Hairdryer !explosion

Last week I was drying my hair with the hairdryer our family has owned for many years. Supposedly due to the heat, the unit decided to explode. It only exploded on the inside, so there was a bit of fire, a lot of sparks, and some remnants of the unit made their way down the sink. I wasn’t injured but my mum decided to look for a new hairdryer. Since it’s been a decade or so since we got this hairdryer, it was surprising to find that these days we’re apparently going to have to fork out some $100 for a good hairdryer. I don’t dry my hair a lot – most of the time I let it dry naturally, but because I hated the poofiness that resulted from this old hairdryer, I sometimes used the hair curler instead. Now I like killing two birds with one stone. Curly hair and dry hair… fantastic.

My mum isn’t a fan of buying online, even though it’s cheap, shipping is free, and it’s generally quite safe. I keep telling her that the shock stories she hears about using credit cards online and getting money stolen is often reported on television as a result of people’s lack of common sense, or just the media trying to make you crap your pants. The media is ridiculous in the way it tantalises minor issues in society in order to gain more viewers and hence higher ratings. What’s this I hear about sashimi making people lose their legs? … come on. I got salmonella in a country where hygiene is terrible and health conditions are below average (not joking – and it was horrible). That’s not hard to believe, but in a relatively rich country where raw fish is stored at very cold temperatures giving them a certain appearance and flavour – I highly doubt that you would get some life-threatening disease like gangrene from eating sushi that isn’t cold enough. Ugh, moving on.

After contacting the eBay seller to retract my bids, I received no reply until two days later, upon which the seller threatened to open a case against me. After that they said that they had already sold the item to someone else… but still demanded payment. Now I got myself into this mess and I used James’s account and felt like a complete fool, but he was nonetheless willing to help. He contacted eBay and they dealt with the situation, though we were not given any information about what they did to the seller. The seller still opened a case saying I was a non paying bidder. It’s funny that the warning is that I “may not receive the item” if I don’t pay… yeah well, even if I do, I won’t get it because the idiot seller sold it to someone else. Ooooh, that hurts so bad. 🙄

The reply James received from eBay was promising though, and assured us that appropriate action would be taken and the issue would be resolved. The representative reassured us that it would be okay and even apologised for the late reply. Meanwhile, since I was outbid on a number of iPads, I chose one (just one, hahaha) and went for it. This time I made sure I read through the listing and was okay with it. Right, so I’m not desperate for an iPad but one would be useful for my eBooks, more of my music, and for web testing.

I’m getting bored of this layout; I feel like the colours and fonts are dull and it’s time for something new. Working on a number of websites at work has made me keener to dabble in HTML5 and CSS3. I should be thinking simpler; that’s just what I had in mind when I designed my free themes and they turned out wonderful. I feel like I put too much effort into things sometimes, that if I stop poking around and look at the bigger picture, it would make things a lot easier.

Today James took me to a Japanese restaurant for lunch to celebrate Valentine’s day. There were some heart-shaped decorations hanging from the ceiling but I was most amazed by the avocado, tuna and roe sushi that were shaped like flowers. /love I’ll be posting some photos to my photoblog. Valentine’s Day is a special day for some, and a day of whining about being single for others. Please, stop. It’s a holiday that was originally meant to celebrate romantic love but for crying out loud, it doesn’t mean that if you don’t have a partner you have to feel like you’re drowning in rose petals. It’s rather pathetic; I think that people should be able to treat it like just another day if they’re in that predicament. Some people don’t celebrate Christmas but they don’t complain about not being Christian. I don’t complain that I get nothing on Mother’s Day… because I’m not a mother, duh.

I’ve got to be up early tomorrow to go to work again, so it’s time to sleep as early as possible. Catch you in Dreamland! I’ll be playing my guitar under the tree with pink leaves.

Comments on this post

Yay for the new hairdryer! (Y) I also want my hair to curl too and sometimes I think to perm it. /bounce But I still wasn’t sure ’bout it. I saw your photoblog and you got a nice hair 👏 You’re pretty too (H)
So glad that you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day with your love :)

I think that I got my hairdryer for 20 USD, though I have no idea how decent it is. I guess that if it lasts two years, it will be as good as the awesome one that you’re going to get.

That eBay seller is a douchebag, to be crude. If he sold it to someone else instead, then he should not be trying to get you to pay up too. Now, he’s the one that’s going to have a bad rep on eBay.

