Washer Repair, Success!

So after dreading the repairs to the washer for over a week it's now behind me. I guess I really was not "dreading" it, that tends to sound overly dramatic doesn't it. It was mostly the "taking the washer apart" aspect of it that I was not looking forward to. I could not put my finger on the "why" but remembered that being a pain in the ass when we repaired it in the past.

Thankfully Cicely was her usual rock-star self and helped me put the case back on fairly easily once we she figured out the way that it was designed to slide into place and allow the tabs to easily line up to one-another. The actual repairs were not that big of a deal once you have it apart as expected. It's nothing more than having the correct tools and then swapping out old parts with new parts.

All said and done; after running one full load of laundry last night I am happy to report that it seems that the repairs and replacement of parts was time well spent and a complete success. There was no water leaking out anywhere at all. Although there was some sputtering at times - I think that was caused by the hoses and reservoirs filling back up and pushing air out of the lines.

Cicely did mess with me a little at one point and as I deserved. She thought it would be a good idea to go look at the machine, the repairs as well as under and around it - knowing I was watching her waiting for the status report. She proceeded without hesitation to tell me that there was water on the floor and we will need to take it apart again tonight.

I was bummed to be perfectly honest, I thought for sure we did a good job and that the parts I "guesstimated" had failed were the correct ones. Thankfully she was only pulling my leg and all was good. Had it been leaking again what else could I do but try again, right? Not that I would want to but it's part of a home owner duties. Well truthfully guess my other option would be to throw in the towel and start the process of researching, measuring, then shopping for a new set.

While fun to do and it's always nice to get new "stuff" no matter what the new "stuff" happens to be - well unless it's a filling in a tooth or a plate, screw, etc., in a bone - that is never nice. Don't misunderstand, it would be sweet to have a new washer/dryer set. Problem is that what we would want is pricey and so they start out in the 1k - $3000 range. That part of a replacement plan would be the part that is not cool, nor fun.

Anyway now that it's over with I can move on to other items that require my attention. That is one sure thing about parenthood, home ownership and related - there is always something that requires your energy or attention whether you have the energy, are up for the challenge or not - you have to face that which is in front of you. It's becomes a matter of putting everything into the best order possible, then tackling them one-by-one otherwise it's too much for anybody to take on.

Phones & Rain

It really sucks how sensitive phone are these days. You would think that there would be better technology out there to be able to keep the water out and at least make them water resistant to some extent. Seems like if you sneeze on them you are looking for trouble or failure. Heck even my $600 Garmin cycling computer / GPS can handle water and being submerged up to something like 3 feet of water. Not that a phone needs this kind of resistance, but think how great it would be if they did.

What am I talking about you ask? Well as you may recall from Saturday, I finished up my 1/2 century ride - 51.1 miles to be exact, in the pouring down rain. Not just a drizzle but hardcore rain and wind that was either blinding me or nearly knocking me off the bike as I pedaled along, inching closer with every rotation of the tires to my goal of 1/2 century for the day.

When I finally got home and rode my bike into the garage (after enjoying a cheering session out front - what? cheering? who? It was of course my amazing, talented and let's not forget beautiful wife, standing in the rain, cheering for me and for the success I had in pushing myself and going the distance no matter the conditions). Immediately I realized that my seat bag was drenched, hopefully only dirty and wet on the outside, maybe only a little water got in through the zipper and everything will be fine? Nope, not the case - I unzipped the seat-bag and it was soaked inside and there was even a puddle of water in there, FUCK! 

This was all 84.79765% my fault because I assumed that the bag was fairly water tight and only a little moisture at best would get inside. Nope, not the case at all. As mentioned, it had a nice puddle of water in it and sitting right on the bottom, and toward the front - the direction the bag leans because of the way it connects to the seat and seat post. Thankfully I had one of my heavy duty shop towels in there and it managed to soak up most of the water that made its way into the bag. On the flip-side though, this wet rag sitting in there helped to create a moist situation which added to the problems with the phone.

So because of this, Saturday I only used my phone a little bit and then stuck it into a bowel of rice. It appeared to be working pretty good as of Sunday but still had some slight issues. Mostly with the touch screen. I hear that this is very common with the phones and water - the touch screen going out or acting erratic. That is exactly what mine is doing - either unresponsive or erratic. Normally people drop them into the toilet or jump into the pool and not realize they have them in their pockets. Sometimes they are able to get them dry - sometimes not so lucky.

Sunday evening after I was done with a few things that required me to have the phone available for me to use it was back into the bowl of rice for another moisture removing session. Today I am using the phone again and it's off and on working. For the most part it seems "OK". I am writing this entry on it but the touch does freeze up now and then. So I have to put it to sleep, wake it back up and it seem to be good again for an undetermined amount of time.

