Monday, July 25, 2011

Monday Morning News & Views

Last week I kept myself super busy with all kinds of errands planned and unplanned. Keeping busy helps me to move past my sadness over losing the Dowager Feline Clancy. I'm still sad, but it is getting easier. I know she is playing now and one day we will be reunited. I believe that in my heart.

My planned errands included touring our final college: Vanderbilt. A private university with lots to offer a college student. But that all comes with a hefty tuition and price. There's a lot to be said for the cost's payoffs, and the campus is absolutely beautiful and located in Music City, USA aka Nashville so it's in a great location. But there are drawbacks: no car the first year, got to live on campus all four years, and oh yeah, the price. Darling Teen loved the look and the feel of Vanderbilt but she decided not to apply. She wants the freedom of being able to attain some adult life skills when she's at school. I agree. I think part of going away to college is to learn how to be an adult in the adult world.

Meanwhile, our brand new dishwasher has one problem that is highly annoying. Sure it works. It runs beautifully. It is amazing. It should be for $1000. But it doesn't do one thing that I paid for it to do. The four hour delay does not work. I've had 4 service calls to the house, 1 where parts were replaced, and the four hour delay is still broken. Now if it were you, what would you want to do? Me? I want a new dishwasher because obviously this one can't be fixed. My time is worth money. I'd rather be writing and exploring the world than be waiting for a technician to come to my house during a four hour window of time and then have nothing better for the wait after the technician leaves my house. Am I miffed? A little.

We experienced some unplanned events last week. We had plumbing issues requiring lots of work. Oh yay!! $500 to fix a pipe that leads water away from our house. That means "Yellow is Mellow and Brown goes Down" until the plumber can come today and excavate the area around the pipe to fix it. We've also been very creative about our dishwashing and cleanups. The good news is that I can't do laundry or clean the bathrooms till after the pipe is repaired. Hallelujah!

We also had to fix the Escape. It needed a new fuel pump. No fun paying all that money for a car repair, but it beats having a monthly car payment. The Escape is 8 years old and I've piled a lot of miles on it. I need it to run reliably and safely. I trusted Woody Anderson Ford with my literal "Escape" vehicle. I especially needed it ready to escape to the Saturday workshop I attended at the Southern Magic Chapter in Birmingham. Margie Lawson's workshop was amazing. MORE ABOUT THAT LATER THIS WEEK. But here's a bit of a teaser: if you get the opportunity to take one of her workshops, run to take it without any hesitation. You'll be a stronger, better writer for doing so. I feel I have the last missing piece of the puzzle to apply to my own work. You will, too.

So stay tuned to the blog this week. I can't wait to share my experiences with you on Wednesday and Friday.

2 comments:

Karen Jones Gowen said...

Your dishwasher sounds like my new double oven. 4 calls and I think it's finally working the way it's supposed to. After 3 calls on the same problem, the dealer will allow a change of appliance but then I'm thinking more of the same--technician has to calibrate, technician has to recalibrate, and I am sick and tired of seeing the technician. So I'm making it work. But if it starts baking unevenly again, I'll be ready for drastic measures. I miss Maytag.

Christine said...

I have one more technician coming out. That company is really good, and the lady knows the history. She was shocked that the company I bought the DW from hadn't already replaced it. But the technician has to state that the part is not repairable. Some dumb rule. Any rate, this technician is good, so he'll fix it or he'll give me what I need: not repairable and then the company will have to switch it out.

They'll do anything not to lose their money but they sure don't mind taking ours!

Meh.