I guess I do have a resolution.

I resolve never to buy an appliance from Sears again. I’ll probably screw that up, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the washer and dryer (both Kenmore) don’t break soon. The main problem is that refrigerator is annoyingly chintzy. The door on the vegetable crisper has this tilt-out front and the latch broke. Replacement, if I remember correctly, is around $90. The freezer has a roll-out basket and the left-hand “glide” broke. It won’t latch and just slides right off the end when the basket is only about halfway out. Replacement cost is $148.

Here’s some old-timer talk: I remember when every Sears had a parts desk where you could just go down and order parts for things. I guess they only have a few repair centers now. I tried to order parts for the refrigerator online and the computer swore there was no such thing as the part number that I gave it. I tried other web sites and they’d never heard of the part number either. So finally I went to the local Sears where the really odd salesman tried calling but ended up slamming the phone down when he got stuck in a phone maze. Earlier he’d gotten really frustrated with the parts ordering computer as well.

I decided to drive out to the parts depot instead. Their magic computer was able to decode the part number but, as I said earlier, the glide (like the side rail on a kitchen drawer) was $148. What nonsense.

Oh, and guess who forgot his magic GPS map on this grand adventure? Good thing I generally know how to get places in Portland already.

I went to the gym afterwards and I didn’t do much. I did, however, feel like throwing up a couple of times. That’s what I get for sitting on my butt for almost a whole month. I’ll see if this helps me sleep at all.