Most Recent Broken Stuff

So, the main point of my blog’s title is the frustration and futility that I feel in trying to keep everything ‘under my control’ in good repair and top running condition.  Despite my best efforts and intentions, stuff still breaks.  The list recently has been most amusing.

The Jeep: All the rubber weather seals decided to shrink and invite thier former rival ‘Rain’ in for the foreseeable future.  ’Rain’ then invited her less savory acquaintance ’Mold’, who will require much more work to evict.

The Laptop: For the third time, the power connector got broken off inside the case.  For the third time I did a JB-weld fix.  I can now completely disassemble the laptop in my sleep.  This time I used so much glue that I will need to buy a new connector and frame if it happens again. (Where did this screw come from?)

The Water heater: A year or so ago an element died.  At the same time I did the prescribed drain and flush of the unit.  In the last week, the amount of heated H2O has again dropped so I will need to troubleshoot and replace another part.  Until then we will continue scheduling showers with each other, the dishwasher, and the washing machine.

The Phones: A few months ago, Stacy and I got identical phones.  Mine had a spate of issues that was only fixed after 3 handsets, 2 sim cards, 2 memory cards, and finally, 2 batteries.  Stacy’s however had no real problem until the provider sent out an ‘update’ patch that turned her phone into a lighted paperweight.  They have since replaced hers under warranty (with the update preinstalled).

The Spouse: Yes I said it.  Before you get mad bear me out!  ’Morning’ sickness’ has been pretty hard on Stacy.  Despite its antimeridian nomenclature, the condition has occured at all times of the day and random in its severity.  While I can avoid the Jeep (yay motorcycle!), use less hot water, and call tech support for the phone, taking care of your spouse is totally different.  Even the ‘amazing nausea medication’ did not work as advertised.   Over the last three months, it has been tricky to continue to build our relationship, rather than letting frayed nerves on both sides tear it apart.  Thankfully we have been able to do so, and marriage is even better /more fun now than before.

The Motorcycle’s ignition wire: (yay Jeep! oh wait…).  At least I am notified that it has come loose again by: sudden loss of power, snapping sounds, and a 12 kilovolt spark jumping from the gas tank to my groin.
By the way Kawasaki, your engineers designed it to be replaceable, why can’t you sell the replacement? A post just for this may follow unless the nice folks at NGK let me down (and then maybe even if they do).

The Crib: Quite soon after we got married, a very generous member of the community gave Stacy and I an unneeded crib and other nursery furniture as we were hoping to start a family.  Obviously God had other plans for that, and so the crib has been more or less in storage until recently when we got it out to set back up.  We looked up the model online and found that it had been recalled due to “Entrapment and Strangulation” hazard.  Amazingly enough, the manufacturer is still honoring the recall and we will be able to get a newer, safer crib.

The  Headlights: they were due to go out, but both on the same night?

The Glucose meter: Thankfully it was a peripheral function that, while important, did not cause any immediate trouble.  The replacement is starting to show the same symptoms.

My dad’s computer: ?!?

The list goes on: until a non-fallen world replaces what we have now.

Ultimately, on a good day it is fun to try and get everything fixed and running well, but at the same time it can be overwhelming.  The verses on being anxious in the Gospel of Matthiew are helpful, but hard to apply in the heat of the “Oh crap _____ broke (again) and it will cost $_____ (lots of zeros before the dot) to fix!”

As I tackle the odder or trickier repairs and modifications to stuff, I will try to document or narrate the process.  Thanks for reading, and good luck with your fight!

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