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MY HUSBAND and I need a new refrigerator. Our existing one is nearing 30, which is a fabulous age for a person but a terrible age for an appliance. For example, even when we turned the dial to the lowest setting, it froze our fresh vegetables, the celery and cucumbers taking it the hardest. There were lots of other problems too boring to discuss. Trust me, it was time for it to go.
A few weeks ago we went shopping for one and were surprised to see how far refrigerators have come: Many models are quite beautiful, very streamlined and with special features I can’t remember now but found impressive at the time. Sadly we couldn’t get one of those because none would fit into our allotted refrigerator space, and it seemed outrageous to completely renovate our kitchen just to get a nice fridge. So we bought the only one that would fit, and there it is in my kitchen now, having arrived earlier this morning.
I hate it. It’s huge, but not in a good way like the Goodyear Blimp. No, not at all. It’s clunky and graceless with two doors that sort of puff out. The handles are Paul Bunyan-sized, and the ice-maker doesn’t even work (yet) because the water line broke when the installers took the old one out, so now we need a plumber to come and fix it, making it cost even more. If you keep the door to the fridge open too long, like I did when I was filling it with food, it beeps annoyingly like your car chiding you to put on your seatbelt. And several times an hour it emits a grating sound reminiscent of an approaching Harley-Davidson. (I hope I get used to that.) Still, I know it means well and we need it and will likely embrace it as a congenial member of the family, in due time.
Until then, like I do with most bad experiences I’ll view this as a weight-loss opportunity. Since right now I don’t even want to look at the thing, naturally I’ll steer clear of the kitchen and hopefully drop a few pounds. Honestly, it’s more like ten, since we just returned from a vacation where we had gelato almost every day and when I stepped onto the scale this morning, I’m certain it laughed.
—Andrea Rouda
Andrea Rouda blogs at The Daily Droid.
