Finding life in broken things.

Oh-my-GOD. It has been one of those weeks. Thank goodness it is Friday because I was beginning to think this week would never ended. Or at least it seemed like that.

It all started last week when our dishwasher started to give out. We replaced that thinking we wouldn't have to buy another new appliance for awhile. Then comes the weekend and our washer and dryer BOTH conk out. We have a Sears guy come and give us an estimate to fix the darn things. That costs us $75 bucks, and by the time he leaves, he has given us a quote for $834 in repairs. So that means the washer and dryer have to be replaced. We look and look at a 100 different appliance stores and find a cheap, new pair for $200 under market value.

Then comes Tuesday and I spill water on my laptop. An entire glass of water. Yes, I am a klutz. I rush over to Fry's and have them take the darn thing apart. I let it sit to dry for two days, only to turn it on last night to a blank screen. However, the hardrive is working as is the motherboard so it's not a complete loss. The techs at Fry's didn't charge me for looking at it and letting me get data off my hardrive to work on while my laptop was drying for the past two days.

In addition, I've been reading the Wall Street Journal as of late and freaked out when I read about the supposed upcoming recession in the US economy. My dad's biz is already feeling it, as is the housing market in our neck of the woods. We are on a five year fixed mortgage which expires in 2 years...which we may not be able to refinance if a recession occurs. I immediately freaked and talked to our mortgage broker a few weeks ago about refinancing it. He thought that our house might not appraise for the purchase price right now because of the economy, sending me into major panic mode (see below for current status of this dilemma).

Yesterday, I took little dog to the world famous UC Davis' Animal Hospital where she was poked and prodded for 3 hours straight by nearly 6 different residents and 2 faculty members. Luckily, one faculty members has taken an interest in her because she has a very rare disease the faculty member is researching. This faculty member thinks we might be able to cure her of her immune disease with the right medications and foods. This includes me cooking home-made pork and sweet potato meals for little dog for two months...maybe the rest of her life. The spouse has to give little dog her medications (creams) twice a day while wearing gloves because her meds can mess with my immune system. And since I'm trying to get preggers, that is definitely not a good thing for me. Little dog is feeling very tired from yesterday - she's been sleeping all day and doesn't want big dog to bother her. I hope these meds and her new food make her feel better soon.

I spent most of the week worrying about these things and money. On top of that, I thought I was pregnant because my period was late....not something I was really expecting at this moment in my life since all of these things were adding up to a lot of money. I was quite miserable...went through the regular cycle of wondering why the heck I'm in graduate school when I could be making good money and why the heck these things happen to me.

But these things don't just happen to me. In fact, everything turned out okay. When the water spilled on my laptop, I immediately tried to think about "why" this had happened. Taking a few days off from having my laptop constantly in my lap reminded me just how unproductive that is. Maybe this whole thing, as well as the chain of events related to my appliances, was meant to happen to me for a reason.

I took off a few days of work and enjoyed myself. I needed that. I went over to my neighbor's house and brought her and her hubby dinner with my husband. They just had a baby, which they had been trying to have for three years. We enjoyed the evening and forget about all the electronical craziness in our house. It was nice.

These crazy experiences has also made me appreciative of the fact that nothing truly BAD has happened. No one is deathly ill or sick. While my dishwasher, dryer, computer, and washer are all important things, they are ONLY things. They shouldn't determine my happiness as a person. But having faith that things WILL be okay is also important. I tried to keep that in the back of my mind the entire week as I was simultaneously freaking out. Things seem to always turn out okay, and they did this week. Examples of this in action:

LAPTOP: I didn't have to pay for my laptop to be fixed because the Fry's tech was sympathetic to my lowly grad student status. My best friend's husband knows how to fix computers and gave me advice on how to proceed with the screen issue. It shouldn't cost too much...probably the amount I would have had to pay Fry's if they charged me.

WASHER/DRYER: We shopped around and got them for $200 under market value. Free delivery and installation!

DISHWASHER: We used a gift certificate for Home Depot we've been holding onto for a year or so to purchase 90% of the dishwasher. We got a $50 rebate on it so we didn't pay a cent for it. Free delivery and installation, too.

MORTGAGE: My mortgage broker thinks he'll be able to lock us into a 30-year fixed mortgage in the next week or so. And we can afford the payment.

LITTLE DOG: They think we'll be able to cure her with the proper diet and meds. Keep your fingers crossed!