I feel like people rant about Valentine’s Day because of the expectations that come along with it (guy giving chocolate + flowers, etc.) and not really because they’re single. But it’s a great day to celebrate if a couple can just nicely decide how they want to enjoy the day – like on a sushi date! Nom nom nom! 👏

awesome dude that you got that hair dryer…You like to curl your hair? I’ve got natural curls…. hey do look cute at times but then there are times when it is terribly unmanagable….tangled and all…
No i’ve not read James Patterson….is it good? The problem at my place it…my parents love reading too and my dad also commutes everyday…so if i get any new book he’ll take it first (if it’s not from the college lib) and returns it back after 2 weeks…so i need books which are really interesting…. Currently I’m trying jeffery archer… :D:D

People gripe about Valentine’s Day for a few reasons, but I think, like you, complaining because one is single is just whiny. I do not mind, however, if people attack the holiday for its capitalist nature; the best gift for your love interest is your unbridled company, not an expensive earring. That’s what gets me about V-Day, I wish society could stress “quality time” over “SPEND, SPEND, SPEND!”. But of course it can’t, lol.

There are all sorts of sellers on eBay … kids using an adult’s account, adults who seem to be kids based on their diction, schemers, and I don’t know what else. I really only purchase from detailed listings — that’s the first sign a seller cares about his customers. I love a good detailed listing lol. /eee

The only hair related things I ever use includes: a straightening iron (or flat iron), bobby pins, and a bunch of clips. I am so low maintenance when it comes to hair. :P

Omg, you telling your mom about those shock stories sounds like me telling them to my friend! In high school, she was all anti-shopping online with a credit/debit card and she almost didn’t even want to apply for financial aid because it required her Social Security number. >_> She kept on telling me about “those stories” and I’m like, “What in what chance will it ever happen to you?! All those thefts and hacking and whatnots???” It drove me nuts!

I wrote a post yesterday concerning my stance on Valentine’s Day. I am single, but am I complaining? No. I see no point. I don’t care if people celebrate it and I don’t care if people don’t celebrate it. It’s just a regular old holiday to me that doesn’t have much meaning in my eyes. And I’ll still feel that way if I weren’t single.

I dry my hair now and then but I don’t enjoy it because of the heat. That must’ve been scary for the unit to explode! Recently someone exploded a unit on campus though don’t think he got hurt. Be really careful!!!!!

I don’t like buying stuff online either because I don’t know what I get, not because of the credit card deal. That’s why I’d be perfectly okay with buying a domain if I had a credit card! Lmao you can get gangrene from eatin sashimi? What the helllll. I’m guess you mean you got salmonella in Indonesia? =( I’m a little iffy about visiting other countries because of this. Some girl I heard was sick her entire trip to some country because of the change in health conditions.

I’ve never come across a seller like that on eBay before! Hopefully he gets horrible ratings hahaha. Go give him one! I’m not crazy about iPads and the whole digital reading thing.

Grey is a nice layout color but I’ll agree it can get dull after a while. Not to me though cus I probably don’t look at this layout as often as you do! I think your font size got bigger.

In Korea I think there’s a holiday to mourn your single-ness. Uhhhhh what????

Thanks for your comment =D it’s coming from someone who started her relationship at 16 and has been in it for 4 years. I think? If I’m wrong sorry! I just never get advice from someone who’s able to maintain a long relationship at a young age.

Oops did I say pink isn’t my favorite color? Lol I meant it IS my favorite color. Like I once wrote it took everything for me to not mutilate your theme pink this time.

I’ve been needing to get a new hair dryer myself…but as you said, you can’t get a decent one for less than $100 US and I simply cannot justify spending that much money on something that I’ll barely use. :P I’m probably just going to get a $15 one from Wal-Mart, especially since as long as it has a diffuser I’m pretty happy. :)

The hair dryer sparking would have seriously scared me. I’m seriously apprehensive, you could say, around sparks or anything to do with fire. I think that it comes from having been in 3 fires in my life. :

I’ve never bought anything online but it’s mainly because I’m always broke. :( But I think that the more detail a seller provides the better.

Ooh, should I be getting excited about seeing a new layout on here? *wiggles* I cannot wait to see what you come up with.

100 dollars for a hairdryer? Thats insane. I only paid like 20 dollars for mine and it lasted for some time. I think that if you look a little longer, youd be able to find one for way cheaper.

I feel the same way. I hate it when people complain about not having someone on Valentines Day. I dont have a boyfriend and Im not complaining about it. Some people are just crazy and stupid and think that if they don’t have someone on a day like VDay, then they are pathetic. It’s not true and shouldnt feel that way.

