The Great Dryer Fixing Adventure

I have a confession to make:

I HATE doing laundry.

Nearly every part of it. Sorting (cuz I totally do that and don't just wash everything on cold... that would be dumb), remembering to move it to the dryer, putting it away (as opposed to simply pulling out choice items (socks, underwear) from the dryer or laundry basket)... I hate it.

I was disgusted last year when I bought my washer and dryer and spent so much money to do my least favorite chore. However, one of the teachers at school pointed out that I just spent that money in order to do that chore at home (in my pajamas was implied).

A few weeks ago I noticed my towels weren't dry when I went to take them out of the dryer. Rude! So I ran it again and they came out dry, but they were all linty. The heck? I mentioned it to my dad and he said that I probably had a lint ball in the right angle where the dryer vent goes into the wall. He used the right technical words, but what I heard was, "Blah blah blah, you have a big ball of lint in your wall." Cool, cool. That's just AWESOME.

He then tells me that I need to pull out my dryer, remove the dryer vent hose and stick my vacuum in the wall to get the lint out. Well, I am SO not motivated to do this. At this point I was pretty stocked up on clean clothes and towels so I was just like, "Meh, I'll do it when I do it."

Then my capris got too dirty to wear. So I'll wear sweat pants, no biggie! If I have to go someplace, I'll put on a skirt.

Ran out of socks. Whatever. It's summer time. Flip flops all the way!!

No more towels. I can use a beach towel for the shower and a kitchen towel as a hand towel...

Ok, underwear is where I draw the line.

Which brings us to today. Of course, at this point, my parents are in Arizona (where it is COOLER than in Portland... rude) so there's no begging my dad to come out and help me. Psh, whatever. I'm a grown woman who don't need no man/dad to fix things in my house!

I decided to take a break from working in my mom's craft house (the organization of which is my part time summer job this summer in lieu of actual employment). The plan was to spend a lazy morning snuggling with Missy and watching TV, eat lunch, and then fix the dryer, start some laundry, and do my weekly vacuuming of ALL THE CAT HAIR.

But The Dryer had other plans.

The first problem I encountered was easily fixed. I couldn't pull the dryer out because the door to the laundry closet was in the way. Ok. Easy fix. Take the door off the track and we're in. Unhook the silver thing, vacuum it all. Notice the floor is dirty, vacuum that, too (so domestic and clean... go me).

Then the real fun started.

I discovered that the farthest I could pull the dryer out in and still have the dryer vent hose connected to the dryer AND the wall, left little room for me to scoot behind the dryer. Like, none.

No way my booty can fit through that

Ok. So, I need to climb over the washer. Gonna need some help with this. I get my stool, set it on top of the dryer for easy access, pull the dryer back, hook all the stuff up, maneuver said stool behind the dryer, and climb out.

Now... how to reach the stool...

Maybe if I got a stick...

Well that didn't work. Not that I really thought it would, but it was worth a shot. Laying over the top of my washer (now putting foot prints on the wall next to it) and bracing my other hand on top of the back of the dryer, I managed to lean down and grab the stool. Unfortunately, in the process of trying to awkwardly maneuver the stool over the power cord, I managed to knock the silver tube out of the wall.

I might have said a few choice words at this point that would not have been work appropriate.

Got a second, smaller stool (which is kind of old... made by my grandpa when they were first married). Climbed back over the washer, fixed up the vent hose, climbed out, "gracefully" fished out the smaller stool. Tada!! I did it!

"Hallelujah" chorus plays in the distance...

Texted my dad annoyed pictures of the process and came back to push the dryer back in. MISSY YOU AREN'T HELPING.

I then examined my vacuum and saw that there wasn't very much lint in there after all that vacuuming which left me still concerned about there being lint in my wall. So I texted my dad and he suggested running the dryer and going out to see if the flaps of the dryer vent were opening outside. I throw a few clean clothes in the dryer and press the on button....

Nothing.

Check the door, check the settings. 

Click, click.

NOTHING.

I climb on top of the dryer (once again getting out my stool) and look behind it.

HOW?! HOW DID IT COME UNPLUGGED WHEN I PUSHED IT BACK IN!!??!?

