Maytag? It's Me, Trina. Can You Hear Me?

So, if you have read this blog in the last 2 months, you have probably gotten sick of my fussing about Maytag.  I have tried to play nice, I have tried being a snotty customer, I have tried to speak with someone in this hempisphere, I have tried their Facebook page (from which they have taken the discussions links down).  I have tried everything I can think of, shy of an all out media campaign.  

I think part of the problem is disappointment.  This was my first shiny new laundry set.  Our first set came from a teacher when I was student teaching.  It was the avacado green from the 60s, Maytag, ironically.  And we loved it.  No more trips to the laundromat.  Ahhhhh.  So nice.  And from there it was hand-me-downs and rebuilts.  But, finally I had a bright shiny new front loading set.  And it broke...within a few months.



Guess what, it is broken - AGAIN!  We had issues with the washer, then the drain to which it drains wasn't draining.  I finally get back to laundry and it stops working.  On Monday, I threw in enough laundry to get us through the week, until I could play catch up.  The first load, I did on my own.  No issues.  When it came time to toss the 2nd load into the dryer, from the washer, I asked my hubby to do it.  When he came back up, he commented on how it was really wet.  I guessed that he simply forgot to hit the 'Max Extract' button so it seemed wetter than usual.  Today, I decided to tackle laundry, even with the headache and medicine head going on. 



I get the first load out of the washer and once I get INTO the load, the middle, it is SOPPING wet.  Hmmm, that is really odd.  I put in load number 2, girls' comforters and move about my business.  About 20 minutes into the load, I head down to get food from the pantry and I notice that the washing machine is not spinning.  I literally stood there and stared.  What is going on?  I decide to hit the 'Drain and Spin' cycle, water did come out, but yeah, no spinning.


So you'd think this was a Blue shift, given my luck, but it is actually a RED shift.  BUT, seeing as my hubby is not a cubby anymore, he put in for OT and got it.  So maybe it is not the shift, it is just when J is gone...hmmm.  


So, it is a Saturday.  Tomorrow, I will drive 45 minutes to my Dad's and do laundry, just like my college days.  My poor dad.


MAYTAG SUCKS!  BUT, I am not the only one...  


And more...


And more...

Can I Wish My Crabbiness Away, Please??

Okay, I am going to apologize.  My washer died two weeks ago.  We just spent $1200 in late spring for it.  You know the high end front loader that does everything but transfer it to the dryer.  We also got the dryer to match.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  Here I am a few months later and it is dead...well more like on life support.  If there are weights around the drum, one has shifted.  It is HORRIBLY loud and can't get into its high spin.  A load of laundry will take me 2+ hours, just to wash.  So...we call Maytag.  You know the company whose repair man is always bored and or sleeping because they never break down - pfffffft, whatever.  Anyway, today they were supposed to come fix it.  BUT, they called the cell phone we give the kids when they go to their friends houses.  NOW, in Maytag's defense.  That number used to be our house number.  But that would probably be why my FF asked them to change it when he set up the appointment.  So, they called the other phone and N told them we were not home - cringing on SO many levels.  Nevermind that we were in the front yard discussing mums.  Anyway, repairman told N he would be over in a few minutes.  N called us and we came in.  After an hour, J called the repairman.

Well, your kid told me you weren't home so I went to my next call.  Can you come back after you are done? We are still in our repair window.  You have to call this 1-800 # and they have to send me back.  Yeah, let's just say after 4 hours, several CSRs, being hung up on, transferred to company that is closed, speaking to several supervisor, a scathing email to the company, or two, comments on their FB page and still not having a repair date for another week and a half. Needless to say, I HATE MAYTAG right now!  Their customer service is horrible.  Even with a warranty.  And how is it that the 1963 Avocado Green Whirlpool set we inherited from a teacher where I student taught worked until the day we got rid of it, this sucks that after a few months I have to wait a FREAKING MONTH to get my washer back.  I made a trip to the laundromat and tomorrow we are heading to grandpa's so I can do laundry.

My cramps are killing me (sorry guys), my boys can't figure out how the heck to find a clean room, I have to grade a TON of tests and essays before midterms are due in 36 hours, my girls did not nap and I could go on and on and on.

