Ya know… Sometimes I can’t catch a break!

Doing laundry, you’d think would be a straightforward and simple task.

Laundry bottle.jpg.HA!  You’d be WRONG!

In a Rube Goldberg series of events. I found myself reaching down into the abyss behind the washing machine. Why? To retrieve my laundry detergent of course!

How did my laundry detergent end up behind the washing machine? Oh let me tell you a story but you’re not going to believe it. I was standing right there, watched the whole thing, and I couldn’t believe it. Although what I saw lends credence to one of two theories I’ve had for quite some time.

The Theories are: 1, God hates me. 2, we are living in a simulation and there are times when the simulation glitches.

I’d just moved wet clothes to the dryer, put some dirty clothes into the washer, and reached for the laundry soap. It’s a mid sized bottle of liquid and is mostly full so it’s got some weight to it.

Somehow my hand connected with the handle of the bottle, slipped off, knocked the bottle sideways, where it bounced, skidded directly to the back of the washing machine, then righted itself, & slipped like bugs bunny into the impossibly narrow gap between the wall and the washing machine. 

The only thing it didn’t do was make the silly “Zip” noise as it disappeared into the abyss. It did however make a good “Thump” as it hit the floor behind the washer.

I understand kinetics and weird physics. I also understand that all energy degrades toward a zero state. Somehow, the bottle of detergent instead of bleeding energy towards stillness, looked like it was pulling energy from space time in some bizarre way.

I wonder if unbeknownst to me, the odd sock wormhole was open behind the washer or dryer at the time?

For a moment I honestly considered leaving the bottle right where it ended up, and going to the grocery store for a new bottle.

It wasn’t so much laziness as wondering if the bottle was somehow cursed. I decided ironically “Cursed be damned” and set about retrieving the bottle.

Alas, like the T-Rex my arms were too short to just reach the bottle and hoist it up. I was however able to barely get my fingertips around the very top of the bottle, but could not get a good enough grip on the slick plastic to lift the weight. In other words, just enough to tease me.

Reaching into my Primate Heritage I started swearing and looking around for a tool. My Marine & Navy buddies would be proud of my creative use of language to describe anatomical impossibilities.

I’d probably lose some points for swearing like that at an inanimate object. Although, had the bottle winked out of existence I’d have been fine with that too.

After several minutes with a hanger, and a pair of pliers I crawled back on top of the washer. I wedged myself back between the washer and the cabinets above it, only to have to un-wedge myself seconds later because somehow I’d managed to start the wash cycle. 

2nd attempt I discovered that the hanger would have to be folded twice to give me the strength needed for it to life the bottle without bending the hook I’d made to a straight rod.

3rd attempt becoming a contortionist I was able to hook the bottle and lift it about 6 inches, then I discovered that impossibly, the bottle was too thick to be raised any further. There is no way that the darn thing should have been able to fall all the way to the floor in the first place.

Hmmm, “God Hates me, and we live in a glitchy simulation?”

After more creative casting of curses I came upon a plan. The hanger lifting the bottle 6 inches meant that I could get my hand on the handle of the bottle and perhaps snatch that bad boy out of the abyss and back into reality.

But only if I found a way to try the hanger around something. A cabinet handle worked, the scratches on the wood can be repaired. I was successful! My laundry soap is now in this reality again, as is my missing microfiber car washing mitt.

You might have found yourself wondering why I didn’t just pull the washer away from the wall.

Valid point!

Here’s why. To do so, I’d have to remove the doors to the laundry closet, then slide the washer through a narrow opening and possibly I’d have to pull the dryer out too. In other words… 

That would have been at least a 1 hour project, since all 6 hinges on the doors would have to be removed. All I wanted to do was pour the detergent into the washer and press “Start”.

Darn it! I always forget about the Memorial Day garage sale event!

Garage sale.There’s a ton of people that will be wandering through the town over the next 3-4 days, shopping garage sales.

Normally I wouldn’t think about this kind of thing because Jerry wouldn’t let me sell or throw away anything. So aside from thinking about the Men who died in battle, including some friends and perhaps having the day off depending on my employer. Memorial Day blows by me.

Last year I wasn’t in any shape to consider it. This year I‘d planned to drag crap out of the garage and basement and sell it. Trouble is, I completely forgot about it.

It took me a minute to figure out why there was so much traffic, while I was walking the dog. Then I remembered and now as I’m cooling down with a glass of Iced Tea, contemplating what I’ll have for lunch, I’m also wondering if I can make quick work of some of the boxes of stuff.

I’ll make that decision after I’ve decided what’s for lunch.

I might have to unplug the surveillance camera in the front yard just because of the traffic. The poor think is pinging like crazy.

Not really helping Edison…

Electrical transmission.Southern California Edison is trying something new. Instead of killing our power for “Scheduled Maintenance” in the daytime. This time they did it at 2am. Sigh!

At least they sent out appropriate notices. It’s still a pain in the ass. I still have make sure I shut everything down. The alarm system still beeps and announces that electrical service has been lost.

In preparation for bed last night I powered all the sensitive stuff down. At around 2 am the dog and I were startled awake by the female voice from the alarm announcing power loss. We managed to get back to sleep.

Sometime after 4am the predawn silence was broken by Power being restored. The stove alarm was chirping, the refrigerator kicked on, the blower kicked on trying to warm the house to proper temperatures, and the alarm lady announced power had been restored but that WiFi was still not up.

At this point the dog jumped off the bed and wedged himself into a quiet protected spot between the bed and the sliding glass doors.

After all the clicks, clunks blower sounds had started it took me a minute to roll over and go back to sleep. I decided I wasn’t going to jump up and reset clocks or restart electronics because Edison often has false starts. I didn’t want to get everything powered up and reset only to have to do it again.

The dog jumped back up on the bed around 5:45 am. He was feeling cuddly and wormed himself into my arms with his head against my chest. I cuddled him until he fell asleep, then dozed until the 6am alarm signaling it was time to start the day.

After resetting the coffee pot clock, wake up brew time, and starting a manual brew I started powering things back up. Fortunately, everything appears to be working properly so I’m not fighting through some esoteric technical issues.

For that I’m grateful, but I still feel “off” I guess my sleep being interrupted, even if only for a few minutes has an effect.

I do wish Edison would publish an entire schedule of their “Scheduled Maintenance” so I could maybe plan better. As it is, they’ve been sending out notices 2 or.3 days in advance. That’s great, but 3 times in one month is a pain. The first two power outages were in excess of 8 hours. The last one screwed up the ice maker in the refrigerator and took some effort to correct.

Not to mention that they always send the notice that they’re turning power off  for 8 hour spans, literally the day after I’ve purchased groceries.

Ah well… Gotta stumble through my day.