Archive: August 2003
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Friday - August 29, 2003
Do DO do do
So, here are the opening lines of the last two books I've read:
"It's been a long time since I've played with dolls. I've never really thought back on my time with plastic humans before, but today, as I was watching a group of gigly young girls browsing Barbies in the Wal-Mart, I remembered that feeling--that strange sexual energy and giddy shame of playing Barbies in my bedroom."
And, then...
"When I was a little girl I used to dress Barbie up without underpants. On the outside, she'd look like the perfect lady. Tasteful plastic heels, tailored suit. But underneath, she was naked."
Isn't that just odd? The first set of lines come from Why Girls are Weird by Pamela Ribon. The second set come from High Five by Janet Evanovich. The books are nothing alike. And, if I hadn't read them back-to-back I probably wouldn't have noticed how they both started with stories about being naughty with Barbie. Life is strange. In fact, the subtitle to Why Girls are Weird is "sometimes life is stranger than you are."
Cue "Twillight Zone" music here.
By the way, I loved Why Girls are Weird (it made me laugh; it made me cry; it was great) and am only through the first two chapters of High Five (the fifth book in the Stephanie Plum series) so have no real opinion on it. I've enjoyed the series, thus far, so will probably enjoy this one as well. It can't hope to be as good as Why Girls are Weird but it'll still be fun.
Wednesday - August 27, 2003
Home improvement
Disposals are us. My garbage disposal went out several months ago. Not that big of a deal for me since I never used it much anyway. But, it was starting to wear on me. I noticed that Sears was running a sale on appliances and such and they had their "big deal super duper" disposal on sale this week...for about $10 more than their bottom-of-the-line model (which wasn't on sale). So, I went in and bought it. I checked out the installation instructions and figured I could probably install it myself. That was on Monday. After work. I came home and went to work getting the old one out. That went fairly smoothly. Hmmm...'turns out I needed plumber's putty to put around the flange of the new one. Okay, I could get that the next day on my way home.
I also noticed, though, that...uh-oh...there's the whole aluminum wiring problem. My townhouse was built back in the early 70s. Aluminum wiring was pretty much standard there for a few years and that's what's in my house. That meant I couldn't safely connect the new disposal with its copper wiring to the aluminum wiring coming out of the wall. The old disposal, by the way, had aluminum wiring so was not a fire hazard. So, I went looking online for some possible solutions. It turns out there's only one acceptably safe solution for connecting copper directly to aluminum and it requires a special tool which uses upwards of 10,000 pounds of pressure to make a "cold" weld between the two metals. And, you have to have special training in order to use the tool. So, I called for a list of Austin electricians certified on the equipment and there's one guy. One guy in Austin. One. The person manning the 800-number said there are only about 40 in the country. The whole country. Yikes! So, on Tuesday morning, I gave the Austin guy a call and he said he didn't really think he could do the job because it costs over $300 a month just to rent the special tool. Uh-oh. He said he'd look around, though, and see if he could work something out. So, we hung up and I started to get a bit depressed about the whole thing. Wasn't this supposed to be an easy job?
But then I remembered the salesman at Sears asking me if I had an outlet under the sink or if the disposal was hard-wired. Well, it was hard-wired. But, what if I installed an outlet? There are approved outlets that work with aluminum wiring. I know this because I had all the outlets and switches replaced with them when I moved into my house. So, when the electrician called later in the afternoon to tell me he couldn't find a solution to my problem, I asked about the outlet idea and he assured me with a bit of a Homer-ian "Doh!" that it would be a fine solution. So, I stopped at Home Depot on my way home and bought an outlet box, the appropriate co/alr outlet, some plumber's putty, and a power cord kit for the disposal (so I'd have something to plug into the outlet!). That was last night. (By the way, Happy Birthday, Dad!...look how much fun I was having on your birthday!)
I got home and immediately got to work. I installed the flange and bracket for the new disposal in the sink. I attached the power cord to the disposal. And then noticed that...sigh...that's not dry wall behind the sink. Nope. It's plaster. The outlet box I bought was for dry wall and wasn't gonna work. So, I packed it in for the night.
Which brings us to this evening. I stopped at Home Depot again, returned the outlet box, and went in search of something that would work in the space under the sink. I found a metal box that I could screw into a wooden support beam that runs along the wall under the sink and bought it. So, I came home and went about installing my new outlet. My drill was dead. So, I set the battery to charging and starting taking apart some of the pipes under the sink since the pipe going away from the disposal to the drain was now too long. The new disposal is about 4 or 5 inches wider in diameter than the old one. The rubber washer around one of the pipes crumbled as I loosened the pipe fitting. Hmmmm...that meant another trip to Home Depot since I hadn't purchased any of those. Ah well. The drill now had enough power that I could drill the pilot holes for the new outlet box. Got that installed and then attached the wiring to the new outlet. Woo hoo! Then, I proceeded to use my hack saw to cut the old pipe to its proper length. Sanded the edges. We must do things properly, doncha know? Then, a quick trip to get the new rubber washer. They came three to a pack. Which turned out to be good since I decided one of the other rubber washers should also be replaced. I fit everything together, tightened it all up, and turned the water on. Woo hoo! No leaks.
