December 22, 2002
2:35 pm

My mother and I saw The Two Towers yesterday and it was just as excellent as I hoped it would be. The battle scenes (and there were a lot of them) were so exciting that I was literally on the edge of my seat with anticipation. I didn't realize how frantic I was until the movie cut to a calmer scene and I felt my heart pounding. The little boy sitting next to me spent half the movie gasping with his hands clasped over his mouth. It was a great time. You should go see it.

TODAY.

Our small home was built in the seventies and it has an alarm system that is just as old. There's a long button marked "EMERGENCY" by the door that activates it. For many years I've been able to resist the temptation to press this button. I figured that nothing would happen anyway because the alarm system had gone unused for so long.

I was wrong.

After ten long years in the house my ability to resist temptation ran out. I pressed the button just to see what would happen. Then all hell broke loose.

An ear-splitting thud seemed to emanate from the very walls. There was nowhere I could run to escape the incessant ringing. I frantically pressed the button over and over. I ran through the house trying to find the alarm bell so I could destroy it. Anything to make the noise stop.

I was still in my night gown and socks, hair undone, and acne medication on my face. I knew the system wasn't connected to a police station, but I imagined a concerned neighbor calling the police anyway. What would I do if they found me in such a state? How could I explain that a twenty-three-year-old woman didn't posses the willpower to resist a small button? I realized with dismay that I had no choice but to call my mother at work.

The ringing was so loud that I could hardly hear what she was saying. After a few minutes I managed to find the device that was supposed to stop the alarm, but it refused to cooperate. I eventually flipped all the switches in a blind panic until it shut off. I don't know what I did or why it worked. All I knew was that the noise had finally ceased. I told my mother that I "accidentally" brushed against the button, but she had a good laugh at my expense anyway.

*Note to self* For future reference, the house alarm DOES STILL WORK.