UN-dorsement: Pretty Nails in Mason, WV

 
So...

My vacation began on Wednesday, so Tuesday before work I checked out of the motel and then had a few hours to kill before work (which is 6PM to 4AM). I decided to get a manicure.

Driving around aimlessly, in the general direction of work, I left Gallipolis and drove to Middleport. Saw a salon there (Nails - walk-ins welcome) and walked in, but they were not able to manicure me unless I was willing to return in "a couple of hours," as their manicurist had just left for lunch. They recommended another place nearby (to which I should have gone) and added, "then there's the guy across the bridge; he does nails there too ...mostly acrylic, but I think you can get a manicure there too."

So I went to "the guy across the bridge," which was a franchise of Pretty Nails, in a strip mall in front of the Wal~Mart in Mason, WV.

Instead of the "gay" guy I was expecting --okay, I was hoping to find a gay-run salon, which stereotypically I believe would be the highest quality-- instead it was an empty little salon, oriental guy lounging in a chair in front, "He'p you?" and when I said I'd like a manicure he yelled something in another language and a petite young oriental woman came out of the back room. She wanted to give me acrylic nails, but I said, "just a manicure, my own nails," and she sat me down.

Then everything happened too fast.

She put my hands in a bowl of warm water, the guy got up and walked to the front door, SHE snatched up a piece of paper and raced halfway to the door (as if she was chasing him), wadded up the paper and tossed it in a trashcan, all the while craning her neck to see where he'd gone. He came back in.

She snatched up clippers and chopped off my fingernails, almost to the quick (too fast for me to react - I sat there in shock), ran a file across them (missing most of the snags), he walked into the back room, she raced to the back of the salon, again looking to see where he'd gone, came back to see me picking at a snag on my thumbnail and said to me, "don't worry, I clean later!" ...which she didn't.

Got some lotion and rubbed my forearms with that (felt nice, but I didn't come here for a massage, I came to have my nails shaped). She trimmed the cuticles with scissors (I had no idea anyone still did that - aren't you supposed to just push them back?), gave a perfunctory swipe at a little dirt under what was left of my forefinger's nail, snatched up a buffing stone & ran it over the nails (which are still rough-edged, still dirty, and much much shorter than when I came in), then said, "you pay me now?" with a big smile.

Speechlessly I handed over $15, somehow still supposing this PROFESSIONAL was going to repair the damage done... she swiped on a layer of clear polish and I was done.

I had been growing my nails carefully for weeks. I carried an emery board. I applied nail hardener every night. They were --all but one-- long enough to see over the edge of my fingertips. I wish I had "before" pictures. Here are the "afters:"



What was she thinking?

Did she misunderstand what I wanted?

Was this done maliciously?

Was it a cry for help; is she being held against her will?

Why didn't I stop her? (I know the answer to this: I thought, "she's a professional; she knows what she's doing" AND it all happened too fast)

I do not recommend Pretty Nails in Mason, West Virginia!

I'm just so thankful it was my fingernails and not my hair!

 

back to work

 

Went back to work Monday, at the Mountaineer power plant in New Haven, WV. I'm working nights, 5+ days a week, ten-hour days. We start at 6PM and work till 4AM. Since it's about 3 hours from home I got a hotel room in Galipolis OH, half an hour from the job. Last night we got rained out before "lunch" (which is at 11PM), so I came home. I have to leave about 2:30 this afternoon to head back to work.

The way a rain-out works on this job - first of all, we're working in a building ...sort of. There is no roof and no walls; it's all steel beams & grating & stairs, so when it rains it's assumed we're smart enough to get out of the rain & go to the break trailers. If there is lightning we are not to return to work until it has NOT lightninged for half an hour. If we show up for work and it's raining and they send us home right away, we get two hours' "show-up" pay. If we work (get out our tools and work), like we did last night, and THEN we get rained out, they pay us a minimum of four hours.

My lovely night off :) consisted of a three-hour drive in pouring rain... then I got home & th'Mr fixed me several drinks, I brushed kitties, I slept in our own bed, woke up around 10AM and went outside to see what was wrong with the tiller --the belt had slipped loose-- fixed that, pulled some ripe radishes YUM, and now I have a couple more hours before I have to leave. There's a good chance we'll get rained out again tonight. If it's right away I'll probably come straight home again, but if it's later, like it was last night, I may just go to the hotel (that's a lot of driving, back and forth). I do like getting to come home unexpectedly!

