Living in the Fridge [Weird Al]

we wish you a merry kitchenmas.....

so this year, instead of the usual $25 limit we place on gifts for each other , we decided to go all out and get new appliances. our dishwasher was shooting craps - the rack was rusty and ruining our silverware, it didn't really seem to clean so well anyway, and it was plain old boring white. Our range was un-level (not to be fixed, no matter how much i tried) and didn't hold heat so well. Also didnt have self clean - who has a range w/o self clean in this day and age?! The fridge was fine, but if you replace the other two, might as well do them all. We got some mid-range whirlpool units, in stainless steel. Fridge has water and ice (and ice bin in the door- strange, i know) It also has fancy blue LED lights, and warning tones, and some sort of ESP or sixth sense that will detect hot food and ramp up the cooling for a while. The dishwasher needs some sort of drying agent, which we didnt realize when we bought it, but what are you going to do about that? Range has self clean, and some sort of semi-convection whatnot, and is a newer flat surface technology than the last one we had, which is good. Also it is a cat magnet, for some reason.

Apparently the new thing is SS with grey/silver sides ("monochromatic" for those in the know.....) Since the range and dishwasher had bits of black (lots of it in the case of the range) we wanted the fridge with the black sides - which is a special order, apparently. rather than wait on all three, we had the range and dishwasher delivered together, and the fridge schedule for later. The range and dishwasher came on the 10th, the fridge came this past weekend. The range was "installed" when it was delivered - the dishwasher just lived in the corner of the kitchen in the box (which the cat loved) till this weekend. I wanted to get the new fridge in and the old one out before i started to monkey around under the sink. Everyone is in and working now, but it was a bit of an adventure.

Here are some things I've learned regarding new appliances:

-measure your old appliances, then measure the hole they were in, then measure any and every opening or hole or hallway you plan to bring those appliances through. I double and triple checked the openings in the kitchen cabinetry, and then we almost didn't get the fridge up the stairs or past the half wall.
-if you think you can "just take the door off the hinges or pop out the sliding door" to make delivery easier, double check that you can actually do that. i though i would just work that sliding door out and make it easy on the delivery guys - no such luck - could not get it out of the track. didn't realize that till they brought the stove onto the deck. oops!

-delivery guys hate, HATE, split level houses.
-delivery guys are crazy. they'll try anything, like wiggling a fridge through an opening with 1/8 inch clearance on either side.
-delivery guys are not necessarily the best people to "install" anything. plugging in a stove and sliding it in the hole? no problem. attaching the water line to the fridge - apparently rocket science.

-energy star appliances, while efficient, run more and longer than old appliances. our dishwasher cycle will range anywhere from 1.5 to 8 hours, says the manual. i guess they've gone to higher water pressure and lower hp motors. same with the fridge - "don't be concerned if your refrigerator cycles on more frequently than your old one" thanks, instruction book. i actually would have been concerned, but now i wont be.
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no matter what your confidence level, it might just be a good idea to have the store install the dishwasher. new dishwashers have a tall tub, which means the motor and other workings sit closer to the floor. also, they maximize the amount of space they fit into - and every fraction of an inch helps. and good luck keeping that insulation tight to the unit. i think we've got plenty of it bunched up near the opening, and none in the back of the unit. the house wasnt very cooperative, either - here are some things to think about: did the old homeowners install new flooring at some point, but stop short of the dishwasher hole - that's gonna cause a problem. did your house settled a bit, and now your opening isn't 100% square and true? that's gonna cause a problem too. our house had both of these conditions, and about 1 hour into installation, i was ready to just tear out the whole kitchen and start over.

-it is my recommendation that every one of you make it a habit to open and close your shut-off valves (all of them) at least once a year. i think maybe even twice a year. Every time you adjust your clocks for daylight saving time, give the ol' valves a workout. the one for the dishwasher didn't quite close all the way, and neither did the hot water shut-off on the water heater - ever tried to install equipment while your pipes were leaking? that made the electrical hookup really interesting.

