Punk'd on Halloween

While the kids were putting their dentists' kids through college tonight, I got tricked while they treated. A water pipe broke in the front yard. After an emergency call to the plumber, it turned out that a valve in the sprinkler system chose tonight to commit seppuku.

Fortunately, the house and sprinkler systems use separate lines so I was only without water for a couple of hours (a precautionary move done by a neighbor).

Darnit! This place is less than six months old. Three months since I moved in. This shouldn't have happened for a long time. Everything's still under warranty so it's not going to cost me anything to get it fixed.

Just goes to show: plastic parts are cheaper but not stronger than metal ones.

Car-blang!

Ouch! This was a painful week. My trusty ride, a 98 Jetta, has spent most of the week in the repair shop. The little slut's took most of my bank account with her. Fan belt replacements and fixing a busted cv boot on the axle will do that. When the service techs showed me how the axle was, I found myself being confronted by the ghost of Henry Ford, who looked at me and said, 'Didn't you learn auto maintenance 101?' 'Dunno,' I replied. 'B&N is backordered on 'Car Maintenance for Morons trying to be Dummies but failing.''

Call it 'bad carma'. :)

Anywho, at least my car will be good for another 100,000 miles or so.

Days like this

Days like today make me glad I live in a house, instead of an apartment.

• I have a nice, new home with an equally new roof!
• I have a garage so I can keep my car nice and dry in case I leave the windows down (which I do frequently).
• I have a garage door remote so I don't have to get out of the car in the pouring rain!

Wishy Washy

Pardon me a moment while I emote on my new washer and dryer. I know you're thinking 'Big Deal!' Well, it's not. After years of being reliant on apt complex washers, I now have my own washer and dryer. It's oh so nice not to be forced to wait on someone else to finish their laundry so you can get started on your own. And, even better, not have to wait on the weather to be favorable! OR have to wait for the laundry room to open in the morning! OR have to time it so that your laundry is done before the laundry room closes! GAH! I hate that crap!

Never more. Never more.

Washin' that whatever away

Wow. This house is getting expensive. I've already spent a lot on a new refrigerator (which is the size I was looking for but the water filtration system is hit-and-miss. the ice side is fine but the filtered water tastes n-a$$-ty!) So, today being the end of the week, I ran out to the Sears Outlet store in Addison to go looking for a washer and dryer.

Well, I found a nice matched pair of Kenmore Series 500 washer and dryer. The prices were pretty decent but it still set me back a bundle. I should get it delivered this weekend. Now, I can start doing some laundry!

The interesting thing is that I came in under budget for those three items. In fact, I came in $100 under! Although that number is probably off another $200-$300 since I didn't factor in shipping and taxes and was looking at some decidedly cheaper (and probably lesser) models to begin with.

just waiting for the weekend now. the laundry's starting to pile up!

The Move! The Move!

Well, it's but time for the moving all the furniture, etc. today. I don't know why but I just can't seem to find the motivation to finish packing. It's not like the last time when I dumped, literally, nearly a dozen trash bags full of junk. I just don't want to do it. What's up with that?

Oh, well, regardless, tonight will be my first night at the new place.

Oh, yeah. Once the move starts, I'm going to be offline for a couple of days. I don't get internet service till Tuesday. :(