I Will Finally Get A Dryer.

Yes I realize my life is pathetic, but I've been without a dryer since March or so. Or maybe I've been without a dryer since Februrary. I don't recall which. The dryer made protesting squeaks for a month or so then decided to not run again. The washer is fine.

This resulted in the unusual dance of washing my clothes at home, but going somewhere else to dry them. The laundromat a few blocks down is a pretty nice place for a laundromat. Very clean, well-organized, and you can get a tan there as well. I thought my Spanish would get better the more often I went there, but native speakers talk much faster than I can listen so I got 1 word out of 4.

I also went old school college and brought the wet laundry to my parents' house. Hi Mom! Just like old times eh? The fact I often received a free dinner and played with the dog had nothing to do with my decision to come over. You're fixing taco salad? Excellent.

Word to the wise: Sears Outlet stores sell appliances cheap! That is where I purchased the washer/dryer about 10 years ago so I went back. Scratch and dent and customer returns. These things are in a utility room so what do I care about scratches and dents. $235 for a dryer is cheap. They had only one basic dryer that inexpensive. When a $900 dryer is selling for $735 I wonder what makes it so expensive. It had a nice stainless steel cover and it "talks" to the matching washer. What do a washer and dryer need to "talk" to each other about? Sometimes simpler is better I feel.

Sears has an independent contractor delivering the dryer today. He likes cash only. I don't mind the delivery fee and the disposal of the old dryer fee. $20 to attach the electrical cord from the old dryer to the new dryer is a ripoff I feel. I may do that myself if he takes a break.

I might liveblog the event if I'm bored enough.

9:54am waiting for that 10-2 delivery window.

10:25am watching White House spokesman Tony Snow give a press briefing on blowing up a big terrorist al-Zarqawi in Iraq. Yep it blows to be on the wrong end of America's pointy tip of the spear.

10: 51am roommate Whumpa wants unlimited long distance on the phone. AT&T has a $15/month unlimited service. I order it online and then get the dreaded, "Due to technical problems, we are unable to process your order online at this time. " I hate having to call people to resolve problems. I was in tech support for years. I know what it is like to be on the other end of the phone call!

11:35am watching The History Channel special on the whaling ship Essex. Crew was attacked by a sperm whale and had to resort to cannibalism to survive on the lifeboats. This story inspires Herman Melville to write Moby Dick. Meanwhile I’m reheating leftover chicken fingers in the microwave oven.

12:01pm the local news is on. For once it has nothing to do with the 7 people gunned down on the east side. I know it was a shocking and important story, but I feel the local media has pounded it to death. Instead they’re talking about the terrorist we blew up.

12:36pm and I’m wondering why the toilet is still running. I guess the rubber flapper didn’t close properly. Pop off the lid and WATER SPRAYS OUT EVERYWHERE! Shut off the toilet valve now!!!! It isn’t shutting off the water flow. On that’s right it doesn’t work. WATER IS SPRAYING ALL OVER THE WALLS AND FLOORS! RUN OVER TO THE UTILITY CLOSET AND SHUT OFF THE MAIN VALVE. I hear the water turn off. After wiping off my glasses and shirt I grab a mop. Okay why did that happen? A rubber/plastic tube isn’t connected to the water output to direct the water down into the tank. Place tube back in place and slowly open the main water valve. Toilet tank fills in a normal, non-explosive, fashion.

12:54pm and I hear the rumbles of a diesel engine. One large Dodge dually is hauling a 20’ trailer. Two guys show up. They haul out the old dryer. They switch the electrical cable. The factory doesn’t install cabling because two different types exist: a four-prong and a three-prong. I’m guessing that is because of housing codes. New dryer is installed and after flipping the circuit breaker switch it runs.

1:13pm and I see Blogger is down.

2:18pm and Blogger is still down.

3:02pm and Blogger is still down.

8:37pm and Blogger is up so now you get the rest of the story.