Why would that person want you to pay for something he already sold to someone else just because you decided that you didn’t want it? I think I smell a scam. But hopefully the people at Ebay will do something soon. I wouldn’t worry about that person too much.

A tidbit about Valentines day, it was first observed in the 1st century after Saint Valentine became martyr and his skull placed on display with a crown of flowers. The idea of love, card making and flowers being associated with Valentine’s days didn’t happen until the 15 century. I only know this because Jeremy had a long talk with me about this yesterday lol.

That email seller sounds really douche-y =[ It makes no sense to file a claim against someone if you already sold the product to someone else… But don’t worry ebay s pretty good about making sure silly claims don’t affect the buyers. My mom bought me the old clam shell iBook off of ebay once. The post said it came with a charger and battery but when I got it, it came with neither. We messaged the guys and told him that he’ll either have to send us both or that we would return the product. He replied by saying that he wouldn’t take it back and he wouldn’t send us the miss parts. We contacted ebay and they forced him to take the product back… Some people just love to make life harder for the rest of us lol

That’s terrible! I’m glad you didn’t get hurt. I don’t use hairdryers that much either, unless I’m in a rush. Thank goodness I’ve never had to buy a hairdryer so I don’t really know how much they run these days. Mine was a gift from my sister who got it for free when she got her haircut. I think they were running some sort of promo and she won /eee

Those online stories are definitely sensationalized. It’s definitely easy to be swindled, but it’s also easy not to be, if you’re careful and using common sense. A few years ago, a woman was talking to my boss about how her credit card number was stolen and was used in a shopping spree around the world. It seems that she got a fake email from eBay asking her for her username, password, and credit card number :( It amazes me why she never thought, “Hmm, why would eBay send me an email asking me for my username, password, and credit card number?” /bash

I’ve had a hairdryer explode on me too! It scared me when that happened, especially since it smelled like smoke afterward.

My parents aren’t big fans of shopping online either. Sometimes it bothers me because they could have saved money if they got it online. That sucks about the eBay seller though. That really doesn’t make sense to demand payment when the item is already sold to someone else. I hope it works out in your favor!

I totally agree with you on the Valentine’s thing. I understand that some people hate it, but they shouldn’t ruin it for everyone else. If they truly don’t care for it, they shouldn’t spend effort whining about it =/

There are two hairdryers around here. Only one gets used almost every night and it’s the one my mom uses. I have one I only use when I dye my hair so I can make sure it’s totally dry before taking pictures or whatever. I hope ebay does something with that buyer. When I sold on ebay I’d try to check every day to see if there was any questions from people and just keep on top of everything. Valentine’s Day just hasn’t ever been a big thing for me. It may change as I get older and see things clearer but right now, eh. I mean I thought today was the 13th anyways so I don’t even know what day it is. Ha ha.

That sounds freaky. Did it scare you?

I don’t use my hair dryer much. I bought mine for $25-ish at Kmart and it does a fantastic job. Or a least what a hair dryer is expected to do. It has three levels of heat on it and dries my hair quite fast.
I think I’ve used it maybe four times in the three years I’ve had it.

I straighten my hair almost every morning. It’s not a good thing to do with your hair but I hate having puffy hair. I have natural waves, but dying my hair a lot has killed it. My hair actually looks dead, so I’ve always got to do something with it.

I’m actually too scared to eat sushi because of the reports. It’s silly really. I find my self checking the temperature of foods at take away bars.The danger zone is between 5-60. Chickens are always the worry though.

I would love to see a new layout. :) But I don’t think you could get much more simple than your current theme. It’s actually my favourite.

I’ve always thought that people make too much of a deal out of Valentines day. My boyfriend forgot about it, but I didn’t really care. Last Valentines I had an accident and he had to wake up at 6am to drive me to the hospital. I considered that my Valentines gift. It’s all just nonsense. But at the same time it’s nice to get treated.

Wow I didn’t even know hairdryers could last that long! You must have had a really nice one. ^.^ That must have scared the bejesus out of you when it exploded while you were using it.

I look forward to seeing a new layout by you soon. :) You know how much I love your themes. (Obviously.)

Ebay drama can be so ridiculous sometimes, I don’t even. Glad things seemed to be sorted out, though, I’ve had cases where they’ve just dragged on and on and on and ergh.

AWH That Valentines day sounds precious, I’m glad you enjoyed it! Personally never cared about the day but hey, if I ever stop being chronically single we’ll see how that’ll change haha