Who's Counting?

“The machine does not isolate man from the great problems of nature 

but plunges him more deeply into them.”  -Antoine de Saint-Exupery           

Just before I went to sleep the night before Mary, Patty and Rod arrived for their visit, I threw the last of the laundry, towels, in the washer/dryer (hereafter w/d) and went to sleep.  When I awoke the next morning and wandered into the living room, I heard a noise that sounded like the w/d.   My not-quite-awake brain couldn’t comprehend the sound because the machine should have completed the wash cycle hours before.  I opened the door to the little closet and, sure enough, the w/d was still running.  It had gotten stuck in the first wash cycle and had agitated all night.  The machine was hot and the knob was not going to budge.  I turned the machine off and tried to open the hatch door.  Stuck. 

Later that morning I called my landlord, Brendan, to report the broken w/d.  I felt bad because I had just called him the day before to report a slow leak in my bathroom.  He assured me that he would tell the plumber about the washing machine problem and that the plumber would look at that, too.  I was surprised as in the U.S. a plumber would handle the leak and a repair person would handle the w/d.  I reasoned, however, that the plumber might actually be a “handy person” who can handle all sorts of issues.

The timing was unfortunate as I had guests arriving and we planned to keep pretty busy, not sit around and wait for a phone call.  I kept in touch with Brendan who assured me he had been in contact with the plumber several times.  Due to an unusually cold December, many people in Ireland had no water in their homes for weeks.  When the plumber finally called, he left me a message indicating that he was busy working on a house that had over sixty leaks.  The not stated but clear message was, “quit whining, some people have real problems.”  Point taken. 

I wasn’t too upset about the leak in the bathroom; I could stay on top of it with paper towels on the floor.  I was frustrated about the w/d, though.  First, I had towels trapped in the machine.  Second, I had three guests who had travelled to Europe with carryon sized luggage and the understanding that they could do laundry while they were here. 

Mary, Patty and Rod were troopers about the whole affair.  They hand washed some items and didn’t seem upset in the least.  The day they left the country, eleven days after the machine broke, I received a call from the plumber who came over to look at the leak.  I suggested to the plumber that I was more concerned about the w/d and he said, “Oh, well, that’s not something I would fix.  But I suppose I could take a look at it for you.” 

Ahem. 

The plumber determined that the bathroom leak is coming from behind tile, so he patched it and told me he couldn’t fix it until someone who could fix the tile was also present.  He looked at the w/d and concurred:  broken. 

Brendan called a repairperson who came by the apartment the next Monday (day 14).  He determined that the machine needs two replacement parts.  The repairperson told me he could order them that night and probably get them in time to install on Thursday (day 17).  On Wednesday (day 16), I received a text message from Brendan telling me that the part would not be in until Friday and the repairperson would be over on Monday (day 21). 

I finally broke down and realized I would HAVE to go to a Laundromat.  No amount of hand washing was going to save me now!  Because I would have to walk to the Laundromat and carry my necessities, I got online to find the closest establishment.  What I found felt like salvation:  a service that picks up dirty laundry, washes, dries and folds it,  and then returns it to you for 7.90 euro/about $10.75 per bag.  I called to arrange a pick up and then chose what I would need to get me through until Monday.  I don’t think I have ever been so happy to have clean pajamas and a clean hand towel in my life. 

On Monday (day 21), I received a call from the w/d repairperson; the parts had not arrived but he expected them on Wednesday (day 23).   I sent out two more bags of laundry.  On Wednesday, he called again and I met him, box of parts in hand, at the door.  He made a joke about a “comedy of errors.”  

One minute later he discovered that he had been sent the wrong parts.

Of COURSE he had.  

           

He looked stricken.  He promised me that he will be here first thing Monday morning (day 28).  That is tomorrow. 

Meanwhile, I decided to send everything dirty to the laundry.  I was tired of seeing the piles of towels and sheets and clothes.   Now almost everything I have here is clean and when my machine is fixed tomorrow (isn’t my optimism charming?) I won’t be desperate to start the wash. 

There may be some grand lesson in all this, but I have yet to determine what it is.  There’s still time; after all, the machine isn’t fixed yet.