It’s onomatopoeia, I suspect – the noise we make to represent an electrical shock. Whenever Susan is changing a light bulb or doing anything with an extension cord, I make that noise just as she is inserting a plug or screwing in a bulb. I can’t help it; it must be some dark streak in my character.
The pendant light fixture that hangs over our kitchen sink went on the fritz (more onomatopoeia) several months ago. It used a G9 xenon type bulb. New bulbs did nothing to revive it. I bought a multimeter on Amazon and checked the voltage at the light switch – 120V AC. I checked the voltage at the G9 socket – 1V at best. I found the breaker to interrupt that circuit, and then I proceeded to disassemble the fixture in order to replace the G9 socket. No joy – I wound up eviscerating the G9 socket. Merde!
A few weeks later, we went to our friendly light fixture place and thumbed through catalogs featuring various kinds of pendant lighting. We found a suitable light fixture. I paid with my credit card. A couple of weeks later, the new fixture arrived. I made no attempt to install it although I have replaced light fixtures before. The rub wasn’t working with electricity (Zzzt!) but doing it working on a ladder and feeling very unstable while doing so. At 73, I don’t need a hip fracture.
We had gotten some recommendations for electricians from the lighting store, and weeks later, we called Karla. She came over today and replaced the pendant fixture. She was pleasant, very professional, and efficient. It seems that she has a fulltime job, and she does small jobs like ours as a side hustle. When she was done with the installation, I went to the laundry room to throw the breaker. “Zzzzt!” I thought to myself.
The new pendant fixture looks like this.
The best thing that I can say about this experience is that I now have a multimeter – my first and only. And I don’t have a hip fracture!