-if you get a new fridge, take all the stuff out of the old one, put it in a cooler till the new one comes to temp, or throw it away. whatever you do, let the delivery guys get the old one out of the house. or get yourself an actual furniture dolly. mine doesn't have the small wheels or the fancy glides, or straps. so we dollied the fridge to the landing, couldn't get the dolly out from under it (thanks, giant wheels), so we took it back up, then me, Karen's dad and the neighbor just tipped the fridge back and carried it out of the house like a dead body.

but they're all in, they all work, and they look great, so it was all worth it, i guess. though now i believe what they say about stainless steel and fingerprints.

hope everyone has a good holiday. stay safe, and warm, and don't kill your families.

Mother [Danzig]

forgive me if i've been remiss in my duties as a blogger. i'm spending my time doing things around the house and spending time with friends and family. i say those like they're more than what they actually are - but still, it's some sort of reason for being absent. i feel like i dont have cool things to blog, now that i'm back at home living the normal life with my wife and cat. i'm sure i could think of things if i tried - and maybe i will.

for now, i want you to have this song. while my relationship with my mom (both parents, actually) is a bit strained, it doesnt mean i'm blind to the emotions or connections that should be there. somewhere deep down they probably are there, really, but it just takes some digging to get there. regardless of my own situation, this song speaks to that relationship between a mother a son, and it chokes me up every time. it makes me think of Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, which i also cannot get through without tearing up.


Aloe Blacc - Mamma Hold My Hand

Beg for It [Chris Brown]

You may remember from this post that i love me some remixes. Also, i love covers (but have posted far to many to link to). This musical gem is both a remix and a cover, and i am currently in love with it. I liked it enough as it was, but when finding out it was a cover with remixed tendencies i was super excited.

The cover/remix is by a Norwegian hip-hop group. The original is Franki Valli and the 4 Seasons (from 1967). I'm pretty sure video 2 is actually from a recent show - I can't seem to find an upload of the actual original recording.

Hope you like it.

Run Like Hell [Pink Floyd]

i don't do marathons, or 1/2 marathons, or 5k runs, but i would totally do this one. It's a 5k run that happens in Baltimore, with obstacles, mud pits, and zombies. Contestants strap on a flag football belt and run, willy-nilly for the finish. If you make it to the end with one of your flags still attached, you "live".

check it out:


Run For Your Lives 2011 from Alexander Turoff on Vimeo.

Don't [Jewel]

this has got to be the worst song of all time. this is a band (?) made up of a husband and wife duo, and their friend, who is probably thinking he wishes he would have never told them he could play drums. enjoy!

Jungle Boogie [Kool & the Gang]

It's a sad hold over, but it's what i've got for now. have this video, from the guys who brought you smooth criminal. they've just released a CD, this is the next single - as if string remakes of popular songs actually make the singles charts.....

I Want You Back [Jackson 5]

There's a series of CDs out there called Verve Remixed which are chock full of goodness. It's a lovely mix of classic songs from Verve Records, remixed by many of today's best (and totally unknown) DJs. There's also the occasional DJ that we might have heard of in there, too. This collection has led to a rash of imitators - i'm looking mainly at the Pink Martini crowd - bu there are others as well. I honestly don't care about who started it, or who does it better - i like it all. So when i found out there was a group doing other remixes, i had to check it out. There's Motown Remixed, and there's also a series called Remixed and Reimagined. In Dallas, one of the teachers had the Motown Remixed CDs, and I borrowed them and fell in love. Here I present to you one of my favorite tracks off the first CD.

Race Car Ya-Yas [Cake]

remember when i got a job and moved back from dallas? well, right after coming home with a trailer full of stuff, i also bought a new car. not, new new, but new-to-me. It's a very low mileage 2008 mazda 3 hatchback - much to the chagrin of our neighbor, who is all in your face about american cars - but i've loved every mazda i've ever owned, from the first family car, to Danger Bob, to Rio, and now this currently unnamed dream sitting in the garage. KTO has also loved her mazdas - all in all, they've given us long and trouble free service, so we're a mazda family, i guess.

