Music to My Ears

I was wondering what to do with all of my free time lately. Thankfully, I didn't have to wonder too long. My two year old refrigerator started making noise over this past weekend. At least, I think it started over this past weekend. It's kind of hard to tell.

Part of the reason it's hard to tell is because of my recent ear operation. I'm not hearing much of anything too well these days. But the other problem was that once I first noticed it, I wasn't sure if it had always been there and I had just never noticed it before.

So, I stood there, in front of the refrigerator, trying to absorb what I was hearing. I tilted my head in various positions - like a dog. Then, much like Sam scanning the ground with his metal detector, I started to scan the refrigerator with the side of my head.

Had it always made this noise and I just never noticed it? Did I now, because of my ear operation,  have super-hearing - despite the fact that I can hardly hear anything else? What was I going to cook Sam for dinner? All good questions. I decided to make Sam some dinner.

But now, last night, when I got home from work, this was the sweet music that greeted me as I entered the kitchen. (Note: Before playing, make sure you have your volume turned up to at least eighty percent, to get the full impact. Also, play it as a loop, so it really sinks in.)

Do you hear that? If it sounds like a low hum, you don't have the volume turned up high enough. Turn up the volume until it sounds like a min-jackhammer about to burst through the side of the refrigerator.

Ok, so by now, even with my bad hearing, I knew this wasn't normal. After clearing all the junk off of the top of the refrigerator and away from the side, I called the appliance store. The woman who answered switched me to the Service Department, where, because it was after the Service Department's hours, I could only leave a message. Then, I again made Sam some dinner.

That was last night. Today, I had no call back from the Service Department, so I called them. Apparently, they were just about to call me. I was next on their list, but unfortunately, they've "been slammed today." I could tell from all of the background noise that this was probably true. It sounded like one of these overseas telemarketing firms that are always trying to hustle you for some money. I took this as a bad sign.

The woman listened to my tale of woe and then told me that their repairman, "Mike" was "slammed for the next couple of days" (a lot of "slamming" going on. Not good) - with sixteen calls today and another sixteen calls tomorrow. Also not good. As she checked their schedule, I'm wondering how many hours a day "Mike" works - eight hours? Ten hours? Either way, it doesn't seem like it would leave a whole lot of time to actually repair anything, but it probably leaves plenty of time to say, "I'll have to order a part."

Unfortunately, because "Mike" is slammed, the soonest he can get to the house is somewhere between twelve and three o'clock next Tuesday - which I guess might work out since I have an ear follow-up earlier that same day. There is a bit of good news, though - they're putting me on a list so that if anyone of those thirty-two repair calls happens to cancel, they'll get to me sooner!

So, that's where we stand. Unless of course, the refrigerator completely dies before then, in which case, I can look forward to shopping for another new one - the second in two years.

Thanks goodness I have so much free time on my hands. Otherwise, this might really bother me.