Sunday Full of Challenges

I woke on Sunday with my alarm. I had slept the night through, unusual for me, and I could not remember any dreams but knew I had traveled far and not comfortably in my phantasmagorical world. I started the morning by making coffee (the house elves had forgotten to set up the coffee maker and timer) and then loaded all my pants and most of my dress shirts, along with various other items, into The Machine and started it. This was the remains of my laundry from my latest trip, and I needed something to wear to church at 11.

I started the blog, and it was a challenging endeavor. I was tired today. While writing, I noticed that the house was strangely quiet; hmmm. The Machine had coded. The vibration detector had failed, and I needed to contact service. F**k! I restarted it. The laundry was wet, flooded, and soaped. “Why can’t the silly thing run the diagnosis before it soaks my clothes?” goes through my mind as I wish the souls of the engineers who designed The Machine to unprofitable eternities. And now there was twice the soap! I slopped the soaked clothing into a basket within the base of the machine. The basket is floating! The base has two inches of water, and the water is now pouring on the floor. F**k! I dry that up with towels, which I will have to wash too somehow!

I go online and learn how to enable the Spin option to run alone, and manage to restart it four times to get some water out. The code appears each time it tries to spin. The code on the vibration detector kicks once the spin starts. I will have to vacuum out the water.

I use my iPhone to make a repair request (the website said my appliance was not registered–it is). The happy voice on the phone (reached in a few minutes) has me reboot the appliance to no avail. I learn that The Machine (LG Combo Washer and Dryer) is about a month out of warranty, and they need to connect me to the service department (not warranty service). Jean takes over the call and explains this is a flat-rate repair of $345 plus a 15% reserve for taxes (I do explain that Oregon has no sales tax, but I am told I have no choice). I need to provide a credit card to place a hold on it for the amount. But they cannot schedule it before I am out of town. Instead, Jean will call me later when the schedule opens for next week. I am OK with that.

Meaning the water-soaked laundry would need to be done at a laundry mat (especially as it had two doses of soap); I need a big machine to swallow the soap. I have no pants. Hmmm. I decided a suit might work, and my blue suit (which was a tight fit) now seems like a good match. I have a dress shirt available that fits (some of the larger ones are still in my closet, and I could have faked it with one of them–vests hide a lot). The pride tie, my gold color pocket watch, and black shoes make it work. This is a suspenders-wearing suit (again, hidden by the vest). I am off to church in Air VW the Gray. I usher and keep busy. The usual AV is not available, and Z and others make it work (mostly).

Pastor Anne arrives after the service starts; she is giving the sermon (panic eases). Eric gives an excellent solo. I am a bit busy. Anne tells the story of how she was cheated out of a large sum of money, but despite this (a warning to others), she is okay, and the little suffering this has caused her and Wayne is nothing compared to what others have suffered and what could have happened. We were all shocked to hear about her misfortune, but we understood the message. We are blessed, and we need to remember that, even when things go wrong.

The offering started, and it was a jazzy take on a hymn, and I might have found some swing while passing the offering plate. I got a lot of smiles. Z was dancing, too, and we danced to the music from Mary Beth in the back. Not your usual Methodist filler music!

A man came in near the end of the service, and I offered him coffee, then got him a cup with cream and sugar. I find it best to offer when I am doing the usher duties to prevent any awkward moments. People who are homeless or stressed need to be seen, and a cup of coffee offered goes a long way to calm them.

I had to help someone, and he was gone. I walked the church halls to ensure he was not in the building. While he might have hidden, it was not likely, as he was clean and sober. I let Bill and Z know that he was missing, but shared with them that I thought he was not a risk.

I helped here and there and soon went to Red Robin for a quick lunch. I did have a side of fries with the two chicken breast version of the salad plate. Troy, the bartender, kept refilling my iced tea (I had a church meeting at 2:30, so beer was out).

I returned to the church and we covered the required Charge Conference Meeting to revise the pastor’s compensation package. It is a Methodist thing, and it was done in thirty minutes. Just church process and paperwork, and not controversy. Mainly because we had ensured that everyone knew the whats and whys before the meeting.

And it was good as my colon and generally my body was done with that day. I went home and soon began resting, feeling dizzy. The food, travel, and stress of the trip and returning home (the broken laundry) left me in bed, shivering, and sleeping.

I ordered, on Deborah’s suggestion, whom I spoke to at the start of my day and the end of her day, Doordash and various Chinese-style foods that I like. I finished the blog, although it was a difficult push to complete, and watched multiple YouTube videos (ShipHappens and Drachinifel) as well as some comedy.

I find the drain and empty some of the Machine but not the tub. I will need a wet vac.

I was too tired to mess with anything and dizzy. I went to bed. I woke every two hours to prove hydration. My dream was about being on a bus that was headed out, but I missed my stop, and now I needed to find a way back to connect. I needed to get back so I could do my laundry for my next trip. I just cannot wander off to some dream town; I need to get back. The dream repeated each time I went back to sleep and at another station. I woke up finally at 6:30, and I was home. Time to get that laundry done!

Thanks for reading!