So what do you think of this?

[Californiablonde]

Okay I am seriously freaking out here. Last night I got home and turned the alarm clock on. I always check it to make sure it's set to the right time, which is always at 5:45. Last night when I checked it the alarm was set to 12:00 instead of the correct time. Neither one of the kids touched it and neither did I. Last week the exact same thing happened. The alarm was set to 12:00 exactly. I brushed it off then, but now that it's happened twice I'm worried. I usually keep all of the windows shut and locked during the day. Last night I checked all the windows to make sure they were all locked. One of them was open. Somebody could have gotten into my apartment through the window. Why they would change my alarm I have no idea. I'm of course thinking the worst. How else could my alarm be changed to 12:00 twice? My boyfriend thinks I'm freaking out over nothing. He thinks it's a glitch. I've had this same alarm clock for years now and it's never done this before. Has anybody heard of this happening at random? How else could my alarm have changed on it's own? I am totally paranoid about someone breaking in to my apartment, especially since we now live downstairs and it's easy for someone to do so. Am I freaking out for nothing like my boyfriend says or do I have a reason to worry?

 

[InsaneCdn]

First clue: you've had that alarm clock for years now. Things DO wear out, and one of the signs of wearing out is... glitches.

Is this an electric alarm? battery? wind-up?

If it's battery - there could be a loose connection in there, and just the act of picking it up could "reset" it. So... the "ghost" could be yourself.

 

[Californiablonde]

It's an electric alarm that I plug in. The thing is that the time on it was right. Just the alarm part was off. I still don't get how this could happen.

 

[InsaneCdn]

It's a plug-in electric and you don't leave it plugged in???
If it is holding the time at all, then it must also have a battery for back-up (i.e. to keep track of the time even if the display is off). In which case... the battery might be wearing out.

 

[Californiablonde]

Yes, InsaneCdn, I leave it plugged in.

 

[Marcie Mac]

You may have had a power outage which may have made the clock reset automatically to 12:00

Marcie

 

[Californiablonde]

Remember the time was correct. It was just the alarm part that was off. Plus when there's a power outtage the alarm blinks on and off. It wasn't doing that. I have no idea what other explanation there could be.

 

[DaisyFace]

Seems to me that a malfunctioning alarm clock is the most logical explanantion. (a weakening electrical connection could be causing the alram timer to reset each time there is a vibration, for example.)

Otherwise, your choices are that one of your kids is lying to you and has secretly been setting your alram to 12:00 - or somebody is breaking into your apartment, resetting your alarm, and leaving without doing anything else.

Of course - the only way to test either of these theories is to buy a new alarm clock....

 

[Californiablonde]

Well I'm letting my imagination run away with me. I've seen too many murder mysteries, I guess. Somebody could have broken in to my apartment because they are stalking me. They could have set the alarm so I would know that they were in there. I'm thinking all sorts of horrible things right now. I'm the type of person that always thinks the worst and right now is no exception.

 

[Jody]

Hey set a trap, put the alarm clock sitting in a certain way or put a paper clip or something under it. If its been moved when you get home, then someone did it, if it wasnt moved and its back on 12 then its a malfunction. I set traps like this for difficult child a lot, she will lie a lot and I sometimes I half believe her so I set traps to figure it out. That way you can get some relief from the worrying. Hang in there, its probably nothing to worry about!!!! Strange as it is.

 

[Californiablonde]

Jody, I'm almost afraid to set a trap cause I will totally FREAK out if something is moved! I know this sounds crazy, but I unplugged the alarm today and put it in the car. I am going to plug it back in and set the time when I get home from work. I couldn't bear the thought of coming home to a changed alarm yet again. My anxiety would really kick into overdrive. I'd rather avoid the whole issue altogether. Now I'm getting paranoid that I will come home from work today and see something else changed in my apartment. Seriously my boyfriend thinks I'm batty because he tells me there's no way someone would break into my house just to change the alarm without taking anything. But what if robbery isn't their motive? What if they are stalking me and they WANT me to know they were in my house? Seriously I'd rather believe it's a ghost haunting me than having somebody uninivited come into my home.

 

[InsaneCdn]

Buy a new alarmclock.

 

[AnnieO]

I'd say buy a new one... Onyxx has my superfancy one I got from Wal Mart for $6.

 

[Californiablonde]

I have three alarms I use at the same time. One is the alarm clock and two are the cell phones alarms. I really don't need to buy a new clock. I set three alarms because I am ultra paranoid one won't go off and I'll miss work. I don't like to miss or be late for work for any reason so I'm super careful that I can wake up on time. My two cell phone alarms are good for now. I'm just worried about why the alarm was changed. I can see the time being changed, but to set the alarm you have to push an extra button. It seems only logical to me that someone did it. Maybe I'm just freaking out over nothing like my boyfriend thinks. Hopefully that's the case.

 

[DammitJanet]

I can tell you what happened. You had a power surge that just made the alarm reset. Happens here all the time.

 

[muttmeister]

Yup, it's happened to me to..either a power surge or else the power flickered but didn't entirely go off. They are a little touchy but maybe more so when they're old. I'd prescribe a new alarm clock and a margarita.

 

[Jody]

I didnt mean to make you worry more!!!! That probably wasnt a good idea. I am sorry. Please don't worry about it. No one is coming in, I know how it is when you get something on your mind and its hard to stop thinking about it. So many scenario's in our head but really a power surge is the only logical thing it could be. No ghosts, no no no, that will really having you stressed. I will admit when things like that happen around our house we will look at each other and say Caspers back.

 

[DammitJanet]

CB...you sound so much like Cory's girlfriend....lol. She woke us up one night with the gun in her hand swearing that someone was shooting at the house. It was acorns falling on the roof!

I used to be scared too when alone with the kids but have gotten over it. Now I enjoy it.

Our power will surge or blink just enough to mess with certain items but not all. Like it will cut off my window AC but not my computer or TV or clocks. Really odd is we had the power company working on the power lines all down my street this summer and the power blinked on and off every day for two weeks but it was just little surges that only lasted milliseconds. After that was over, the electronic thermostat messed up. It resets itself to 73 degrees constantly.

 

[susiestar]

If someone was stalking you they would do more than reset your alarm. Stalking is not terribly common, and I think you are hearing hoofbeats and looking for wooly mammoths. A minute fluctuation in the amount of power coming into the house will reset some things but not all. What is reset and what isn't is more a function of how sensitive that function on the appliance is to this fluctuation. MANY alarm clocks will reset with these fluctuations when they are a few years old.

A stalker would want your attention more than this would accomplish. Get a new clock and remember that wooly mammoths, like stalkers, are the rare exception rather than the rule.

The question I ask myself in situations where I worry about stalking, etc.... is this:

Who would CARE enough about me to invest time and energy and sneak around resetting the alarm clock. Most people are just not that interested in me. They have FAR better tings to do!

 

[buddy]

The point of getting a new alarm clock I think was not to wake you ...the cells can do that ....but to see if it is a glitch in the one you have. You may also try plugging it in a different outlet in a different room to see if it happens. Could be the outlet allows little surges. If its the clock it could happen anywhere its plugged in but if it does ...you know no one is targeting you in the bedroom. As. For the window ....you maybe forgot to lock it one time. I agree, since you asked, I'd think more would be going on if it was a stalker.