Stovegate 2

Now my NEW stove is trying to kill me.

Last night I attempted to cook my first real meal in years: chicken, broccoli, and brown rice. Easy peasy, right?

Halfway through I started feeling lightheaded, the same way I felt back in March when I got carbon monoxide poisoning from my old stove. I thought, "Nah, can't be. This is a new stove. I must be tired."

A few minutes later, I felt worse and thought, "I must have low blood sugar." (I only ate about 500 calories during the day.)

"I must be psyching myself out."

"I must be fighting domestication."

"I must be paranoid."

I must, I must, I must.

Twenty minutes later, I must lie down. Nausea, headache, spins, the works. I freaked out and called my mom. I don't know why I call her during moments like this when she's 70 miles away...

My parents didn't believe it was CO poisoning again. They figured I freaked myself out so bad that I was having a panic attack, which I eventually ended up having. I kept thinking my apartment building was going to blow. This is a ridiculous thought, but anyone who's had a panic attack knows that when an idea gets into your head you can't shake it. It's an awful feeling.

I finally calmed down about an hour later. The rest of the night was a bit of a blur. Around midnight I was sane enough to mentally walk through everything that happened at the stove. Something stuck out - I realized one burner's flame was more orange than blue and that the burner itself had burn marks on it while the others were clear.

For people who regularly cook or are just fans of fire in general, you probably know what this meant. I didn't so I had to look it up.

Cause: not enough oxygen is getting to the flame

Effect: orange flame, excessive CO production, CO released into kitchen

FUCKING FUCK FUCK. You gotta be kidding me, right??? Unfuckingbelievable. I DID have CO poisoning again. MOTHER FUCKER I AM NEVER COOKING AGAIN.

To fix this I either have to get someone to adjust the valves for a better air/fuel ratio or clean the burners in case something's blocking the openings. I'll end up doing both to be on the safe side, but right now I'm not doing either. I still feel like shit and I'm a bit paranoid, so I'm avoiding my kitchen at all costs for the night.

Stupid fucking stoves!!