Hummingbird rescue (another one)

I heard a worried squeaking and knew we had a bird in the house. Sure enough, nAimless had a hummingbird in her mouth. I made her give it to me, it was a male rubythroat, such pitiful chirping! I guess he assumed the transfer from cat mouth to human hand couldn't be good. I went on the porch and opened my hands and he made a beeline for the big holly tree. Yea! I had just fleadoped all the animals so I was REAL glad I'd washed that poison off my hands right away. No telling what Frontline or Advantage would do to such a little fellow.

Two or three days ago I rescued one that had flown in through the open back door and was frantically trying to get out the window. Sounded like a giant bumble bee. They're surprisingly easy to catch.

Text Heute, Bilder Morgen.

Heute habe ich den Tagelang gearbeitet.

[Lately- spAEtestens?] lese ich Flylady.com, und in der letzen Woche ist das Haus auch sauberer und [neater - mehr ordentlich?] geworden. So also, frUEh Morgens putzte ich in der KUEche und im Bad, und dan hab' ich mein Computer-tisch [desk?] gut geordnet. Sollte zwei Minuten dauern (Flylady's "hot spot" exercise) aber in zwanzig Minuten war ich fast damit [through - durch? fertig?].

Heute habe ich auch angefangen mehr Wasser den tagedurch zu trinken. Das ist auch so ein Flylady Ding. Na, dan war ich mit dem [desk - Tisch] fertig und ging zu'm Haufen im Ofen-zimmer (wo der Holz-ofen ist, und auch meine NAEhmaschine) und hab den Haufen aufgehoben. Das meiste war [tools - schraubenzieher usw.] von, oder fUEr, meine Arbeit (Electriker). Die habe ich alle zur Garage genommen, und die werden den ein anderen Tag weiter weg-getan. Das war ein riesen-Haufen und hat UEberhaubt nicht lange gedauert. Danke, Flylady!

Na, dan war's Mittag, und ich machte aus Zeitschrift ein einfaches Muster fUEr eine... ... ...na so was! FrUEher kennte ich das Wort, was ist das den... was man trAEgt zur Hausarbeit. 'Ne Schirze! SchUErtze? Die habe ich ausgeschnitten und genAEht, sieht ganz vernUEmftig aus, aber wenn ich sie trage seh ich dick aus. Ist aber bestimmt nicht nur die SchUErze.

Taschen hat sie. Die Taschen war'n schOEn wenn ich die WAEsche spAEter reinbrachte, na, da hat' ich ein Korb, aber die [clothespins - Klammern? WAEsche-klammern?]die gingen mir in den Taschen. Heute war auch das erste mal dies Jahr das ich die Leine benutzte.

Dan machte ich Abendessen, was bei uns meistens mehr wie Mittag ist und dan Mittags haben wir Suppe oder 'ne Stulle oder Salat... wir hatten heute Abend so ungefAEhr Reste: von Sonnabend's Truthan (drippings - das Fett?) hab ich wieder Sahne (gravy?) gemacht, und dazu hatten wir Kartoffeln, Champignons, und [stuffing/dressing ?] Da is vielleicht noch eine Stulle-wert Fleisch und dan mach ich 'ne schOEne Suppe mit den KOErper. Wenichstens hoffe es wird schOEn.

Dann hat der Mann Rasen gemAEht und ich zog Unkraut. Aber nicht das alle Unkraut, sonst hAEtte ich kein Rasen! Der LOEwenzahn ist noch hUEbsch, da mach ich nur die ausgeblUEteten ab und lasste die schOEnen, dem "Purple Deadnettle" zog ich auch die langen BlUEten ab (wenn's zu lang wird, wird's gemAEht, und dan hab ich keine Wildblumen). Man, da sind eine menge Veilchen! SUEss sehen die aus. Ich fand auch ein Halbdutzent Sonnenblumen (ganz kleine) im Rasen, da legte ich Steine rum, das die hoffentlich nicht gemAEht werden.

In der NAEhe der Vogel-fUEtterer zog ich unkraut, das [ragweed] und [garlic mustard] und andere, und so 'nen kleinen Spatz hUEpfte mir ganz nah, so ein Meter weg. Der war UEberhaubt nicht nervOEs. Ganz jung war er bestimmt. Ich hoffe, er ist mit dem Katzen [more cautious - passt besser aus].

