I’m new here at Angie’s List as the new podcast producer. I’ve got lots of things to sort out, and getting used to a drastic weather change is one. I’m from the Deep South and the balmy winters of Mississippi have not prepared me for big city cold weather. My jackets are wimpy; my amount of sweaters equals almost zero and gloves? Pshaw! This is not apparel for sitting on the veranda sipping ice tea! I scoff at such apparel — well I did until now.
This brings me to the point where, as a 30s-something adult, I had to turn on a furnace for the first time. I rented an older home in a historic district of Indy and I love it, but this heating system is enormous, and dealing with natural gas has always freaked me out. It should be easy right? WHATEVER! With years of Southern fear and guilt bred into me, the dramatic “Lighting of the Pilot Light” was a big deal. A ritual, if you will, leaning over a prehistoric space heater, letting the gas run through the line and waiting to spontaneously combust. I can hear my mammaw saying right now, “ You’re gonna burn yoursef’.” or “Oh, lawsee, you’re all gonna die of carbon monoxide poisoning!”
The thing is, I was terrified of this monstrous furnace and lighting the pilot until a little research working on one of the November Angie’s List podcasts featuring heating and cooling service providers. We interviewed a local HVAC guy about furnace maintenance and his info on yearly check-up tips eased my mind about fiddling with the flame on my furnace. After a cold night, I got over that fear quick, successfully getting my new found giant warm fuzzy friend lit with a little help from the List.
Twinkle VanWinkle is a Southern punk-rock belle transplanted to Indianapolis, and is
List-en up! producer for
Angie's List. She enjoys thrift store treasure hunting, dusty old records and is a connoisseur of hot sauces.
Fire is on my mind lately: visions of me waking up wreathed in smoke and flames or more likely, me going to bed and not waking up — ever.
Happy thoughts inspired by the bare wires dangling in my apartment and throughout the building, by the natural gas lines and the dripping water next to the Edison-era breaker boxes.
Water. Electricity. Water. Electricity. I’m not a licensed technician, but something tells me those two shouldn’t go together. Continue reading ‘Smoke signals’
Matthew is the senior editor for local affairs at
Angie’s List magazine. When he’s not at the Blue House, he enjoys reading and writing fiction, playing guitar and riding his bicycle.
Like fitness and puppies, certain themes run through the Angie’s List Blue House at any given time. And like Eric and Conor, I’ve caught the moving bug.
My wife and I have only been in our house for about two years (see pictures below), but thanks to the current housing market, we’ve found an affordable place right next to Broad Ripple Park, and we can’t pass it up. Continue reading ‘One door closes, another opens’
Tristan Schmid is host and producer of
List-en up!, the Angie's List podcast. When he's not sitting in front of a computer, working on websites, audio or video production, he stays occupied by taking his dogs for walks, helping
homeless animals find families, and skiing.
Almost everyone I knew in high school had moved two or three times. Sometimes it even made me jealous. It sounded adventurous. And I always hated explaining to my nomadic peers why I had a child’s foot prints on my bedroom ceiling. “I slept in a bunk bed, man! I was pretending to be Spider-Man. Duh!” That never gained me a lot of street cred. Or girlfriends. Continue reading ‘Moving on’
As editorial intern, Mike writes the monthly employee page, edits content and talks to service providers for the Comparative Shopper column in
Angie's List magazine. His favorite place is the Appalachian Trail (except for the areas that have bears, snakes or birds). His favorite album is "London Calling" by the Clash.
