Murphy's Law
Posted: Tuesday, December 06, 2011
by Dianne Lehmann
Artisan Jewelry from SyZyGy
Over the years I've had a lot of experiences with machines of all kinds. Some have been pleasant and some have been decidedly not. The mimeograph machine that I had to use in high school comes to mind as a good example of the latter. It seems that my most frustrating experiences with machines have been with automobiles. But if I thought about it long enough, I might come up with a few other good candidates for Most Frustrating. Ultimately, it's been my experience that as "Murphy" said, "If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong." This applies to machines, processes, events and you name it.
In the particular case that I chose, it was my husband's car; a 1995 Dodge Intrepid. We bought the thing from his dad for a small enough price when his dad was moving back to Germany with no intent of ever returning to America. It was a good car for a number of years until a defect (for which there was a recall that his dad had simply ignored because it seemed like a lot of trouble and of which we were totally unaware) caused us to have to buy an entire new engine for it. Well, it was a rebuilt engine, but we were assured it did not have the same defect. Suddenly our small purchase price had more than doubled. But this isn't what totally frustrated us. That was a finite problem with a finite fix, albeit expensive … but still cheaper than an entirely new car.
As far as I'm concerned "intermittent" is a dirty word. Have you ever taken your car to a repair shop with an intermittent problem and tried to get it fixed? Ain't gonna' happen. Don't even try.
Every now and then (and becoming more and more often as time went by), when Bernd (my husband) would turn the key in the ignition, the engine would not start. There was no signal going to the starter. Sometimes, it would only take one more turn to get it to run, but more often it would be seven or eight tries. Once, when I was with him, we thought it would never start. It must have taken 20 tries before it worked. It's not so bad if this happens while you are still parked in your garage. But we were many miles from home.
When the repair shop could not help us, we decided to have a look for ourselves. We took the steering column apart and inspected everything to the best of our ability … which isn't always saying much. But Bernd had his multi-meter and we knew enough to check for electrical continuity; which we had in spades. So?
We both spent time online researching the problem. It was basically time wasted and Bernd took to driving around with the steering column exposed because he discovered if he pressed on a certain part a certain way, he could get the engine to start (yes, that was a good clue, or so you would think, turned out not so much). Because he felt that he was going to solve the problem sooner rather than later, I could never convince him to store all the screws and nuts and covers and tools in the trunk instead of in the foot well on the front passenger side. Whenever I rode with him, I had to struggle to find space for my feet. And they are not big feet.
It was not sooner rather than later. It was more like a year and a half, and I became accustomed to an exposed steering column and wires dangling and the anxiety that accompanied going anywhere in his car and wondering if we would be walking home. So, you are asking, why not take my car. Bernd doesn't find my car to be all that comfortable. It fits little me just fine, but not big tall him. A 1992 Jeep Cherokee Laredo is not as large as one might think it is. Bernd's Intrepid is quite a bit longer and wider with more head and leg room.
Within that year and a half or so, we did take it back to the repair shop a couple of times to no avail. Eventually, after spending more spare moments than he really had on it, we actually figured it out, bought the darn part, struggled to install it (required both of us and demonstrated my law: everything is at least twice as hard as you think it will be and takes at minimum three times as long to accomplish as you hope it might), and fixed the problem. You have no idea how nice it is when your engine starts with just one turn of the key.
Someday, I might have to write about the very first computer that we bought back in the dark ages of 2000. Because it was our first, we thought we were just really, really, really stupid. But as it turned out, it was defective and would never have worked properly. Go figure. We did, however, learn a lot about computers in the process. And actually, that seems to happen a lot. Recently, we had to buy a new computer because the hard drive in our old one just up and died. So guess what? The hard drive in the new computer died the second day we had it. Talk about frustrating. And we'd spent the entire previous day getting all the software back into it that we had in the old computer. Then we had to do it all over again.
