September 13, 2005
Frinklin's dad told us to call Frigidaire as something was obviously wrong with the dishwasher. Um, no.
Once the tears dried, I started investigating the install instructions and jumped online to see if there was anything available that might clue us into the problem. I googled things like "dishwasher drain problem" and "Frigidaire can suck it". Eventually, the In-Sink-Erator website provided instructions for connecting the waste water line to the garbage disposal. I hit pay dirt.
Did you know that there is a small cap inside the garbage disposalÂ’s connection port for the wastewater? There is. It's called the "knockout plug" because, well, you usually knock it out when the dishwasher is connected. Further investigation revealed that Frinklin and his father did not do anything with the wastewater hose aside from attaching it to the new dishwasher. Since the seller of our house had recently installed a new garbage disposal, most likely in a major hurry and when no one was actually occupying the house and using the dishwasher, this plug problem made the most sense.
My theory was confirmed when I accidentally bumped the dishwasher into action and water came shooting our of the air vent on the sink. The water, unable to escape through normal routes was attempting to climb out our countertop. All that had to be done was to disconnect the wastewater hose, knock out the knock out plug with a screwdriver and hammer, fish out the knock out plug, and, finally, reconnect everything.
7pm: Frinklin arrives home.
7:30pm: Work commences.
8pm: Frinklin and I realize that working under a sink with all connections facing the rear of the cabinet is rather difficult.
8:15pm: Much bad language and other frustrated noises are heard until the waste waster connection FINALLY comes loose.
8:45pm: The correct angle is eventually found in order to remove the knock out plug, which then lodges itself within firmly within the garbage disposal, refusing to move.
8:55pm: I run to the computer to make sure that we can't just leave the stupid plug in the disposal. GE disposals say you can. In-Sink-Erator says you can't. We have an In-Sink-Erator disposal.
9:15pm: Frinklin turns off the water to the house and disconnects the plumbing from the disposal and the disposal from the sink.
9:20pm: I REACH INSIDE THE DISPOSAL (gross, gross, gross and in direct violation of all safety instruction) and dig out the knock out plug.
9:40pm: Nine attempts to reattach the disposal to the sink are unsuccessful. The tenth try works.
9:45pm: Water is back on.
9:48pm: Dishwasher runs a rinse cycle.
10:06pm: Dishwasher happily drains (completely leak free!) into the disposal.
SUCCESS!! There is much rejoicing.
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September 12, 2005
It all started with the ugly broken dishwasher (and nasty broken garbage disposal) that came with the house we bought. When the house was inspected, we stated that repair or replacement of the garbage disposal and dishwasher were necessary. The seller replaced the disposal and the dishwasher appeared to have been repaired when we closed on the house.
Upon moving into the house, we discovered that the old dishwasher was not repaired; it would happily fill and wash, then refuse to drain. Being the dishwasher novices that we are, we made some half-hearted attempts to fiddle with the standing water in the bottom of the tub, but eventually decided to purchase a new dishwasher. My father-in-law insisted that he could install the dishwasher in a couple of hours. We stupidly believed him, ignoring the repeated warnings of the sixteen year old Best Buy employee against self-install.
Please note, my father-in-law is a great guy. He's funny, he's kind, and he always means well. However, despite his collection of fabulous tools, he's not very handy. I grew up in a house with a terribly frighteningly handy Dad, so this is rather foreign to me. I assume that when a father figure says he can fix something, he can. I would be wrong.
I spent my weekend at work, receiving updates from Frinklin every few hours as to the status of the dishwasher installation:
10am: The old dishwasher is now out on the deck.
12pm: We are traveling to Home Depot to pick up a hacksaw to cut the hard pipe used for the old dishwasher, and to pick up more hose that should have been used.
1:30pm: We're returning to Home Depot to pick up more thread tape.
3pm: We're back at Home Depot, looking for the correct connection for the pipe and faucet.
4:30pm: We're at Home Depot one more time, still searching for the correct part.
At 5pm I arrive home to see my father-in-law walking out the door, instructing Frinklin to put "lots of towels" under the sink to absorb water spurting from a leaking connection. "It'll be fine, I'll be back tomorrow," he yells as he gets into his car.