Get the stools out again, crawl over the washer, plug it in (knock the stupid vent thing off again and have to maneuver that back into place), crawl out, push it in, and yay! It turns on!

Unfortunately, the vent wasn't opening. Rude.

After setting up the ladder and carrying up the vacuum, I find the reason it won't open: the paint. THE PAINT ON THE VENT IS STICKING TO ITSELF AND KEEPING ITSELF CLOSED. Oh my gosh. 

I unstick it and vacuum out the bits of lint that had built up and now the dryer vent works. Yay. I can do my least favorite chore again. I'm so happy.

 After all that, I have to admit I am not very motivated to vacuum. And since Mandy and I are going out tomorrow rather than her coming over, I'm even less motivated to vacuum right now. So I think I will whine dramatically about this on my blog, re-watch a Romeo and Juliet musical on Youtube, and draw.

DAMMIT MISSY YOU STILL AREN'T HELPING!!!
 

Update from Missy

So, apparently Jen doesn't take care of her blogging duties anymore (talk about lazy) so I'm going to take this chance to give you an update of my new house.

Jen moved in around October (though you wouldn't know it because her last house update was in August after she had ripped out the floor downstairs) but I didn't move in until November.

Rude.

THEN she took me BACK to the old house for a week while she went on vacation for Thanksgiving and she didn't even give me any leftovers.

DOUBLE RUDE.

Whatever.

Here's a bunch of pictures to tour the house.

First up, we got the view from the front door. I'm not allowed outside. Jen talks about a "harness" and "when it's not raining."

When you walk in, you see the staircase to your left. Nice new, soft carpet. Not worth ripping up, though.

Here's the view from the top of the stairs. Below you can see my Waiting Window where I sit and wait for Jen to get her butt home from wherever it is she goes all day so she can get back to giving me scratches and food.

 Ooof... I'm old... nearly 17 years old. Stairs are tough. Give me a minute.

To the right of the stairs you got the Noise Closet where Jen washes her clothes and the Best Room with the Best Bed.

This is the Best Bed. Jen usually kicks me out of this room.

I'm not a model. The camera just went off.

There's a bathroom in the Big Room, too.

Outside the Big Room is another bathroom.

This curtain doesn't keep me out of the tub.

 But I don't care enough to try right now.

 Down the hall from the bathroom (you can kind of see the door on the right edge of the picture) are two extra bedrooms for me.

 The room on the left is my room with my bed. Jen calls it a "Guest Room."

 Fun fact: I've learned how to open the closet doors!

To the right is also my room, but sometimes I'll let Jen sit in the chair and use the computer.

Another closet for me to open!

Here's the view from my second room. In the back are the stairs.

That's done. Downstairs again...

 Here's the view from the front door down the long a** hallway.

Pictures on the wall.

Down the hall on the left is a Tiny Door with shoes and other random stuff and a Big Door with a bathroom.

Jen sticks my litter box in the garage (storage and cat area). She used to just leave the door open but now I have my own small door. It's too annoying to open myself, so she rigged it so it stays open by itself. Nice. She closes it at night and makes me sleep in the garage, though. 

Moving down the hall you have the living room on the right...

... and the kitchen on the left. I'm too old to jump on the counters, which Jen likes. You can also kind of see the door to the balcony. I found out last week that I actually CAN fit through the bars on the balcony! And Jen thought I would be too fat... so much for letting me out there unsupervised in the summer!

There's a little bed in the corner. Jen pretends this is my bed. Cute.

Another view of the kitchen. Sometimes there are surprise snacks on the floor.

And this is the couch where I spend most of the day. Time not spent snuggling and getting scratches is time wasted.

So, yep. That's my new house. It's pretty nice. I like it. I get lots time to snuggle with Jen.


*Originally this was just going to be pics of the new place, Missy kept getting in ALL OF THE PICTURES. Then I remembered how one of the librarians at school use to write her new years family letter from the point of view of her cat so I thought I'd try it out. Missy is laying across my arms as I type this so I think it's appropriate.

Did I finish my "30 Before 30?"

4 years ago I created a list of 30 things I wanted to try and accomplish before I was 30 and I've tried to update you on how that has gone as each year has passed. 