Na, Morgen mach ich Links und Bilder, aber nun mach ich Schluss. Ich habe noch nich mein email angesehen Heute, UEberhaubt nicht, und halb-zehn Nachts ist es hier!

springtime walk in the woods

Took a short walk in the woods earlier this week (18 April, 2009).

Winston runs after me



What our yard looks like today



Redbud blooming





Winston is spooked.



Grrrl in the woods



On the way back




Violets

Raleigh, fully charged

 

This little cat thinks he's died and gone to cat heaven. We generally don't have a big turkey dinner on Thanksgiving, just whenever we're hungry for it.

nAimless' gift

 
I was sitting at my computer, my back to the room, when I heard a THUNK behind me. I turned to look, and saw my cat nAimless (formerly known as Nameless) sitting on the arm of the big chairtrap, staring down into the livingroom's short trash can. Curious, I walked over to see what she was looking at (and what caused that "THUNK," anyway?). In the trashcan was a black bird. I picked it up and it didn't react. I took it to the front porch, laid it on the porch rail and it just lay there. I thought, "it has a broken neck," and picked it up again, not sure what I wanted to do, but not wanting the cats to torture it either. th'Mr opined its neck was not broken; the bird was in shock. So I carried it back through the house, to the back porch. I got the empty hanging planter I'd used before --from here on known as the bird recovery room-- and pulled some dry grass to put in it. By this time the bird was hanging on to my shirt with one talon. When I got bird and recovery room to the recovery tree I tipped bird toward the basket, let go of bird, bird hopped into basket, I hung basket in tree and I walked away. Not five minutes later bird was gone.

How to replace the condenser fan motor on a refrigerator...

 
How to replace the condenser fan motor on a refrigerator...
something anyone who owns a pair of screwdrivers ought to be able to do; falls under the category of minor household repairs. My refrige is a Samsung RS2630SH - but for other refrigerators these instructions should help as a guideline.



A little background:

About a year ago, my parents remodeled their kitchen and sent me their old refrigerator. Dad said it never kept his beer cold enough; Mom said after the remodel it was too tall to fit under the new cabinets. I always suspected they just wanted to give me a better fridge than the one I had. Quite a bit better, as a matter of fact. This is a side-by-side with an icemaker, much larger than my previous fridge, which we then gifted to the neighbor (he's a work-at-home mechanic; it is now his garage-beer fridge).

I tend not to --at least I hope I tend not to-- look a gift horse in the mouth, until it malfunctions, anyway. Which this particular horse did. Lately I'd been noticing the wall between fridge and freezer heating up quite a bit, and a screeching-rattling noise coming from around back. I took off the bottom back cover and decided the noise was coming from the fan. I sprayed the fan shaft with WD-40 (a multi-purpose lubricant) and it seemed to quiet down. The next day the wall between fridge and freezer was still hot, hotter than it had been, hot enough though I could put my hand on it, I couldn't leave my hand there for long. I checked around back again and the fan didn't seem to be running at all. Explains why it had quieted down, innit?



So I googled my model number and found a page of complaints. After reading a bit I decided the fan motor did have to be replaced, so I called a couple local appliance places and spoke to people there. No one I spoke to seemed alarmed that I was thinking about just ordering a part and doing the work myself, so I didn't figure it was an especially daunting task. I ordered a motor.



Things I'd do differently if I had it to do over: I'd order a pair of grommets to go with the motor. I'm not sure they are called grommets, but that's what I would call them. They are rubber "donuts" that fit on either side of the motor and keep it from rattling around in the housing. I was able to reuse one from the old motor, but the other one fell apart (it had gotten too hot and partly melted onto the motor). I'll order a pair and fix this soon, but for now, it's not rattling --I think the centrifugal force of the fan turning is holding it in place-- and I'm not going to worry about it right now.









