My 15 minutes of fame

Ryan and I are not good at making decisions. Even easy ones. Part of it is laziness, part of it is just plain being too busy to get around to talk about, or do the research on, whatever it is we need to make a decision about.

So deciding on anything, whether it's when to go on vacation, whether to change phone companies or when to buy a new furnace, takes forever.

So it was a rather rare occurence when on Sunday, a friend of ours mentioned she was getting a home energy audit done this week so that when she gets her new windows, she can get the government rebate. With that tidbit of information, it was Monday when I looked up the information online as to how to get an audit; Monday night when I mentioned it to Ryan and Tuesday afternoon when I called to book an appointment.

Because, you see, we need a new furnace -- desperately. So desperately in fact, that the need is about 10 years overdue. So I figured, if we can get a substantial rebate on a new one, just by getting someone to audit our house, then why not.

So what does a boring old energy audit and a new furnace have to do with me getting my 15 mintues?

Easy. When I called up a company on Tuesday afternoon, they were able to offer me an appointment on Wednesday morning. Yes, this morning. With one hitch -- a CITY TV news crew wanted to follow the auditor around my house for a story on energy audits.

Oh yeah, and they'd want to interview me.

I hoed and I hummed about whether to do it or ask for another appointment. But in the end, I figured what the hell -- how bad could it be? And then my audit would be done and I would not be able to blame laziness or any other factor for not getting a new furnace before this one dies just as the outside temperature dips below 0C.

So, this morning, CITY came and did their thing. They followed the auditor around, they interviewed me, they filmed me reading to my kids and sitting with my kids and walking around my house being explained things by the auditor that didn't make any sense to me in the first place.

They were here for two hours. And because of them, the audit took three. The kids thought the whole thing was pretty cool at first -- well until the cameraman had to negotiate with Austin that in order for him to be on TV tomorrow, he had to turn the TV off today so that he could be filmed. That was an interesting conversation -- and one my three-year-old didn't quite get. To him, TV is something you watch, not something you film.

But I'm sure when he sees himself on the news Thursday evening, he'll be excited.

As for me, well I'm sure they'll make me look like an idiot. But whatever. As someone who has always been the interviewer, it was kind of fun to sit in the other chair for a change.