No, no, *IN ADDITION TO*

OK, Powers-That-Be.  I want a word. 

When I said the other day that I wanted a new washing machine, I want to you note that I explicitly said that I wanted ANOTHER washing machine, as in *IN ADDITION TO* the one I already have.  An extra.  A second one.  Not a replacement.

<Sigh> You guessed it, and I suppose I jinxed myself:  our washing machine broke two days ago.  Yes, right in the middle of everyone being sick.  And right before we are leaving to fly 8000 miles away for a month.  Hooray!

I am so sad.  I love that washing machine.  I bought it in 2002 with very dear pennies that I had saved while I was in graduate school in Texas.  I researched it and found just the one I wanted with all the features, and I even haggled with the guys in the appliance store.

It has broken once before - one of the three screws that holds on the transmission got sheared off in 2004 or 2005.  Mike and I were just married and really scraping, so we disassembled the thing and fixed it ourselves.  It took forever and was very messy, but we did it.  I seem to remember that we had to buy a new part for $100, but that was much better than a whole new machine.  And we figured that if it lasted a year, it was worth it because it would have cost us that much in laundromat money.

Well, here we are 8 years later, and it's making a horrible grinding noise and won't spin.  I'm ok with letting it go if we have to but - how ironic - now that we are in a better position to buy a new one, we are stuck over here in a 220 V country with a 110 V house.  There is one store,  a Sears near the waterfront, that supposedly sells 110V appliances, but we have not been there yet and supposedly it's *really* expensive. 

So (here's where it's nice to live here!) we called the Company and we will be renting one from them for a while.  An instant, temporary solution!  Thanks, Company!!  It's supposed to be delivered today - it can't come fast enough!  We have 14 loads waiting.  Not kidding. 


UPDATE:  Good news! They did come to deliver our rental today, and the guy who dropped it off - and who, incidentally, spoke the best English of ANY repair or delivery person I have ever spoken with here - took our washer apart and found the problem.  One of the plastic couplings broke and some other part too, that I did not quite catch.  He will cart it off and fix it for 300SR (about $75)  YEAH! I think the Powers-That-Be realized they made a mistake and are trying to fix it.  Yay!