I worked from home this morning with an anticipated new washer and dryer delivery some time between 9:15 and 11:15. At about 9:15, they called to say they’d be here in about 10 minutes. And they were.
Two African-American guys came in to assess the situation, and then they took hooks that were attached to the end of heavy harnesses draped across their chests, over their shoulders, and down their backs and hooked them onto the bottom of the dryer. Standing up, they lifted the beast effortlessly—or so it appeared—to take the old away to make room for the new.
I had on my playlist of about 150 “Soul Ballads,” and they were groovin’ to the tunes while they worked. It’s this 10-CD set.
They started putting my new dryer into the appliance closet that’s in my kitchen, and as they pushed the dryer to the left, I said, “Actually the dryer goes to the right, and because of the way the door frame is on the left side there, you have to put the washer in first and push it to the left before the dryer will fit in on the right.”
As I was saying this, I looked to see that, actually, the hookup for the washer was on the right side and the dryer vent hose went up into the ceiling on the left side, so I said, “Well, maybe not. That’s how the last ones were in there anyway—the washer was to the left and the dryer was to the right. You can go ahead and put them in the other way, though, since that’s how the hookups are; I’ll get used to it after a few loads, I’m sure,” I said.
But as they started to push the dryer to the left, it occurred to me that when they got it all the way in, part of the front of the dryer was going to be behind the door frame to the closet, which would preclude the door from swinging open. And this is precisely why my previous ones were in there the other way around. So, they pulled the dryer out and pushed the washer in all the way to the left, and then put in the dryer.
As Gilda Radner was known for saying, “It’s always something.” When it was all said and done, the washer drain hose—because the washer was not in front of the faucets and the drain pipe—didn’t reach the drain pipe. “You’re going to have to buy a drain hose adapter,” they told me. Also, because the control panel of this new dryer is higher than my old one was, it hits the bottom of some shelving I have up above the dryer area when trying to push it all the way in. Fortunately the shelves are adjustable, so I can raise the bottom one and then I’ll be able to push the dryer the rest of the way in.
I took the Wolfline bus to campus, and got off at a stop that required some walking over to the Talley Student Center, where I was attending a 1:00-2:30 OIT Award for Excellence Ceremony, which actually ended up ending at a little after 2:00, instead of 2:30.
I got back to my office with a little less than hour before I had to head back to Talley for my Race Study Circle tonight, which was moved up to 4:00-6:00 from 5:00-7:00 to accommodate a couple of people’s schedules.
On the walk over, I passed a bunch of people using survey equipment in this open area. At first, I thought it was a bunch of photo shoots going on, as I just saw a bunch of people in this pose:
Tonight was week three of my Study Circle on Race. The agenda consisted of:
- Purpose: We will learn more about inequities that exist. We will also think and talk about possible directions for change. This session presents a range of viewpoints on how our society might address and make progress on race relations.
- Making connections: Have you seen or heard any stories in the media that show inequities among people from different backgrounds? Have you seen any signs of progress?
- Discussed an article called, “Stupid White Men.”
- Looked at census data about inequities in our country.
- Played another board game, this one called, “Move Forward,” where you moved ahead on a checker board for every action you’ve taken to address or eradicate racism.
- Discussed progress in our lifetime, where we’ve seen changes and progress in race relations.
- Discussed some viewpoints of how to best help society make progress in addressing racism.
We also had to read an article called, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” by Peggy McIntosh that made some very interesting points.
Once home, I created a Ning for our Salon group.