Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Gettin' My Hands Dirty


So basically the reason I was late (or missing, I should say) with a post yesterday is because we are STILL in the midst of moving, which is getting old, let me tell you. Moving SUCKS! Let the sound of that word sink in...SSSUUUCCCKSSS. Joe and I both, short-fused and short-tempered, have been hauling 2 years worth of crap into the bed of his truck and my car for the past week. I really shouldn't complain, because really Joe has suffered the brunt of the moving shit storm, but it is still pretty annoying to me.

I think it's been doubly difficult because we've been bringing Georgia with us over there, thinking she'd be good and quiet while Mommy and Daddy swear under their breaths and break finger bones lifting boxes and crates that have unknown realms of crap inside. But no, she seems to mistake the disassembled apartment for her own personal PlayPlace, and continued to leap and chew on anything she could get her mouth on. So while asking each other questions or game plans we have to constantly tell her no or avoid tripping on her. Needless to say we are both so SICK of moving I am so glad we can actually see ourselves staying here for a while, cuz I'd just as soon torch my belongings than have to move them into another place.

So, that all being said, I do really love how the new place is coming along. And, surprisingly enough, I'm finding the things I disliked about the place are slowly becoming not bad...even good. For one, the bathroom, which anyone who has followed this thing knows I was really upset with...But now, since Joe sprayed the tub with a refinishing spray, and I've gotten to see what it's like with a window that actually blows fresh air...I actually think I love the bathroom. Once we get a storage thing in there, it really is gonna be a nice little bathroom.

Also, the kitchen, which still irks me with the lack of counter space and available wall space, but I've actually grown to not totally hate the "no dishwasher" thing. I think it helped that we are coming from an apartment with such a crappy dishwasher that we had to hand wash the dishes anyway. It's not a total shock. But it is shocking that I don't really mind hand washing stuff...which is the breadth of what this post is about...

You ever see that scene in "When Harry Met Sally", where Harry is describing the two categories of women?: the low maintenance and the high maintenance. I've always wanted to be categorize as the former, yet for some reason I think I actually fall under the latter. Not really because of how I like to look or my fashion sense (which anyone will tell you is safe to dub "low" maintenance). But food, especially caked-on cold-and-stuck-in-the-sink food, makes me really high maintenance.

I don't know when it began, but ever since I was a kid and we'd clear the dinner table I always was grossed out by touching cold food. My mom or dad would ask me to wipe down the table with a sponge and I used to hold it like a scalpel, carefully dusting the food so it wouldn't touch my skin. It got so bad that at one point I just started volunteering to clear the packaged or bottled things, just so I didn't get stuck wiping the table.

The only thing worse in my mind, when we didn't have a garbage disposal, was clearing the sink of stuck food. GOD, it still grosses me out, just thinking of that slimy cold rice or peas. I really figured this same weird aversion would become a serious problem at this new place. With no dishwasher OR garbage disposal, I'd have to deal with this cold food all the time!

But, like anyone with a problem, you find a way to cope. My first thing? Rushing hot water into the sink, to not only warm my hands but warm the dishes and caked-on food. Next, I still avoid actually touching the stuff stuck in the sink my maneuvering a fork to lift the catch and then carefully lift it over the garbage can. No fuss, no muss.

Since I have those ways around it, washing the dishes really isn't so bad. In fact, it's almost like knitting, in that you seem to do it mindlessly, and plus you have the reassurance that it's clean because YOU cleaned them. Now, granted I haven't had a pile that consisted of more than just a couple of bowls and pans, but I think as long as I can scald the pots and not touch the drain...I think I'll be just fine....

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