I freak out and half an hour later send Frinkin on yet another trip to Home Depot to purchase the tool enabling us to turn off the water to the house for the night, reducing the spurting leak to a slow drip.
Fitful sleep ensues and no showers are available in the morning. I return to work and continue receiving Frinklin's updates.
10am: The leak has slowed.
12pm: The air vent is leaking. I need to go to Home Depot and purchase caulk.
3pm: Um, my Dad left and I'm going to reconnect all the pipes to make sure there are no more leaks.
Sunday evening I return home to find a happy Frinklin apparently sucessfully using the dishwasher and monitoring a very slow leak under the sink. Tupperware is used to contain this tiny leak and we high-five, hoping that the thread tape will seal over the next few days and stop the leak. We deem this an acceptable price to pay for having a working dishwasher.
7:30pm: New dishwasher will not drain. Much sobbing and rending of garments occurs.
End of part one. Part two will continue tomorrow.
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September 11, 2005
Which Food Network chef are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
This works out well for me, as I love watching Alton Brown. Actually, I love watching any cooking show, except that yelling alcoholic. I hate that guy. If I was Mario Batali that would be the best, except I'd have to wear those scary orange clogs all the time.
Via so anyway...
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September 08, 2005
But I can pretend.
And just in case, I was here first.
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Before joining FEMA, his only previous stint in emergency management, according to his bio posted on FEMA's website, was "serving as an assistant city manager with emergency services oversight." The White House press release from 2001 stated that Brown worked for the city of Edmond, Okla., from 1975 to 1978 "overseeing the emergency services division." In fact, according to Claudia Deakins, head of public relations for the city of Edmond, Brown was an "assistant to the city manager" from 1977 to 1980, not a manager himself, and had no authority over other employees. "The assistant is more like an intern," she told TIME. "Department heads did not report to him."Time
I'm starting to wonder just how much the Bush administration can fuck things up.
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September 07, 2005
Why is there scented toilet paper? My husband accidentally picked it up and purchased it as he was afflicted with a cold that prevented his being able to smell the hideousness that is your scented toilet paper.
It's disgusting. And it's permeated my entire house. First it was just the bathroom, but now it's the kitchen and the bedroom. Not only is scented toilet paper wrong in theory, but in practicality it's also a bad idea.
It seems obvious to me that a man came up with this idea, just as a man likely came up with the scented tampon idea, and the scented pad. No woman is going to voluntarily put something down there that smells that bad. It's a sensitive area, and does not enjoy being coated in stinky chemicals.
Sincerely,
ensie
PS--I feel bad throwing away 8 rolls of toilet paper, even ones that are coated in what may be the worst imitation of a floral scent ever. Maybe I'll shop them around my neighborhood...
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September 06, 2005
I sweep twice a day. I use tape. I have a sticky roller.
I have enough hair to build three new dogs. And that's just from today!
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September 02, 2005
I watched the NBC Concert for Hurricane Relief tonight. At one point, Mike Myers and Kanye West were on together, urging people to give for the hurrican victims. Mike Myers started with a teleprompter spiel about giving money and the need for funds before tossing it to Kanye.
Let the fireworks begin!
Kanye immediately began a rant about black looters being targeted by the media and the fact that we don't have enough military to asisst the victims of the hurricane. A visibly uncomfortable Mike Myers struggled to remain looking straight into the camera. Kanye continued to say that he was contacting his business manager to see how much he can afford to donate, and that the government is sending soldiers in with orders to shoot!
Mike then began his telepromter reading, doing a final plea for help, but was cut off by Kanye yelling, "George Bush doesn't care about black people!" The camera immediately cut away to a backstage Chris Tucker who, unprepared, asked people to please, "give, give, give all you can."
Kanye was not surprisingly missing from the final group sing along.
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September 01, 2005
I've been ranting at Frinklin all week about the underwhelming response from the President and his underlings. I'm seeing pictures of a city that looks every bit as terrible as a war zone with death, disease, and tragedy in every corner. Where is the military? Shouldn't we be prepared for disasters stateside? Didn't we just create a whole new department of bureaucracy to deal with this EXACT thing (be the disaster an attack or a natural disaster)?!
