Evilsciencechick

So healthwise, things are looking up here. I am still stuffy headachey, but the zombie feeling has left - you know, where you wander around in a fog of oxygen deprivation, throbbing sinuses, and various cold medications? What fun. I freaked the fuck out of a bunch of people at Target on Saturday. That was amusing.

Anyway…when it rains it pours here at chez evil. First some background: Kev’s work situation is still looking hairy, and they’ve cut back on hours. So he’s making less a week because he can’t work as long as he wants. I have gotten a part time job to pick up the slack (ugh. don’t ask. Just…don’t ask. It’s money, and that’s what counts - we didn’t have time to wait until I could get the fancy EVIL SCIENCE job. I needed something FAST, and this was available. paying bills and buying food and medicine takes precedence over all else!).

If we could get our finances stabilized, we were planning on using our tax refund to replace our AC, which is about 25 years old (original to the building, I believe), and uses a WHOPPINGLY inefficient amount of energy to run. And this is Atlanta - we need that sucker at PEAK performance.

Lately, though, our appliances seem to be letting us down. We just replaced our garbage disposal. Our dishwasher is occasionally dropping the ball on cleaning the dishes, and sometimes leaves certain items dirtier than they were before they were put in.

And then today…ugh.

I opened the freezer and started digging around the bottom, trying to find the pork loin I knew was in there to defrost for dinner tonight. And I noticed everything seemed to be covered with what looked like wet snow. And everything I picked up was suspiciously…soft.

The freezer was no longer frozen.

How did this happen? At first I thought maybe it was JUST the freezer. That couldn’t be SUCH bad news, right? If the fridge side was still working?

No. The fridge side wasn’t working either. Kev confirmed this when he got home. A very full fridge and freezer, slowly melting away…

GAMEPLAN

step 1. make a dinner that uses plenty of meat and dairy

done. made a GIANT amount of italian sausage, cooked with onions and wine, and served over super creamy polenta, made with milk and lots of cheese.

step 2. utilize the resources available

where Kev works, they have a full sized fridge and freezer, which, now that they are no longer providing free drinks to employees, is now mostly empty! We loaded plastic bags full of the critical freezer things. Meats that are still mostly frozen will go in the freezer, everything else into the fridge, and Kev will bring home dinner for cooking when he comes home at night.

step 3. buy ice. lots of ice

everything NOT going to Kev’s office will be kept in the fridge with plenty of ice, to be used up this week in breakfasts and lunches. this includes stuff like formerly frozen veggies and fruits (I anticipate smoothies this week), milk, yogurt.

step 4. call sears

ugh. at 11pm, when you call the 24/7 sears hotline, you get…india. And this isn’t one of those call centers where they PRETEND they’re not indian…where they have worked to get rid of their accents and rename themselves “Paul” and “Jenny.” This was full on accent, unpronounceable name, and VERY FAST TALKING. Dude…slow down…dude…what??? I didn’t understand most of what he said. Except that the earliest appointment I could get with a repairman is thursday, 8am-5pm. And then, he got SUPER PUSHY with me about this “special” they’re running. A normal appointment, just to get someone in the door, is $65. But, I COULD pay $250, which would cover parts and labor, and then if we do need a fridge, they’d give us $500 towards a new kenmore fridge. And OK…I said NO THANK YOU. And then, HE KEPT PUSHING IT! What a great deal it was! And it would cover all parts! With warranty! WHY DID I NOT WANT SUCH A FABULOUS DEAL???

because I know how this shit works. First of all, no one sees that $500, ever. What happens is, the guy comes and replaces the minimum number of parts as cheaply as possible. And that warranty? Probably has a list of exception 10 pages long. (”ok, ma’am? did you put ice cream in your freezer? Ok, yeah. If you’ll read your warranty, you’ll see that it does not cover any damage to the part made while there is ice cream in your freezer.”) And we know…WE KNOW we’re going to have to get a new fridge. We don’t want some slapjob repair to keep it limping along (even though the damn thing is only 7 YEARS OLD). If the repair bill is going to be several hundred dollars, we’ll just say screw it and buy a new fridge. It won’t be as nice as this one, most likely (I am so spoiled by the front water and ice cube dispenser), but it will be COLD. And our AC plans will be put on hold. And our power bills ginormous. Again. *weep*

So again, I say firmly NO THANK YOU, THE NORMAL SERVICE CALL WILL BE FINE. And THEN??? He asks me if I would like to talk to him about replacing our kitchen cabinets, or perhaps get all new appliances for the kitchen and laundry room? NO, NO THANK YOU. NO…NO…..NO!

ugh. I hate making these calls. We were going to make the appointment online, but had hoped talking to a real person might get us an earlier appointment. No such luck.

So yeah…it does seem a little like the universe is conspiring against us. Just at the time when we are in our biggest financial crunch is when thing start crapping out on us.

excuse me, I think I’ll go have a little cheese with my whine…OH WAIT…OUR CHEESE IS NOW IN A FRIDGE 8 MILES AWAY!!!

*weep*