I am not sure what I will do. I have the extended warranty and it is good through September so maybe I will have to see if they will give me a replacement. **By the way, as I am writing this, the phone just locked up on me and I had to do the lock / unlock thing.

I think the replacement is a no questions asked 2 times for the life of the phone kind of thing. I should just go for it and see what I can come up with. While operational for the most part, it is still very frustrating when it freezes up. I really just hate setting up new devices, computers and so on unless they truly are new and improved, cool and all other adjectives that I can't seem to think of.

Update 1: I decided to not take the phone in today. I plan to give it a few days longer and see what happens. I don't want to hang out at the Apple store on my lunch is a big part of my laziness. I know, big deal and an easy way to get a new phone - well replacement phone which usually means that its something Apple refurbished - fine in my book. My hope if I have to go is that they give me a 5 instead of a 5s because my battery case wont work with the others.

Anyway, not going today as I had considered and will go tomorrow or one day this week if necessary because of problems with it getting worse. Otherwise I want it to last me until the new iPhone 6 comes out. That way I can deal with bugs and all that comes with new technology. One thing is for sure no matter what happens. I will ALWAYS have my phone in a Ziploc or some sort of water resistant / water proof case here on out whenever possible.

Update 2: So I am a little bit fed up with the phone working and not working off and on. Mostly it's working but when it gets into a pattern of not working its a pain in the ass. So I have an appointment today at 5:50 PM to talk to the guys at the Genius Bar. Hopefully they check it out and I am able to get a replacement. The only crappy part is that my phone is in pristine shape and if I get a refurbished one who knows what it will be like. Not to mention I will have to setup all of my apps again and my stuff for work email and related - pain in the butt.

Rain, Rain & More Rain

So we had some major rain and wind again last night. Well more like yesterday afternoon just before the sun went down. It's awesome for the yard, free watering. But otherwise it's a bit of a pain. If it's raining tonight I won't be able to ride so that will suck. I need to get my mile a in for the week. I am shooting for at least 50 miles a week. I know that is nothing crazy for hardcore cyclist but many of them don't have a day job either!

Not sure if there is more on the horizon today or not. It does feel a little bit muggy and wet out as though something may be in the books for this afternoon, all we can do is wait and see. I welcome the rain honestly, I just don't like that it puts a dampened on my other activities.

Leaks Cubed

Based on this mornings work emails we have leaks in the ceilings in the studio. You can usually tell where to pick a cube and where not to based on the brown water stains that are left on the tiles from previous leaks. Unfortunately we don't always have a choice so we have to make due with what we are assigned, yes even in management. Actually even more-so in management because we are supposed to set the stage for the rest of the team.

My hope is that I don't have wet spots in my cube today. I do have some tiles that are stained in water puddle shapes, thankfully not directly over me or my equipment but there none-the-less. I have a hunch they were replacement tiles possibly because I have not had leaks over the winter months.

Either way, it's Monday and work is under way and will continue to be as such for today and 4 more to follow. Hoping for a more mellow week as far as big announcements and putting out the fires of angst regarding the unknowns of the future state of the company and careers.

We should be letting our new manager know that he got the position as well. I don't think they planned to do it last week but maybe they extended the offer and it's all done. Does not matter to me, well it does but I am referring to the hiring and offer extension part. I did what I had to do and helped with the process of finding the best fit for the job. Now it's up to HR to offer the right salary, the applicant to accept and things progress forward from there on their own.

Good 'Nuff

That will do it for today. Time to refocus my attention on the day in front of me and take care of work, my team and get my ass to the gym for a nice workout this afternoon to throw some weights around and shed some fat.

No idea if I will be a will to go out and ride tonight or not. I do know that if it rains again it will not be possible. I still need to clean up the bike and lubricate it after Saturday's wet ride. I hope nothing is screwed up because I have put it off for a couple days.

Not sure how sensitive the new bikes are bikes are and if they sit for a couple days if rust will start to develop or something like that. That would really suck to screw-up an $8000 bike because of one rainstorm. I sure hope they are stronger than that for that price and because of recent technology advancements. At the same time when things are lighter and related they can be more sensitive.

Yea saving that for another time in case it's necessary to get on the "gotta buy parts now that I ride in ONE huge downpour" soapbox. My hope; never have to write that post!

With that, ending it for real this time - on with my day and what the next hour brings....

Photo: A box of parts that were replaced as well as some that were swapped out just to be on the safe side of things seeing that I was already in there mucking around. It's actually not "too bad" taking the case of the machine apart as I remembered it being, still not something I want to do "often".