I applaud the desperate actions of the minimal National Guard, the law enforcement agencies, and the aid workers, but it is quite obvious that they are completely overwhelmed with the tasks at hand. It makes me terribly worried should be ever be purposefully attacked on US soil while fighting any war overseas. Have we depleted our forces that badly?
My prayers are with all the people of the hurricane effected areas. I have friends there that, thankfully, are safe. Bob’s Hogs is matching donations of employees and will be setting up an automatic paycheck deduction ability to donate to the Red Cross. We’ll be throwing in whatever we can afford (and probably more) as soon as that is available. Please take a moment to give whatever you can—everything helps.
Update: Eden backs my shit up.
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The "customer service" representative (seriously, they should just be honest and title them "Fuckwads") sighed when I explained my sistuation. I was extremely patient, considering that I waited on hold for over ten minutes. I told her that my understanding was that the payment was due today, and did my paperwork/coupon/statement possibly get lost in the mail? I'm trying not to piss these people off--they own my house.
"No. It was sent on the 26th of August."
I asked if that was normal and would my statements always arrive after the due date?
"So my payment won't be considered late if it is received late due to your late billing?"
"
"You're sure?"
I said thanks and politely hung up the phone. When I arrived home today the statements were waiting for me and I have since written the check to go out tomorrow. Is it too much to ask that the bank sets up some sort of communication with their customers to explain their idiotic system? I'm new at this. Help me out a little.
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August 29, 2005
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August 28, 2005
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August 27, 2005
After spending a good five or six hours at their house, we drove home to find our dogs about to burst with pent up energy. They are used to going to their local dog park regularly, but with the move they've been trapped in the house, unable to run around due to the slippery wooden floors. Matchbox keeps trying to play, but Jeffrey falls down every time he moves faster than a walk. Frinklin located the only dog park in Tacoma and off we went. One closed bridge, two detours, and two frantic dogs later we found it.
The park isn't anywhere near as nice as our old one. The grass is all dead and it's almost entierly made up of dirt and overgrown blackberry bushes, but the dogs didn't care. The only other dogs we saw were leaving as we arrived. Hopefully next time will be better. We might try heading further up the Sound toward Seattle--they are rumored to be better up there--some even allowing beach access.
I'm going to go take a shower, order a pizza, and spend the rest of my evening on the couch.
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August 23, 2005
I received many, many inquiries about the couch and loveseat. I answered 10 of the 45 emails that showed up within a few hours. I was very clear; anyone who wanted the items needed to come after Frinklin was home from work (7pm) and it needed to happen NOW. I had four couches in my living room and we couldn't unpack anything else until these two were gone. No one could abide by my conditions. For two weeks I played this game with various people, and then Elizabeth called.
We were in the process of loading the loveseat into the truck on it's way to Goodwill. Elizabeth promised she would come as soon as her boyfriend got home from work. At 7:30, she and Jason showed up (a few minutes late due to my crap directions). They stuffed the couch into their jeep and we carted the loveseat over to their apartment for them where we found...no other furniture at all.
It turns out that Elizabeth and Jason are living together in their first apartment and had a desk, a computer, a TV and some end tables. That's it. Wait--I forgot the air mattress that they reinflated every morning half asleep at 4 am. I took pity on them and offered the queen sized box spring and mattress, as well as the baker's rack we had no use for. They took it all, and we took them out to dinner to celebrate finally being rid of our extra stuff.
It felt very good to give up a lot of items in excellent shape that we had no use for. I've since pared down my sheets and comforters and have a few extras to pass onto them. I'm sure I've got more crap lying around that I never use. I remember very well what it was like to have so little furniture that you felt ashamed to invite people over. Even old hand-me-down stuff can be such a blessing at that point. Not that what we have now is all that fantastic, but it's starting to be things that we have chosen, as opposed to things that we had to take.
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August 20, 2005
It's one of the first really excellent days I feel I've had here, especially since I've been rather depressed lately. Even though the weather in Tacoma is currently challenging So Cal I've been missing my family and the feeling of being home that San Diego always provided. I never really lived anywhere else, and I knew every part of the city I lived in. Now I get lost going to the grocery store. I'm starting to learn my way around. I still consistently drive miles out of my way going from point A to point B.
