13 October
I'm not certain what to write about, now that I am done with the reunion. Do I think that I could have taken any longer about it?
A couple of thoughts that occurred to me this week...
One of the cleaners where I work (whenever I say that rather than "cleaning ladies" I always think of Labyrinth) is in the habit of taking long breaks sitting in The Raccoon's cube.
Now, far be it from me to complain about anyone goofing off on company time, unless they are in my department and I have to work harder because they are big lazy slackers, but it's about to drive me crazy.
The Raccoon's cube is right against mine, so I no longer feel the freedom of being alone in the office, not to mention the fact that she, veeeery sloooowly, ate a bag of potato chips last night, and that bag crinkling and crunching and chewing noises almost drove me crazy. It was actually worse than the barking dog screensaver that the file clerk left on when she left, locking her terminal so that I couldn't shut her down.
But the worst thing was that it was the Greatest Hits of 1972 on CBSFM, and because of the woman sitting there, crunching away merrily, I couldn't sing along with Wayne Newton's "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast", which just about broke my heart.
Man, that song is never on the radio! What a waste. She left in time for me to sing "I Can See Clearly Now", but it just wasn't the same.
On Monday when I opened the fridge, I noticed that the frozen food was somewhat more unfrozen than one would have liked. Meaning entirely.
Tuesday, everything hadn't magically fixed itself, so on Wednesday I decided to call Sears. I didn't buy the fridge at Sears, but hey, Sears is Sears, it's the best large appliance repair place around, so I decided to put my refrigerators's future in their hands.
On Thursday the guy came and looked down his nose at my refrigerator.
"How long have you had this, around ten years?"
"No, just one."
"O, I see, on the back here it says that it is a '97 model."
"It was the floor model."
"Well, it seems that it's all clogged up with ice, that's why it's not working."
"Really? Is that why everything is melted?"
"O, wait, there's no ice at all. It's the motor. Feel how hot it's running? That'll cost you $500 to replace."
"O, okay. Thanks."
"And I don't even know if I could get the parts, because this is an off brand. You'd better just get a new fridge. You know, you really need a bigger one."
"There isn't any room. The space is only big enough for this size of refrigerator. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to get into the backyard."
"You could put it over there."
"Well, then I wouldn't be able to get into the bathroom."
"Well, that'll be $60."
So great, it cost me $60 to find out that I would have to replace my year old fridge. And, since I got it at Topps Appliance City, which is now defunct, I couldn't get a thing from them. So I decided to try to chase down the manufacturer.
First because I, of course, have no idea where my receipt or anything is, I called my Mom, on whose card I purchased the fridge, paying her back afterwards.
"Mom. When did I buy my fridge?"
"I'll go through my statements and call you back"
After getting the info,I found them rather easily online after striking out with 800 information (what did we do before the web?) and, not telling them that I hadn't got a smidge of proof the I actually purchased the item in August '99, I told them the story about the melted food and the Sears repairman and the motor needing replacement.
They told me that it wouldn't cost no $500, that it would in fact cost me $165 for labour, parts are free. Well! Cool!
The guy put my on hold, and, as he was working out when they would come and get my fridge, I thought I'd glance inside the freezer. And air was coming out of the vent. Cold air. Really cold air. So, when the guy came back I said:
"Um, strangely, it seems to have fixed itself!"
"Well, that's good. If it breaks again, though, you have a five year warrantee on the motor, so you'll still get the same price."
The only reason that I can think of that it's all working now and everything is ducky is because the Sears guy unplugged my fridge for about ten minutes, which must have given the motor a change to cool down.
Honestly, I don't really care why. I'm not looking gift frozen food in the mouth.
Paul on the beach, me behind with my photography face on, by John Hegner.
Andi and Brad, together again, by John Hegner.
Did you go to your high school reunion? Why or why not?
And we're still talking about being from a small town, family souvenirs, car-crash journals, our friend's mates, being a morning person or a night person, my old designs, what breaks our hearts, doing what we didn't think we could do, working with children or animals, Drugstore.com coupons from Kim, waiting until the last second to do something important, unlikely fears, strange things overheard, travelling with a band, not being noticed, what surprises us about ourselves, and icky stories.
Today's horoscope:
You have the urge to suggest improvements in your love life today. Focus on what you LIKE, lest hurt egos result from implied criticism.
One year ago today:
Perhaps my Indian name should be She Who Has Many Cute Purses?
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Last Updated Sun 15 October 18:32:09 2000