BUT, I enjoyed the afternoon with my dad, my hubby put carpet stair treads on the stairs to ease Giovanni's trips up and down - it is heck with these steep stairs and only three legs, the Brewers won Game 1, the Badgers are making an exciting game tonight and I get to watch both the Packer and Brewers game tomorrow afternoon (I am taking the TV from my bedroom and setting it up next to my dad's TV on a table - sad, I know.), my hubby survived his first week of paramedic school, I made it through the week of fall-out with the Homecoming fiasco, I got a tremendous compliment from my principal this week.  And I could go on and on.  I just need to focus on these blessings.  I am working on it, I really am.

But, I still hate Maytag.

Back to Square One

Or that's how it feels anyway.

We have been in PM classes for 3 weeks.  That's it.  And yet, it feels like it has been FOREVER!!  I feel like everything that can go wrong has.  O's hair had to be treated again from the cooties and so it started coming out is clumps.  We have to shave her down in back because it looked so bad. So, now she looks like a cutey pootey with short hair (we saved as much of her bangs as would stay).  And she woke up this morning missing her ponytail.  It broke my heart! I had to take 8 loads of laundry to my dad's house yesterday, which meant my whole day was shot.  In theory, Maytag is coming today, after 3:30pm which means I have to zoom out of class to get home and meet them.  But, I will believe that when I see it.  The list goes on and on and on.

I forgot how much I HATE this single mom gig.  Yes, my husband comes home every night.  Yes, I get to sleep with him every night.  But that is it.  It is night after night of studying and study groups and more studying.  Which is good.  But that leaves me to fend for myself, again, until at least January, again.  And I am just not cut out for this single mommy gig.  It is not my thang!  When J and I started dating, kids were not on my radar.  Funny, now that I have 4.  I just put so much pressure on myself that it makes me nuts.  Kids get sick, I have to miss multiple days.  Laundry repairman comes, I have to fly home, after picking up four kids.  We need groceries, I need to get the groceries. Yes, I know, "Just don't put all that on yourself."  "Make J do some of that."  "Just give yourself a break, the house doesn't need to be perfect." I know, have heard it all.  But, how else will it get done?  It won't which means I have to do it. My house was a mess, my in-laws were over while I was at my dad's and I had to just push it out of my mind.  I did not have a Saturday to clean.  It sucked.  I hate it.  Single moms who pull this off 24/7/365 so ROCK!!

I am becoming miserable.  SO...today I am going back to what I did last year at this time, when I was going through the same thing.  I was miserable a year ago and I am finding my way back to that again...and I HATE it.

So, five things every post that I am grateful for.  I can vent about what is driving me crazy, but I have to remember the good things.

1) I stink you, Momma - something that started with the muppets and Daddy that O has invited me into.  Is there a better expression of love?
2) My Giovanni  - the resiliency of dog's amazes me.  How well G has adapted to life as a tripawed and to our crazy clan is amaizng.
3)Watching my K9s frolic and play - Ignore me yapping to the FF on the phone in the background!  :D

4)The Maytag Man FINALLY came today I will have the parts sent to my house this week and they will be here next week Tuesday to install them and I will have my washer back!

5)High school kids who think I must make the coolest mom ever Now, if only my own will think that in a few years.  It is nice to have them want to come with good news and bad.  One was so sweet, he gathered up 6 tickets for me to take my friends to Six Flags this weekend.  I do love my job!

Persepective

I parked in a different lot than I usually do.  I looked at her parking spot and smiled.  She always makes me smile. I came into work, trying to figure out how to get the Maytag man out to my house - AGAIN! - and as soon as I read my second email, it was all forgotten.  We have lost a cornerstone of our school, the rest seems like it means nothing.


In a tragic accident, we lost Sister Virginia.  Sr. Virginia has been with the school since near on the beginning.  She retired from teaching in 2007 and still came in on a daily basis to run the school's writing resource center.  The stories she would tell would make your head spin and your heart full.  Sr. Virginia would often be the one to pull me aside after one of my ranting emails to staff, reminding them of this policy or that, which was being left to the side at that point, and tell me to give them heck.  Remind them of what we should be doing.  And in some points, seeing as I am the head of an all male department, remind me to remind them whose "boss".  She always made you smile.


Somehow, I was missed on the phone chain. I did not receive the tragic news the night before.  Instead, I got it through an email in morning, as I sat at my desk, trying to keep the three stooges quiet.  It took the wind out of my chest.  It was an accident, caused by the dark of night.  And, probably most tragically, the driver was a parent of several of our kids, two of which were in the car.  Their family needs to receive the prayers for healing.  I can't imagine the guilt and pain that they are going through.  Sister's position is assured, I have no concerns for her.  She will be missed, everyday, but my thought was that if Lord needed her, this was the only way he was going to get her.  Sr. Virginia would never leave willingly.