Then, the real test. I plugged the disposal into its new outlet and...with a bit of a cringe...flicked the power switch. Double woo hoo! It worked too. And, no explosions or fires! Yippee!
So, I guess that means I can install garbage disposals! Yay, me! Oh, and by the way, they're apparently called food waste disposers. They're not garbage disposals. I don't think I've ever heard anyone refer to one as a disposer, though. Isn't that odd?
Friday - August 15, 2003
Flat tire
So. Yesterday, I had to work late. Well, I don't suppose I had to but I did. I left the building about 7:30 and as I approached my car in the garage I thought that the front tire on the driver's side looked a bit low. The thing is, I almost always think the tires on the car look low. They're skinny tires. Or something. See that photo taken shortly after I bought the car? Do you see what I mean? Doesn't the tire look a little flat? Somehow, it looked more flat than usual, though. So, I got my pressure gauge out and lo...15 psi. Not good. So, I called Mr. Rescue and reported the problem. After answering an astounding number of questions describing my exact location (it's rather surprising that I wasn't required to get a GPS reading from a passerby and have it notarized before they'd agree to send some help my way!), I was told the wait would be about 45 minutes. I decided this would be the perfect chance to read a bit.
By the way, in answer to your first question: yes. I'm perfectly able to change the tire myself and probably would've been on my way in 20 or 30 minutes if I'd done so. But, I pay for the rescue service; it's part of my cell phone contract. I figure I might as well take advantage of it. Why get all dirty when I can just relax and read a book?
And, in answer to your second question: I'm currently reading Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler which Larry gave me for Christmas. At least, I think it was for Christmas. It might've been Birthday 2002. So far, it's a good read. Thanks, kiddo!
Anyway, about 5 minutes after my rescue was due to arrive, I got a call saying he'd been diverted to the mall where a child was trapped in a car. Okay. I suppose that probably is just a wee bit more important than changing my tire. It only took about 10 minutes for the backup to arrive, though. He quickly got to work and had me on my way in another 10 minutes or so. Despite the chance to get in some reading time, I have to admit that I was rather put out about the whole thing. Suddenly, it was 9 o'clock and I realized I still hadn't even had a chance to eat dinner. Then I got home and heard about the power failure in the northeast. Okay. Nevermind my little bit of inconvenience. No problem. I, in fact, had electricity. And, safe water that didn't need to be boiled. And, all the usual niceties of everyday life. Not like those tens of millions of people in New York and Detroit and Cleveland and Toronto and...
Nevermind, indeed.
I got the flat fixed this morning on my way to work. I stopped in at Walker Tire Company (best business motto on the planet: "If It's In Stock, We've Got It!") and about 20 minutes later, the donut was back in the spare tire well and the "real" tire was back where it belonged. They pulled a 2-inch nail out of it. No telling where that came from. All better now, though.
Wednesday - August 13, 2003
The master of suspense
According to Google's logo for the day, it's Alfred Hitchcock's birthday!
The bird perched on his head is too much. 'Love it.
. . . .
Y'know...I think it's also Lolly's birthday. I guess I better drop her a line...
Friday - August 1, 2003
Sarcasm gene
I apparently have some sort of sarcasm gene that's difficult to turn off. I got to my office and had a voice mail message from the young man working the front desk downstairs:
"Joanna, I just wanted to let you know you've received a package. I would appreciate it if you could pick it up. It's in the copy room. Thank you very much. And, I hope you have a very nice afternoon."
So, I went downstairs and said to him as I walked through to the copy room that he'd left a very nice message. "What was the matter with it?" he wanted to know. Nothing. I just wanted him to know it was very nice. I went on into the copy room. On my way out he asked if I was being sarcastic. Ummm...no. It was a nice message. Really.
Heh. I get this sort of reaction when I'm being sincere a lot more often than I should. Now, I can sort of understand when it's one of my close friends. They're used to me being sarcastic all the time. But, a virtual stranger? A young man I've exchanged 30 words with since he started in my building a month ago? I wonder if there's some sort of gene therapy I could take that would turn the sarcasm level down when I'm being sincere?
. . . .
Oh...and...attaboy, Lance!