside and my own typing.
23. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?: Pine green.
24. FAVORITE SMELL: Rain in a warm season.
25. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?: The locksmith.
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?: Very much. :)
27. FAVORITE DRINK?: Water, or English/Scottish/Irish Breakfast Tea with milk and sugar.
28. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH?: I don't, really. I zone out within seconds.
29. HAIR COLOR?: Blondish reddish brown.
30. EYE COLOR?: Greenish brown (hazel)
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?: Nope.
32. FAVORITE FOOD?: There's never just one food I could eat forever. But chocolate is an obvious contender. Cheese is up there too.
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING?: I prefer a happy ending, but a really great story would have it all.
34. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?: 'Free Enterprise,' via Netflix
35. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?: Brown
36. SUMMER OR WINTER?: I prefer fall and spring...but winter is less hateful to me than summer. If it's too hot to wear jeans, then I find it too hot.
37. HUGS OR KISSES?: Well, who we talking about caressin' here, sweet thang?
38. FAVORITE DESSERT?: Something with dark chocolate integrally involved in it
39. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?: Whoever wins the "most bored today" award.
40. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?: 'Three Junes' by Julia Glass. I can't quite decide if I like it or not.
41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?: Grayness.
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST ON TV?: Probably a Buffy episode.
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS?: The soothing voices of familiar radio personalities
44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?: Definitely Beatles, though I like a few Stones songs pretty well.
45. FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?: If I calculate correctly...Inverness, Scotland
46. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?: I can actually finish writing novels instead of just saying I would like to write one someday. Sorry. Make that: "Snarkiness at all the wrong moments."
47. LEAST LIKELY TO SEND THIS BACK?: N/a
48. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?: Oregon
49. NEW YEARS RESOLUTION?: To be a more considerate driver, and try to view other drivers as human beings and not demons.

Comments

[astroman-rich.livejournal.com]

$45 is cheap - you got a deal! That's less than just the call-out charge for some of our fine local vendors. Around here, it's cheaper to break one of your windows and replace the glass than to have a locksmith come out.

Regarding the spare key: If you have any nice neighbors, it would be preferable to leave one with them. Alternately, burying it in a garden would work, as long as you remember to extract it before you till the ground. :-)

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Good to know it was a cheap rate. Yeah, Steve seems almost disappointed I didn't go ahead and break something, just because it would be fun. :)

Neighbors is a good idea for the key...have some other ideas too, which I won't post here on the IntarWeb. :)

[astroman-rich.livejournal.com]

Ah, but what would his reaction be if he came home and found a shattered window? Would he have been disappointed that you hadn't just called a locksmith? ;-)

For what it's worth, you can buy things like fake rocks with compartments for spare keys.

[tinyplasticmeat.livejournal.com]

I got locked out of my new house 5 times in two weeks. Mostly due to my own retardedness, i.e. believing that because I have a house key on my car key ring, my boyfriend does too...

We climbed the balcony twice, had his mom bring over her spare key twice, and were let in by my old roommate who got home a few minutes after us once.

My final solution was more expensive than $45 (I think it was $250 all told) but more lasting too: I bought an electronic door lock and had it installed. Now I need no key, just a 4-digit passcode.

Haven't been locked out since, and it runs on AA batteries that have lasted over a year. (There is a keyhole in case the batteries die while you're out...I have that key on my keychain but Mike STILL doesn't. Will boys ever learn?)

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Keycode/combo lock is kind of tempting at such times, yeah. And my husband is the same way with keys--many different sets, for which I've gotten on his case many a time--and yet who is the one to lock herself out first? Me, of course. *sigh* :)

[kalquessa.livejournal.com]

Oh well, hope it wasn't too chilly out while you waited for the locksmith.

Please to be figuring out how the "finish novel" talent works and, if possible, bottling it for sale.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Kind of chilly, but at least not pouring rain or anything. :)

Finishing novels actually isn't too hard--you just keep typing. Now, notice I didn't say "finishing *good* novels"...for I haven't yet found the magic pill that guarantees that. Still, I have confidence in you! My snarkiness was aimed more at those who don't even begin one, but who go around talking about their idea for one, for, like, decades.

[dirae.livejournal.com]

Once, I locked myself out of the house in a totally stupid move that involved opening the back door to usher out a spider, tripping and having the door close behind me. "Oh," I think to myself, "Drat!" I try the back door and, as I suspected, it locked automatically. I ran to the front door. Locked. I ran to every downstairs window. Locked. I begin to panic. No phone. No car keys. Nothing. I was standing outside in nothing but my sleepy shorts and a tanktop. There was no way I was going to my ex-Cop neighbor and ask him to help me... What to do? What to do?

Panic sets in. Then and there I make up my mind to to break into the house.

Shall I break a window? For god's sake NO! What to do? What to do?

I take a brick landscapey item and sucessfully smash the doorknob off the back door in a few swift hits.

After that, I went inside and deadbolted the door closed, got dressed and ran off to Lowes. There I purchased a new door knob and installed it myself.

I'm not sure what I'd do since we have an alarm system installed now...

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Heheh. Well, at least you weren't naked, like Daryl Hannah in 'Roxane'...

I admire your resourcefulness and nerve. I wasn't sure I could break anything--probably only could if I had locked myself out while Z was still inside. Which is my new phobia, and thus the spare set of keys must soon find a good place to live *outside* the house. :)

Theoretically the alarm system could help you, if it sends a police car over when triggered...

[astroman-rich.livejournal.com]

(* Rich contemplates whether he should blog about the time he locked himself out of his hotel room while wearing nothing but his underwear... *)

The alarm system might get rather expensive in ways you wouldn't anticipate; Many cities will charge you several hundred dollars if your alarm activates a police response, and it's not an actual emergency. The locksmith would probably still be cheaper. ;-)

[bluesound.livejournal.com]

I've not been locked out yet, mind you I never go anywhere without my keys if I'm not jangling there's something wrong.

[modmerseygirl.livejournal.com]

Aww, you're sweet. Thanks for saying what you did about me. (I feel very undeserving of your kind words, though. I'm really rotten to the core. *grin*) :-) Thanks for filling out the survey!

Sorry about getting locked out of your house! Aww! Glad you're back inside now. :-)

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

*chuckles*
If you're rotten to the core, then there's no hope at all for the rest of us. :) Seems like really good people often think they're terrible; and probably vice-versa too...

[modmerseygirl.livejournal.com]

LOL! :-) *hugs* Thanks again for your vote of confidence. Heehee!