Exhausted

And a tired old pun to boot.

Yesterday, I learned that our kitchen fan (which has of late been making horrible grinding motor-burning-out kind of noises) is only a kitchen fan by location, not by design.  It was actually a bathroom model, designed to vent air laden with moisture, but not much else.  Quoth the electrician (lightly paraphrased), "So how long has this been in here?  Four, five years?"  "Oh, no," says I.  "At least 13."  "Heavens to Murgatroyd!" he exclaimed.  "I would have expected it to expire years gone by, from all of the aerosolized grease that it has had to move!"

Of course, we had to replace it with another similar model (since the alternative would have required a great deal more money, time, and the ripping up and excavating of the kitchen ceiling), but at least now we know that if it lasts at least 5 years we'll have gotten our money's worth.