Thursday, April 27, 2006

Shhhh. It's a secret.

E. is going on his 8th grade field trip to Busch*Gardens tomorrow with DH as his group chaperone. Yeah, it's HIS turn to keep a hoard of teen-aged kids in control. But he loves roller coasters, so he'll have more fun. Until they all get cranky. :-)

It got me thinking - since it's a Friday and the weather is supposed to be warm & sunny, I decided that I'm going to surprise the 10 y.o. with a trip to Adventure Island. It'll beat the walk-a-thon that the school has planned out in the dust bowl that is the playground area. I know some people look down on keeping kids out of school for things like this, but I figure, a little spontaneity never hurt anyone. And neither did a day off from school.

We'll just call it a field trip to study the effects of the forces of water if anyone asks.

Thursday, April 20, 2006

I really need to get out more

I can't believe I did a happy dance over this, but I'll take it, however insignificant.

In my online search for a repair kit for the rusty dishwasher, I decided to call my local May*tag center (the place where we'd originally bought it) to see if they carried it. The kit contained vinyl caps & paint to cover the prongs. At $30, it was a much better deal than new racks. The guy who answered didn't have it, but transferred me to the parts department - the same place that had given me the bad news about my out-of-warranty racks.

The woman takes the model & serial number from me and puts me on hold. When she returns, she gives me the news that my racks ARE covered - for FIVE YEARS!!! I still have four months left on the warranty. I think I actually said "Hallelujah" to her after she told me. I was so freakin' happy!! They should be delivered within the week.

Could my week get any better? ;-)


Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Everything is Broken

I have the above-mentioned Bob Dylan song in my head today. He certainly wasn't thinking of items in my house when he wrote it, but I'm going with it, so there.

Do I really want to make myself sound like my parent's generation when I bemoan the fact that things aren't made like they used to be? I realize that part of our society has become enamored of disposable living - despite paying more for these items, you name it, if we can throw it away after one use... hoo-ha!!

Still, major appliances shouldn't fall under "disposable". At least in my book.

Case in point #1 - Whirl*pool washer; less than three years old - problem: rusting lid. Called customer service to find out that warranty doesn't cover this now. Sigh. Okay. How much to get a new one? Hold on here... $100.... for a LID?? That's supposed to get wet because it's attached to a washing machine?! Can't these people coat it with something that will keep the WET surfaces from rusting? So, the new lid would be almost 1/3 of what we paid for this fine piece of craftsmanship. No way. I'm off to find touch up paint and pray that it won't, at some point, get into the wash.

Case in point #2 - May*tag dishwasher; 4 years old - problem: rusting racks. Called the 1-800 number yesterday on the side of the DW. I was told about all the parts that HAVE 5 year warranties. Guess what? The racks aren't included. Total damage for two racks - about $190. Please. Almost HALF of what we originally paid for this item? Ugh....

It frustrates me that things don't seem to be made to last now. Or that companies don't care if they put out a quality product. We're just expected to suck it up and buy another. Maybe they're in cahoots with credit card companies... Hmmmm.



Saturday, April 15, 2006

Kudos for DH

C&P from Scott Bateman's blog:

BATEMAN365:
Day240 is up NOW!
This is awesome--so this guy I don't know submitted a sound file, and it's now one of my favorite stories ever.
So please enjoy "Greg Williams Meets Mr. Friendly."
And submit your own sound file for me to animate--follow the submissions link, yo, or just do a Phone Post and point me toward it in case I miss it.

Friday, April 14, 2006

Bateman 365

This is a really cool project: Bateman365 Even DH got in on it - his is Day 240 in the archives. Anyone can submit, so give it a try.

Excerpt from Fast Company Magazine:

"Scott Bateman, a Portland, Oregon-based editorial cartoonist and Flash animator has undertaken an interesting -- and inspiring -- project. Under the umbrella of Bateman365, the animator will produce one Flash animation a day... for the next year. Not all of the installments are work safe, so be mindful."

Day 180 - Fathers & You: An Educational Filmstrip was funny & sad at the same time. It was done by Bateman. I wonder if it was from personal experience?


Thursday, April 13, 2006

I should be ... (insert action word here)

Three hours of work this week. That's all I've been assigned so far... and I'm lost. I'd been putting in 20-25 hours a week recently (I won't lie - the money is nice), when my original deal with my neighbor/owner of the co., was to work about 10-12. After reminding the office manager three weeks ago of this (I guess the communication broke down between the two), I'm lucky to see five to eight hours. So now I find myself obsessively checking my work folders and email, just hoping to find something there. Is she punishing me for taking a step back? Why do I care, anyway?

There are so many other things I could be doing.

For instance: sleeping, exercising, de-cluttering, gardening, painting, reading, visiting friends, shopping, reading blogs, walking the dog; the list could go on.


Yet I'm drawn to this little square in my office cubby. Looking for validation that I can contribute to my family with something other than cleaned dishes or mopped floors. It's been easier to sit here working than to get busy living. That's going to change. I don't want my life to be filled with woulda/coulda/shoulda.