Well, it finally happened and I turned 30. Did I accomplish my 30 things? Well, 21 out of 30 is pretty good, I think. Here's a complete run down of how I did on the whole list:

1. Graduate from the Portland State School Counseling graduate program
I did it! After two years of working part time, going to classes in the evenings, writing papers, reading, reading, reading, six months of clinical practice and then 9 months of stressful internships, and I did it! Graduated in June 2015.  I met some amazing people who are now doing amazing work at schools. Go team!

2. Sell a piece of my artwork

Nope. Didn't happen. Though I have given a lot away...

3. Go on a trip with my sister

Well, Chicky got married and moved to Idaho so that trip had to be canceled.

I DID, however, get to go on an amazing trip to Victoria BC with my girlfriend over the summer! It was so much fun! We walked around downtown, met up with some of her friends to go to the Butchart Gardens, and ate delicious food together (poutine, anyone?!).

4. Read the unabridged version of "Les Miserables"

Nope. I didn't even really try. It's still on the same page I left it at in 2013. I'm sorry, Victor Hugo. I'm just having a really hard time getting through Hugo's thoughts on the history of convents and religion in France. GET TO THE BARRICADES ALREADY. 

5. Move out of my parents' house

BOOM. DONE. And I'm keeping up a good list of all my firsts IN MY NEW HOUSE.

First time using my new toaster IN MY NEW HOUSE.

First pictures hung on the walls IN MY NEW HOUSE.

My first floor rug IN MY NEW HOUSE.

And Missy's first day... IN MY NEW HOUSE.

6. Decorate a room the way that I really want to
In 2013 I moved from my childhood room into what used to be my mom's craft room before my parents built the art sudio addition to the house. And I got to paint it and decorate it the way I wanted. And now I'm moving into a HOUSE and I get to decorate ALL OF IT.

7. Make something for my future home

I made a cute plate for my house! But it didn't turn out as nicely as I'd hoped... the writing was a littly wonky. But it was cute!

8. Shoot a gun (that one actually scares me...)

I put it off and put it off. I've had multiple people offer to take me to a shooting range but I just couldn't bring myself to do. Maybe this will turn into a bucket list type thing. 

9. Get a "real" job
Around about the time I went to Korea summer 2015, I was starting to feel a little worried about what I would be doing in the fall. I had done SO. MANY. INTERVIEWS. So many. And I had gotten so many phone calls and emails saying no, no, no. I got a couple of phone calls that were like, "It was down to you and another person, and we went with the person with more experience."

Then, in August, when I was in Santa Clara for my grandmother's unexpected funeral (rest in peace, Graham Cracker), I got a phone call while at the wake at my Aunt's house from a job in Newberg. We played a little phone tag and I got the interview set up. Then I got ANOTHER phone call from another school in Newberg asking if I wanted to schedule an interview for a little bit after my interview at the other school since I was in town.

Back to back interviews and both went well. I got tours of the schools showing me where my office would be, etc. As I as going into my second interview I got called off from work which turned out to be a blessing because I got a phone call from the district asking me to come interview with the superintendent (and the principal of the school from my first interview of the day). At that interview I was offered my pick of either position and while I felt like I knew which one right there, I told them I would sleep on it and call them in the morning.

Thus I became the school counselor at Mabel Rush Elementary in Newberg! Every day is an adventure. There have been many tears and lots of self-doubt, but I have been told by my principal I am doing well so I'm going to trust her judgement and continue working hard to create a better and more prevention focused program this year.

10. Learn a new skill
I learned several new skills in 2014. On a professional level, I learned how to do a whole bunch of things about what I will do as a school counselor. On a more personal level, I also learned some yoga. That was amazing. I was really surprised at how much I liked my yoga class and how good it felt. I have a hard time with meditation activities, and I feel like the yoga really helped me to focus on clearing my mind. I need to start doing it at home on my own. Great stress reducer.

11. Paint a piece of furniture

I painted my old little cube trunk (it used to have teddy bears printed all over it and I painted it pink!). But I can't find any of the pictures I took of the process. 