Anyway, contrary to the above testimonial for mazda, i did plenty of research on cars. i am still doing some post-purchase, cause it's a fun hobby? i don't know why, but it's interesting, the similarities/difference between the car lines. I'm really starting to notice the cockpit layout of other cars. I'm not saying mazda is the winner, but i recently rode in a mini cooper, and they are definitely not the winner.

i'm also noticing more of my car (the new one) on the road. they always caught my eye, but now that i have one, they seem to be everywhere. there are 3 that even share most of my commute to work. i don't come home at the same time every day, but most days there are 2 other ones that are going in that direction at the same time as me. i think it's common to notice other people in your car, but i'm really aware of it now, because the car is new to me and because it's a more stylish car than Rio was. plus i like seeing what types of other people have purchased the car - it seems to be a pretty big demographic.

what i've also noticed is that regardless of their age, race or sex, i tend to mentally race them as we are driving. whether they know it or not, whenever two or more are gathered, it's on. (attention KTO, I don't actually race them) generally in my mental races i win - largely because the race is one-sided, but also because i do have a bit of a lead foot. and, this car is nearly twice as powerful as the last one, so it's got the ability to actually race, if the need arose. m my last car i could probably have taken on a vespa scooter, and that's about it. if the AC was on, forget it. The downside to all that new power is that it means more gas. I net the same overall mileage on one tank of gas, but this tank also holds about 3 more gallons - so my actual MPG is around 4 or 5 less.

However, i wouldn't trade it for the world. because now i can win those races.

Coming Home [G. Love and Special Sauce]

I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!

Well, not really. But I am behind in sharing good news with you. As you may have guessed from my earlier post, I'm no longer working in Dallas. While I was home for the break in between quarters, I had a few interviews. One was a phone interview with RTKL in Baltimore. We talked for about 1.5 hours, and I've heard nothing from them. Another was a Skype interview with Gensler in Washington DC. Let me tell you, skype interviews are awkward. It was better than a phone interview because I could flash my winning smile and also get some body language feedback, but it was just strange. You cant really make eye contact with skype, cause the camera is above the screen, which is what you're looking at. They sent me a follow up email a few weeks later, letting me know they were going to go with a local candidate. Or they just said that to make me feel better? I did have an actual in-person interview as well, with a St.Louis company that does retail work - fast food companies and mall-type chain stores. I got an offer right before I had to go back to Dallas, and after a short bit of decision making, I took the St. Louis job. It's less design work than I'm used to, but it's good exposure into retail work, and it's local.

So that's great - I had a job in St.L. But then I had to quit my job in Dallas, 5 days before the new quarter was supposed to start. That was a bit nerve wracking. I called my boss and she pretty much knew what was going on - I mean, why else would I call during vacation? I offered to come down and help transition (my version of the 2week notice) and after talking about it, she decided it would be easier for the kids if they just started the quarter with the right teacher, so I wasn't required to go back down to teach. I did go down for the first week to make sure the replacement teachers had the right info, etc. Also, to pack up all my stuff and move it home.

When I had my final meeting with my boss she cried, which was a bit uncomfortable. She told me I was good fit with the group and she was sad to see me go. She also told me that she liked my style and my energy, and that she heard nothing but good reviews about me from the students. She said that at some point in life I should go back to teaching. Then she got upset with me for not letting her know I was looking for another job. Apparently in the teaching world, you tell your boss you're shopping around. That goes contrary to anything I've ever heard about job searching, so clearly I didn't tell them anything. We did talk about how it was kinda obvious, since KTO had only been down once to visit, and how we weren't putting the house on the market or anything like that. After that, I drove home, and didn't look back.

I've been home for almost a month, and it is great to finally put an end to the dallas adventure.

August and Everything After [Counting Crows]

08-11ws, a photo by joshuaMLoliver on Flickr.

august's calendar. a bit of a return to nature for this one.


next up, july's big news.