While waiting for the motor I put a small, desk-type fan behind the fridge, blowing onto the coils that the integral fan would be cooling, were it functioning. This, I think, is important, because it's possible to burn up a lot more than just a fan motor if the fridge is not cooling as it should. So, for a week or so, I had the refrigerator pulled out from the wall at an annoying angle, to leave room for the little fan behind it.



what you'll need
small flat-head screwdriver, if you don't have that, a butterknife ought to work: all you will do with the flat-head screwdriver is pry apart a couple pieces of plastic.

medium phillips-head screwdriver

small needlenose pliers, if you don't have that, hemostats or tweezers ought to work

good lighting
a clean flat surface to work on

fan motor - part number DA31-00103A
2 new grommets (the old ones may be reusable)



When you first decide you need a new condenser fan, open the large compartment on the back of your refrigerator, locate your fan and unplug it, and provide some other means of ventilation. You should unplug your refrigerator before unplugging the fan. You can plug the refrigerator back in, once you have ventilation (a small desk fan in this case) set up.

When your part arrives --if you don't live in a city it might take a few days; it took five days in my case-- you are ready to begin.

Take the fan housing (includes the fan and motor) out of the refrigerator. This is just light plastic and can break, so don't force it. There are grooves and tabs in both the piece that comes out and the piece that stays in; these interlock, and you should be able to slide the fan straight toward you to release it. Then you'll need to rotate it to get it out from behind the copper lines. Be very careful not to bend or kink these lines; I can't help you replace them.





Remove the two phillips-head screws holding the motor housing shut. Use your flat screwdriver (or butter knife) to pry open the housing, starting at the sides. The sides should snap open, then you can take the two pieces apart at the top. There is a half-hinge at the top, so you don't want pry there.













Turn the housing over, so you are looking at the fan blades. Use your pliers or tweezers to pull the spring straight off the shaft of the fan. Then gently but firmly pull the fan off the shaft.












Things I'd do differently if I had it to do over: I would measure how much of the shaft was in the fan, so to put the blade at exactly the same depth on the new shaft instead of guessing at it.





Now you can take the front half of the housing off the frame, though it's not necessary. I like to clean it while I have it apart, so I usually take things all the way apart. If you do, notice the screw that holds these two parts together is longer than the other two screws. Be sure and put the screws back in the holes they came out of. In this case it shouldn't matter, but sometimes using a long screw or bolt where a short one should be can crack or break something (ask me how I know - hint: waterpump on a Ford).



The front of the housing can only fit back into the frame one way: push straight in and turn a quarter-turn counter-clockwise.











Put the grommets on the new motor, the motor into the front half of the housing with the shaft sticking out through the frame, and refasten the back of the housing to the front.











Be sure the wiring lies in the groove made for it, and doesn't get pinched.







Push the fan blade back onto the shaft, and put the spring back on the end of the shaft. I tried to use the pliers for this but found it was easier to just push it on with two fingers.







Make sure the fan blade spins freely. If it hits the housing, you have pushed it too far down the shaft. Just remove the spring and adjust it.

Now you are ready to replace the fan assembly in your refrigerator. I found holding it sideways, with the blade pointing down, was easiest to get it behind the copper lines. Then I could turn it the way it was supposed to face and slide it onto the grooves till it snapped into place.









Unplug your refrigerator and plug the fan in to its outlet. Mold the wire into the slots provided for it. Plug the refrigerator back in, wait a few seconds, and when the fan comes on sit back and admire your work :)









When you replace the back panel, note that there are two slots at the bottom that you slide into before replacing the screws at the top.







Earlier I mentioned that good lighting was one of the things you'd need. This "headlight" is my favorite tool. They are sold at hardware stores, and depending on the features they cost between $10 and $40.

...assembling this blog post took at least four times as long as installing the fan motor. That's probably because there are only eleven parts to the fan assembly: frame, front housing, back housing, motor, blade, spring, three screws, and two grommets.

Hey. Yeah, you. This post is now 3 years old, and it's still getting hits! I think I would like to work in the technical writing field, but at the moment I'm not. So how about, next time you come to this page to find out how to replace that fridge fan, you click on the 'donate' button on the top left, and send me a dollar or two? Seriously, just a dollar or two. It'd be most appreciated and will give me incentive to post other "fixit" items for you. :) Thanks in advance. (updated 3 May 2012)

  so now I've had ONE dollar donation, from someone in Las Vegas, much appreciated! Yeah, blogger is free, but my internet connection isn't. If everyone who viewed this post sent just one dollar I'd have $15-$50/a week income from it... which would cover phone/internet/satellite - I wouldn't be getting rich, okay? (updated 20 October 2012)