Wednesday, June 2, 2010

spare change


While it's not exactly an ecological disaster of cataclysmic proportions, we have our very own mini-spill going on. As in a self-destructing dishwasher gushing torrents of dirty water all over the kitchen and basement below.

Plus, in seemingly unrelated developments, our landline no longer works, the a/c has conked out and my cell phone's reception is spotty at best. Though I'll admit that that last is likely due to my having left it out in the rain overnight.

What minor, um, challenges are currently confronting you?

eta: And, before I forget, the first Friday of the month is quickly approaching, which means it's time to cross over to the dark side for yet another round of fun and educational and (of course) completely anonymous confessions.

Any suggestions for a theme? Bonus points if it's likely to generate venom, vituperation and general internecine strife. Check out last month's edition for inspiration.

26 comments:

RP said...

Welllll, since you asked...
- Mastitis. OOF.
- 284 page book to design and layout and no attention span.
- Non-sleeping baby
- Funds shortage due to unemployed husband who can't decide what he wants to be when he grows up (he's 37, mind you)
- Did I mention mastitis?

I never pass up an opportunity to complain.

areyoukiddingme said...

We're having a spill of passive-aggression from my in-laws. That's the second cataclysmic one in 6 years, and I don't know if this one will be cleaned up.

Meanwhile, we don't have a landline, and our new cell phone provider has horrible coverage in our neighborhood. They have the fewest dropped calls in the Midwest, except at our house. But, according to their coverage map, we're in a good coverage area. Sigh.

Anonymous said...

Our dryer is leaving rust stains on clothes. But it still dries just fine. I know we should just replace it, but I don't want to cough up the cash to buy one right now. Because you can't buy a dryer without buying a new washer. At least that is what my husband says.

Oh, and there is a mouse living in my house. A clever mouse. The traps are cleaned of peanut butter daily.

Furrow said...

Sciatica.

Too much to do at work and very little uncluttered brain with which to do.

In spill-related complaints, Z refuses to do the potty thing but pisses like a race horse every night, and though her pull-up usually manages to keep it from sopping the bed, I get splattered every time while removing the saturated thing.

Furrow said...

My Reality -- I bought a washer without buying a new dryer, even though everyone said I was crazy. It can be done.

ezra'smommy said...

-1st week as a mom who works outside the home.
-Baby who goes on hunger strike in the absence of said mom.
-Husband who is sick with the bubonic plague & is physically incapable of doing anything (even tho I had the same plague last week & managed to take care of a baby all day & night!).
There's more but I'll spare you.

Anonymous said...

Ummm, for Friday; what about hate in the family? Despising someone close? Disapointed in a much-longed child? or someone else?

Challanges: cramping three legs in two trouser-legs. Of course I'm speaking about money; I'm approaching bancrupcy.

Kristin said...

I haven't had a working dishwasher for months and it is likely to be many months more until I can get one.

AnnaBelle said...

Ugh - a fractured patella. I don't complain about it because it is expected to heal completely and it's really not a big deal compared to "BIG DEALS", but my knee aches today.

Lindsay said...

Let's see here:
Bulging disk flaring up. OUCH!
Condenser going out in my central ac unit while I live in the south and it's ninety-eight outside.
If I thought about it a bit more, I'm sure I could think of more annoyances, but I can't stand it.

painted maypole said...

the oil spill is a big one for us here in NOLA.

we just replaced our a/c. hope you get away with just a repair.

all the business of trying to buy and sell a house are more than enough stress for us

Dora said...

Sleep deprivation. 3rd cold in 6 months. I never get colds. Thanks sleep deprivation.

Damn, it sucks when the baby is sleeping, but you can't sleep because you're too congested.

Calliope said...

totally hating that this cold has dragged on for so long that W (patient 0) has actually gotten the cold again. Hopefully we are all on the mend.

cringing already for friday. But you know I'll be lurking

Hope's Mama said...

Baby who wont sleep.
Looming birthday for dead baby.
Deadlines and no energy to meet them.
Otherwise, life is good.
Thanks for asking!

Suzanna Catherine said...

For Friday: Maybe a discussion about the ethical dilemma underlying the book I'm currently reading: "The Match - Savior Siblings and One Family's Battle to Heal Their Daughter" by Beth Whitehouse.

From the inside front cover: "Faced with their daughter's devastating prognosis, Stacy and Steve Trebing made the difficult decision to pursue the only known cure for Diamond Blackfan anemia: a bone marrow transplant from a genetic match. Using preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD)and in vitro fertilization, they would create a "savior silbling" for Katie, a complex process rife with setbacks and pitfalls."

On pg 46, it states: "Once Hughes had assessed all the Trebing embryos, he would phone and fax Reproductive Specialists of New York and give Stelling - Stacy's waiting fertility doctor - the go-ahead for implanting any matching embryos."