Today started off with a call from Violet, which is always a good thing. I'm worried about her, but am looking forward to her visit scheduled just a month from now. I wish I could afford to fly out to her house in Chicago--it's been on my list of things to do for a very long time.
After the phone call Frinklin and I headed to the mall so that I could pose for pictures as the Bob's Hogs representative at a fundraiser. We found the local comic book shop and had a tasty lunch at Freighthouse Square, which led us to the art gallery there and a new piece of art for our new house.
We stopped by Tully's on the drive home for ice cream and enjoyed getting lost in the historic district of North Tacoma. The houses are stunning--I'll post some pictures if I ever remember to take my camera out with me.
Home at 4, I started working on the book boxes that have been cluttering our entryway for three weeks. We moved some furniture upstairs, moved another piece back downstairs, and are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We used our new drill for the first time tonight, hanging a wedding gift from the staff at Bob's Hogs that's been in a box (anticipating our move) for almost a year. We found studs, drilled the holes, popped in the anchors and secured everything to the wall. So close to being successful--it appears that we used too large a drill bit and will need to find some larger anchors. Easily remedied tomorrow.
Lastly, we repaired our bed that had begun to sag a bit. My back has been bothering me this last week, so we bought some 2x4s, cut them to fit under the mattress, and created a platform under the box spring.
I'm feeling relaxed, tired, and satisfied. Progress has been made.
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August 19, 2005
The new house is great, but it's a bit of a pain in the ass. Frinklin and I got pretty spoiled living in the brand new rental house we had in San Diego. All of the windows had blinds and screeens, the bathroom had lots of storage and brand new pipes, and the yard was taken care of by hired hands.
Now we're learning how to be real homeowners. We weed and mow. We measure for screens and find out that we measured all wrong when they arrive. Frinklin learns how to build a fence. I learn to use a drill and hang curtains. And of course, we get a visit from the local public utilities to tell us that we have a hold placed on our electric meter because the seller of the house didn't get a permit when he replaced the electric box before we moved in. Gee--thanks guy.
I missed a piece of certified mail that came from Tacoma Power today. I'm sure it's to detail the fees that we'll now be subject to in addition to needing to have an eletrical contractor come out and inspect everything. Oh--and we still have to apply for a permit. Until that all happens, the hold stays on. Originally TP told me that they would contact the seller of the house, as he was the one who performed the work. Some supervisor overrode that decision, so I'll be making a call to Mr. Harris this weekend to see if he will cover the cost of his mistake.
I'm guessing no.
If he does refuse, then we'll have to get the work done, then file a suit in small claims court or place a lein against his current property. Sigh. As I said--a pain in the ass.
On the upside, it rained on Wednesday and nothing leaked.
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August 12, 2005
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August 10, 2005
1. Sleep in.
2. Have the line at the DOL (Department of Licensing, not to be confused with the DMV--Department of Motor Vehicles in CA) only take 2 minutes, then find out that you don't have to take the written test. Score!
3. Have your student loan payment for the month of August bumped to September because you were smart and refinanced.
4. Get presents in the mail (including one awsome housewarming gift from Violet that catalogs all the nearby restaurants, museums, malls, movie theaters, dogparks and places of interest! One of the most thoughtful and wonderful things I have ever received!).
5. Go shopping and explore the local mall. Find your new favorite shirt (in carob brown, not the scary atlantis blue) and buy two because it is so awesome.
6. Have in-laws offer to buy new screen for new house as birthday gift. Exactly what I wanted. Seriously.
7. Get flowers from your husband. Get coconut cream pie from your husband.
8. Go out to dinner at the Primo Grill, which is only a few blocks from your new house. So good.
9. Relax while husband brings you more coconut cream pie.
Ahhhhh (and I only cried once when the postwoman brought me stuff from my family).
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Are these still available? Also, the picture link... is this a picture of the actual loveseast? Is the couch of the same pattern? Thank You
Um, actually, no. This is a completely separate couch, unrelated to the ad. I just linked to it for fun.
Duh.
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August 09, 2005
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