Photo by Matthew Olson of Kenosha News

We had mass in the morning, four priests (which is amazing if you have ever tried to get one on short notice and we had FOUR!) celebrated her life.  The amount of support she received from the community and alumni was amazing.  One of our engineers who was still at school when the accident happened, made a beautiful cross to serve as a memorial.  He was in shock and visibly shaken, even this morning.  I was grateful to see him during mass, when he is usually not with us. We got permission from the homeowners, took a large group of kids down and had another moment to remember her kindness, generosity, compassion and to ask that we might be able to take just a fraction of what she gave to the world and make that our goal.  I was asked to lead prayer, which I am not very good at.  My prayers in class are well-written and well rehearsed.  On-demand public prayer makes my stomach turn. But, I got through it and few of my kids said they got goosebumps, so I didn't fall on my face and embarrass Sister.



Please say a prayer for our larger family.  Sister impacted five generations, as a teacher, as the Mother Superior when we still had nuns, as a friend and her loss will be noticed by all.  I am grateful that I was able to have a chat with her the day before, she was an inspiration. I was blessed to have worked with her.

Just Another Maniac Monday

I got everyone out the door, only 10 minutes later than my goal.  Pretty good.  Get to school, no one's waiting for me - awesome.  Write my early dismissal notes for the muppets, as we HAD an appointment (rescheduled) for the Washer to be repaired this afternoon.  My morning class went wonderfully, until the fire engine siren screamed from my phone.  Our repair appointment got cancelled, AGAIN!  And J needed me to call a reschedule.  Deep, cleansing breaths.  Then came my prep.  Being department chair you get a ton of weird stuff, but above all, you keep your head secretary happy.  So when she requests that I speak to a member of my department.  You take a deep breath and ask, "About????"  When I found that it was taking attendance, all I could do was shake me head.  He did not know the web address for our attendance page, his password, nothin'.  So, I got all of that taken care of for him.  Walked him through it.  His response, "You mean, I have to do that, everyday, for BOTH my classes?"  And he was serious.  SMH.  Yup, you do.

So, I saunter back to my classroom and sit to make the call to reschedule my appointment.  Akeena answers and I could hardly understand her.  Earliest appointment is a week from today.  REALLY??  I HAVE BEEN WITHOUT MY FREAKING $1200 WASHER FOR A MONTH AND YOU WANT ME TO WAIT ANOTHER WEEK!    Yeah, I politely requested a supervisor, Linda, who was easier to work with.  She suggested going back to Maytag and explaining this mess directly to them.  So, I have another 1-800 number for my lunch hour.  While I was on the phone with A&E Repair, my call waiting beeps.  My vet.

More? Yup, there's more.  Call Dr. Waters, the super vet back.  She vetted Giovanni on Saturday for me and while she was over, I had her look at Willow.  Willow has had an insatiable thirst and loss of appetite.  I should have thought diabetes, given our experience, but I never thought about it. (Embarrassed)  We did a quick check, 434.  Ummm, yeah, time to do some blood work.  My girl's glucose was over 500 from the lab. Not good.  But all other functions are good - kidney, liver panel - all came back clean.  SOOO, where do you want to have the insulin filled?  I don't know.  J's meds are just through Walgreen's.  She suggested Wal-mart as the cheapest, so I text her the address and number of the closest one down here.  

While I am on with her, my phone buzzes, got a text.  It is J - "I would like to go to a study group in Tosa at 7:15. Any conflicts?"  SMH. No dear, go ahead.  I have my super cape on today.  LOL  Ah well, such is the life of a fire wife, right?

Oh, by the way - it is only 11:00 AM.  I can't wait for the rest of the day.  Here come's my study hall, I am SO excited!

I had to ask!  12:20pm and I am pulled out of my class (with food in my mouth) to speak with a reporter regarding our 1:1 laptop program. Me and my big mouth.

Wish me luck, YET AGAIN!

Ummm, in theory, the Maytag Man will be waiting at my house in an hour when I get home from school. I guess they did not like a random firewife fussin' on her blog. I got a phone call and an email within 24 hours of business opening AND an appointment.  Hopefully it is something they can FIX TONIGHT!


Send your good juju my way.  I need it!










UPDATE - 1559 CST - YEAH, it works again.  As I suspected, a belt slipped off and it was a 30 minute fix.  Please let it stay running now, please.