So let's see. There was also a VCR and a camera that got the better of me. And don't even show me a universal remote control. There's a digital voice recorder that still has me flummoxed. Down loading songs to an iPod (got one free and would have been better off without it) proved to be almost impossible. Then there was the free (ditto) pedometer that I never did make work. It went in the trash. And there is still the magical, self-collapsing camera tripod (although it isn't really technically a machine). I'm just thankful my electric water kettle never gives me any trouble. Come to think of it, I could use a hot drink right about now. Maybe some nice soothing chamomile tea.
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Top-level comments on this article: (7 total)I loved this because I can relate. Five stars for you Dianne! ( and for Bernd) :)Hi Brianna.
Bernd really deserves the stars more than me. He's a whiz at electrical stuff ... usually ... and note I did not write electronic stuff. He's the first to admit he's not that great with computers and such. But put him in front of a wiring diagram or an electrical problem in the house and he'll fix that lickety split. :)
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Hugs and Merry Christmas,
Dianne
Yep- you've had your butt kicked by machines, like we all have.Hi Jack.
I was really hoping it wasn't quite that bad. Oh well. :)
Thanks for reading!
Hugs,
Dianne
The law of Murphy or averages or plain bad luck - whatever it is, don't you hate it. It's when you have to roll with the punches, take a deep breath or two or 600 and try, try, try again until, at last, success! Getting there is the adventure. One thing I've learned is not to sell a car to a relative, not ever. It's OK to devaluate it after 3 years and give it to the next family member with the explicit understanding it's now theirs, it's used, you're in charge, change the oil every 3,000 miles, blah blah blah. Don't look back. Accept a car given to you the same way. Nothing hurts a relationship faster than a car that doesn't perform all that well. Oh yes, never give loans either. Enjoyed your story and can commiserate.Hi Heidi.
We've always known that when we buy something, it's ours and all it's problems with it. We never told Bernd's dad's wife (his dad died before we had the problem with the car) about it because it wouldn't do any good for any of us.
Oh, never loan money to friends either. Even when you think it will be okay. Learned that the hard way. Best to just give it as a gift if you can afford it.
Thanks for stopping by. I enjoy your wisdom as always.
Hugs,
DianneHow does that saying go, something something too late schmart?I don't know. But if you remember it, let me know. :)
Oh heavens, Dianne, this sounds like some of my experiences! And amen to the universal remote control :) But I think you and Bernd put up a goodly fight!Hi Jennifer.
We're fairly quiet and plodding but we do usually win out in the end. :) When we don't ... well, we've usually at least learned something.
Take care and big hugs,
Dianne
Wow. I am overwhelmed at mechanical issues, especially when handled by women. Please don't be offended. My wife is a hands on daughter of a mechanic and farmer. I am in permanent appreciation on the domestic side, and on the WryteStuff side. Admiration abounds.Hi Christofer.
My dad wanted a son very badly. When my sister turned out to be a girl, he decided to make me his ersatz son. At about age four, he had me helping him with car repairs, taught me to soft solder and help with plumbing repairs. I've made good use of it over the years and never felt that there were things males did and things females did and that they couldn't be mixed.
Your wife sounds like a very capable woman!
Thanks for reading!
Hugs,
Dianne
The best article on Murphy's law.... I have more trouble with computers than the average person, in fact, I tell people I'm "electronically challenged". In the early 1990s I had a computer, printer from IBM that I had bought to use for extreme print jobs, and I had the worst time trying to make it work properly. I was up late trying to print, and became so flustered I forgot the basics, when finally the computer spoke to me and said "put some paper in the printer!!!".....WOW was I floored, because I did not know it could talk.Hi Elle.
Thank God my computer does not talk! That would just be too much I think. It would probably never shut up. :) We had a car once that talked. For the first few months it was kind of fun and then we got totally fed up with it and turned it off.
You must have had a printer that didn't let you see the paper tray. I remember those.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Hugs,
Dianne
Hahahahahaha and to think its all meant to make life easierHi Tharuna.
Cars? They do make life easier in many ways, but it's like just about everything else we have that saves us time and effort ... it needs maintaining and/or repair. Having a house, for example, or apartment or whatever means that you do not have to migrate to follow the better weather. You have a place to store the things that make your life comfortable. You have a place to stockpile food. But it requires a lot of upkeep.
Ah well, such is life. :)
Hugs,
Dianne
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