Appliances & Innovations

Greetings & Salutations dear vikings. I hope you are all doing well, considering the frigid temperatures pummeling the Northeast. Just to make things even more interesting, good ole Father Winter decides to shake things up with a bit of snow.

A forecast of snow is not good news for me since I am allergic. I used to think it was me being extra but there is actually a thing called snow allergies. When you break out in hives or become itchy, it is called snow urticaria. Snow also triggers allergies on a whole, since it tends to make one feel more congested.

According to research, the cold temperatures and the snow tend to cause an increase in mucous in the nasal cavity. Some people may experience sneezing more than usual. Along with all my other perennial allergies this one has to be the most bizarre along with being allergic to chocolate.

Any roads, that is life and if we are honest, we will find that most things that are fun have adverse effects. My blog post today is about appliances and innovations. Although I am one who enjoys innovation and a modern spin on life, I also relish some things remaining old fashioned.

For instance, the other day I was out and about attending meetings, the occasion came for me to use the loo. It seemed like a non-event right? Not for me. The faucets were ultra modern where they only work unless there is motion.

I must have spent a good ten minutes playing twister with myself to get the darn faucet working. I felt like I was in an episode of Lucy. This particular water closet was decked out with all modern equipment and may I say they did not live up to their innovations.

The time I wasted playing twister, contorting myself to get the appliances to work I could have very well have used a twist to turn on pipe and have been on my merry way. When the super, duper, fancy, schmancy faucets did turn on it was for a nano second. Who washes their hand in a nano second? Especially with Corona looming.

One needs a good two minutes to lather up and then wash off any germs or bacteria. So although these appliances create an air of luxury, they are not effective in getting the job done correctly. Therefore, while I was playing an impromptu game of “Simon Says” to get the engineering percolating, I hoped and prayed that all the other appliances would work flawlessly.

Much to my chagrin, it was as if I were being tormented. I myself love modern stainless steel products and although the venue was decked out with stainless steel garbage disposals operated by stepping on them, none of them worked. I felt as if I were tapping on a piano’s foot pedal to make it function. At least with a piano you get music, with these vessels nothing was happening.

To be more precise it felt as if I were trying to kill a critter. All the effort I put in did not amount to a hill of beans since the garbage disposal refused to budge. Now, since I am a germaphobe with OCD, I have a thing about touching garbage cans because they are a breathing ground for bacteria.

As I searched for tissue paper to manually open and close the lid, I had to overcome another fancy apparatus which made me feel more inadequate as if I were a nincompoop. I ended up with a smidgeon of paper to serve as the buffer between me and the garbage can.

The funny thing is, although I purchase and admire stainless steel products, the truth is they look beautiful and work well for a while. After a short period of minimal usage, they conk out. All you are left with is their shining beauty.

For these non-empowering reasons, I have reverted to buying products that are tried and true. Even if they may seem old-fashioned. At least I know they will withstand the test of time. The moments of futility I have experienced at conferences, or formal events created stressful, and nerve wracking moments. Due to the fact that I do not want to be that person who pulled down the whole lavatory.

Most of the times I have to resist the urge to figure out how the incompetent objects should work and if I don’t mind sharp the need to correct the flaw grows exponentially. I have to remind myself that I am in the real world and folks will think I have gone absolutely bonkers by trying to be Ms. Fix-It.

I guess it has become my biggest pet peeve to encounter powder rooms that are lavishly decked out yet the appliances tend to disappoint. It is in those moments I also feel like the Beverly Hills Hillbillies. The fact is I am no country bumpkin but I sure do appreciate when people keep things real and regular. A great philosopher once said, “Simplicity is the epitome of elegance.”

New York has become an ultra modern city and that is good and well for progression within the global markets. One thing I have observed in life is when modern things go awry, they seldom are able to be fixed in a jiffy. They usually have to be replaced and the whole object they are attached to become obsolete.

Therefore the establishments end up spending triple for appliances and innovation. Modernism at times becomes an endless money pit. Whereas when you stick with tried and true products that work, they last a lifetime. Companies thrive since they are not wasting money. The money they do spend feels well spent because the products withstand the test of time.

I get the drift that companies want to keep up with their competitors but if you look around some of those folks are going out of business fast. You can still be modern in an old fashioned way by patronizing places like Resoration Hardware, Dwelli Store, and Pfister Faucets.

It reminds me of an old Jamaican proverb that says, “Never throw away old broom for new broom because old broom sweep clean and it knows all the nooks and crannies.”

This saying could be applied in all areas of life. The companies that have been enamored with modernitis and young blood are slowly but surely finding out that their seasoned employees were well worth their weight in gold.