The inspector came on Friday to inspect the repairs we've had done on the house lately. We were pretty nervous about it. We have learned the hard way over many years of experience that it is generally best for us if we are not inspected too closely. It is generally best for us if we are, instead, observed only dimly, in passing, and from a distance, so that we can retain an air of considerable mystery.

We went into this whole "inspection" thing, therefore, with some trepidation. 

So the plumbing inspector showed up at 8:59 a.m. and was finished by 9:03 a.m. (I looked at the clock.) 

We passed. All was good. No problem. We had even begun to celebrate the fruits of our victory by drinking from the hose in the backyard.

But then the other shoe, as it inevitably does, dropped.

The ELECTRICAL inspector showed up. We had not realized that we were going to be electrically inspected as well. There had been no mention of it during our lovely friend the electrician's multi-day residency at the house. We were taken unawares. And I'm sorry to report that we did not pass the inspection.

It turns out that we need a new special kind of circuit-breaker now. It is a new regulation that has only come into effect recently and has apparently surprised everyone. It certainly surprised us. The inspector was quite kind and did not blame us for the state of our circuit-breakers because there is really no way we could have known. But the fact remains that our lovely friend the electrician will have to return for another engagement in his residency. Sort of a postdoc, I guess.

So we passed our test, but failed the pop quiz. Having given so many pop quizzes myself during my career, I can only wonder if this is not instant karma coming back once again to bite me.