12. Have a theme party (perhaps "Nightmare Before Christmas"?)

I had a Halloween party at my new house this year! My friend Madi (she is a counselor at one of the local middle schools) and I cohosted. It was fun!

13. Make and send holiday cards
In 2013 I made and sent cute holiday cards... and took no pictures!!

14. Organize a recipe binder of things I can cook well

Nope. Still working on this one.

15. Take sister photos
Thanks to a JC Penney Groupon, Jesi and I got some adorable sister pictures summer of 2013.

Us holding the picture of when we first met. I'm the one with bangs in both pictures. ;)

16. Get a family portrait

Nope.

17. Cosplay

Nope.

18. Watch "Gone With the Wind" in one sitting

Nope.

19. Practice my language skills (Spanish? Korean?)
Well, I am definitely practicing. I have a fair amount of Spanish speaking families and I try really hard to go out of my way to speak with them in Spanish when I see them (same with my Spanish speaking students). I have been told I have a wonderful accent (why, thank you), but I still have a lot to learn! I really really REALLY want to do some more active practice. I'm hoping to find an imersion program (preferably involving travel, of course) where I can attack this language. I think I might have found something that also gives me graduate credit (which my district will pay for!) and I also have several friends at school interested in going, too! All right!!

20. Put fun color in my hair
I BECAME JEM!!! I had pink hair summer 2015. I was going to wait until I had a job but when July rolled around and I was frustrated with not getting hired, I decided to color my hair so it would be pink for the two weeks in Korea. It was amazing and I felt like a fairy princess. And then I did it again this last summer. I made it a bet with my kinders so I could have it on the last day of school. Love love love having pink hair. :)

21. Create a filing system for important documents

Yes! I have a nice binder/folder system for my important documents! Does that mean everything makes it into there? Nope. But it's set up and ready to function!

22. Take a fun class
During Spring term 2014, I took a couple of classes to do something fun for myself: yoga and watercolor. I liked the yoga, but the watercolor class was just annoying. It was mostly studio time. She didn't teach squat. If I'm going to take a class on something, I expect lesson plans and actual teaching of techniques or something. I was pissed. But, I got some time to do my own projects (which sucked because I don't know how to paint with watercolors, hence taking the class).

23. Learn to sing Korean karaoke
I decided to say yes to this one, though it is half-hearted. When I wrote this goal, I meant that I would be comfortable reading the Korean alphabet enough that I could sing Korean songs at a noraebang. Well, I'm not quite there yet.

BUT!

Mindy and I DID manage to sings a song in Korean when we went to the noraebang in Korea (mostly) AND we were able to figure out the  remote to work the basics of the karaoke machine at the noraebang.

In other news, I recently went with some friends to a Korean noraebang place in Beaverton that had the SAME GIANT REMOTES. And they had a sticker on the table with the translations! Look! It's so awesome!!

24. Bake GOOD cookies (all by myself!!)
I taught myself how to bake French macarons in 2014! I can't make a chocolate chip cookie to save my life, but I can make macarons. Very happy with that skill. I'm still trying to perfect the best filling for them, but I pretty much got the meringues down.



25. Write a letter to my future self

Nope. I should do that.

26. Go back to Korea (hopefully with a job there, but I'll settle for a vacation)
I went on a two week vacation to Korea last summer! It was AWESOME!!! I'm on the edge of deciding if I want to go back and work there (kind of feeling the vibe for western Europe), but that kind of depends on where I'm at in the next few years.

27. Tour Portland Shanghai Tunnels

Nope. I still want to do that!

28. Go to New York
I totally went to New York summer 2013!! It was SUCH A BLAST!! I saw five shows in one week, visited a million things, and generally drank my weight in water every day to keep up with how much we were sweating, it was so freaking hot. Check it out!

I'm in Times Square! In glasses because city air does not agree with my contacts.

29. Buy a car
My parents bought me a car for graduation in December 2014. His name is Fish and he is amazing.


30. Learn a new song on the piano
Christmas 2013! The piece was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be, but it's really pretty so I'm totally counting this one as done. Here's a video of it synchronized with dancing Christmas light. Just to be clear, I'm not actually the one playing it in this.