When I was in high school, I woke up one night to what sounded like glass breaking in the living room, which was right next to my bedroom. I thought someone was breaking into the house, but instead of running or calling 911, I had what can only be described as the-dumb-girl-in-a-horror-movie moment. I froze. I just laid there with my heart pounding in my chest, waiting to hear footsteps as the Boogie Man walked my way.I never heard footsteps, but a few minutes later I did hear the glass breaking sound again. At that point, it didn't matter that I was nearly old enough to vote. I screamed for my mother like I was five again and thought there was a monster in my closet. Unfortunately, my mom is a lot like my sister in the sleep department. A tornado could come through our house, and they would both keep on snoring so I had to scream quite a few times to get her up.
Eventually she got up and made her way into the living room. Did she find broken glass? No. Did she find the Boogie Man? No again. All she found was my bouquet of birthday balloons caught up in the blades of the ceiling fan. The sound that I had heard was the sound of the blades hitting the balloons and popping them, not the sound of some guy in black clothes and a ski mask putting his fist through the front windows.
Looking back, I should have realized that no one was breaking in because Prissy, our Pekingese, had not barked at all. You would think that a dog that small wouldn't be much protection, but she used to fly out under the bed and go at my mom like a rabid pit bull any time I got in trouble. A few years later, when my sister dropped a cigarette ash in her bed and caused a slow growing fire, Prissy summoned her inner Lassie and barked until she woke up both my mom and my sister, thereby saving both them and the house. I have no doubt that, had a burglar actually broken in that night, she would have done everything she could have at 10 pounds to try to thwart the burglar.
I wouldn't have been as freaked out either if my mom had had a security system installed in the house. I have one now, and given some of the things that go on this neighborhood--just read my numerous posts on Boxer Boy--it's the only reason I ever sleep soundly. Granted, I have two dogs to rely on as well, but seeing as they bark at everything, including falling leaves, I never know if their latest late-night rampage is real or due to car door shutting a block away.
If you would like a similar piece of mind at night, Protect America, a GE Security authorized dealer, has several types of monitoring to choose from, and you don't even have to have a home phone to take advantage of them. For instance, the company's Home Pulse Broadband Monitoring allows you to connect your security system to your modem or wireless router instead of to your standard land line. Meanwhile, if you choose Protect America's Cellular Monitoring option, they'll set you up with a dedicated wireless connection between your home and the monitoring center and a wireless security system. I actually have a cellular backup on my own system. It's a great thing to add, even to a standard monitoring package, because the cellular connection is usually placed securely inside your home. If a burglar cuts your phone line outside, the cellular backup will still send a signal to the monitoring center once the burglar opens the window or the front door.
If you've ever had a security system installed, you know that the price of installation increases with every window and door you add. Right now Protect America is running a special where your installation is free, even if you require more points of entry than the company's standard package covers. For example, Protect America's Silver Package includes a talking control panel, 10 points of entry, an internal siren and door chime, one button arming, battery backup, three window decals, and a yard sign. Ordinarily, such a setup would cost $595. However, if you call 1-877-470-2751 and sign up for a 3- month monitoring contract, you can get all of those things for free. You'll also get two key chain remotes that will allow you to activate and disarm your alarm from your car as an added bonus.
I think my security system is one of the few things that I'll miss when I'm finally able to leave this house. The way things are going these days, I won't miss much else.