Are embryos "implanted" or "transferred"? Am I being nit-picky? According the book jacket, this author is "a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for Newsday...etc., etc."

Anyway, just wondering how the IVF community would rate this book? And their opinions about creating a child to heal another child.

k@lakly said...

OMG, the last one got so nasty I couldn't bear to read it....can't imagine how round two will go. How about a nice white or red convo:) wine makes everyone happy!

Anonymous said...

Since we already did SAHM vs. working mothers...how about something equally as likely to 'generate venom, vituperation and general internecine strife' like breast vs. bottle? Natural childbirth vs. epidurals vs. planned c-sections? Cloth diapering vs. disposables?

*evil grin*

Anonymous said...

Oh, yes, anonymous at 10:37, that would be juicy!

Anonymous said...

Since you asked, I'm more than happy to whine. :)

I am renovating my place and wish there'd be a strong man I could whine at and beg to carry the heavy things. Plus I wish my telescope-thing for the brush wouldn't have broken (wishing for a tall man again). So I fight on my own... painting my ceiling - in baggy underwear (it's hot in here). Sexy, right? (Now I'm glad there's no man around).

Theme for confessions: Is it OK to ignore feminism, blink your eyes to get men to help you? Or pretend to be preggo, so people carry your groceries? Despite being a feministic thing I can't help to play the girl-card when it comes to police, taxes and bureaucracy... Slightly hate it - but it helps. (Obviously I don't do that when it comes to hard labour... hmm).

Melissia said...

I cannot find the desire or energy to make the drive 5 hours north to work on our empty Victorian that we must get back on the market. I love to be there, it is the drive I hate.
@ My Reality- I hate to tell you this but most likely your traps are too small, you need to go up a size. Fat mice get very good at eating off traps without setting them off, large glue traps will work as well, and then you can release with veg oil.
We grow everything bigger in Texas!

Anonymous said...

Hmmm.. well:
- My hubby took on a business he wasn't ready for, over my objecions,
- now we're houseless and were jobless until today, but
- he's already whining about this job.
- We're living with my family (again) (my grandmother, who is AMAZING, considering), and
- looking for another place for us, (yet again)
- I'm homeschooling my kids, and due to the uproar in our personal lives
- in way over my head - hey, there's a venomous topic for you! Homeschool / Public / Private etc. - and now my kids are too far behind to enroll in local schools, though really I could have them caught up in 3-6 months.. it still tweaks / worries me.

- All of our belongings are in storage in another state (had to do a last minute "flee from the homeland" kind of thing due to believing the bank was working with us) (another reason the kids are behind - wouldn't buy new curricula if I *could* afford it!)
- including our car, so we're totally at the mercy of my (THANK GOD) pretty reasonable family.
- Can't yet afford to go get our stuff. Worry a lot about weather damage, theft. Cause I'm a worrying kind of woman.

Love my husband, but dear lord, he's more than ten years my senior - how is that I still ended up married to a child??!!

Deeply grateful that my family is so generous, but shit - I'm beginning to think my hubby makes ill-advised moves precisely because he think we can always just come back home. Argh.

Guess that's it for today! Thanks for asking. I actually feel a bit lighter. And there's probably more than one topic in there, really. And I FREAKING LOVE that you blatantly seek to get our collective ire up. Nicely done. =)

Alexicographer said...

Well, the decision to replace our furnace led to discovering we needed a new septic tank and those processes collectively resulted in our landline, electric line, and water line being cut. Never on the same day, mind you, and the electric resulted in a power surge that zapped a number of our appliances. So that was fun.

@Suzanna Catherine from what little I've seen of the book you mention I can't, on the one hand, stand to read it -- not because I'm so offended by the basic question it attempts to pose, but because my sense is it does such a phenomenally unrealistic job of posing it. But OTOH I'd still be delighted to rip it apart (here in the comments) just on that alone.

Stacy said...

Oh there is always a reason to complain, isn't there?

My current ire is aimed at the little children we had over for a BBQ last weekend and devasted my son's room. I forget he is such a well mannered child that doesn't break all his shit. Shame on me to expect other boys (yes, there were girls too, but somehow they just played dress up and with dolls in my daughter's room) to respect other kids' stuff. >:(

Other than that...I'm tired. Like usual.

That Friday post was quite entertaining. I love me some good angst on the Internet. ;)

Melissa said...

Waiting to either get my period or confirm that I am pregnant so that we can either start calculating when I'll be fertile or start praying that I don't miscarry for the 4th time in a row.

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Unknown said...

Bikes! Everyone in my family has bike issues right now. My husband's bike was stolen. Oldest has outgrown his. Middle child just received as a gift a new bike which seems to have screwy break pads. My bike is just old & does not have enough gears for my current hilly city life. Youngest wants to ride non-stop but needs, you know, there is no one to take him.

Argh!