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with the broken washer weighing on my mind, i woke up early to continue my efforts to understand what went wrong, much less fix it. i drained the centimeter of water still in the tub using the length of rubber tubing normally reserved for cleaning the fish tank. i felt a little sick afterwards, after inhaling all sorts of mold growing inside the tube in order to create suction for the water to siphon out.

after that i release the hose connecting the tub to the pump in order to check if there was anything trapped inside. as soon as i pulled out the tubing, water left in the tub began to pour out. i had a catch basin but it quickly filled up and there wasn't a second bucket nearby. fortunately that was all the water there was so i didn't flood my kitchen floor. the tubing was clean, nothing trapped inside, or inside the tub when i stuck my finger into the hole and wiggled it around. i also felt inside the pump to make sure the impellers weren't damaged (they were fine).

i went downstairs to turn on the electricity and set the washing machine on a short 2 minute cold water cycle with a small load of bath towels. i wanted to see where it stops. first the washer filled the tub with water (about 1/3 full for a small load). then the agitator kicked in, sloshing the towels. it then began to drain the tub, but before it could finish, it just stopped. it never got to the rinse cycle, which is where the washer fills up with water, sloshes the clothes some more (to remove the suds), then drains a second time. there was still some water at the bottom of the tub. so i manually moved the dial to the spin cycle. the washer filled up with water, then it began to agitate while draining. once again, it didn't drain completely, and the machine just stopped, never reaching the final spin cycle.

by then i was getting close to calling an appliance repair man. since the problem wasn't the pump nor a clogged tubing, it had to be the timer. that might explain why it never drains completely, stopping before the rinse and spin cycle. if the timer was broken, i could possibly replace it on my own if i could find the right part online. the only problem was my stacked washer dryer is probably close to 15 years old and i wasn't sure if i could get an exact match.

so i decided to open up the control panel (which involves removing the front panel of the dryer) and try to find a timer model number i could go online and do a search. the timer model was maytag 6-2087680, which goes for about $150 (didn't match the model, found it by closest visual match). while about to reassemble the control panel, that's when i noticed the loose wire coming off of the timer unit. did i do this when i removed the panel? what if this could be the cause of the problem? i reconnected the wire and put the panel back. with fingers crossed, i turned on the power and ran a small load to test the washer. i held my breath as the machine advanced towards rinse and kept on going without stopping. i watched as it completed the entire cycle, going through a final spin before finally stopping. it worked! i couldn't believe it. and here i was just about to give up, but through shear dumb luck i noticed the loose cable, and just like that, i saved myself a few hundred dollars worth of repairs at least. after doing a private victory cheer, i reassembled the washer. crisis avoided, drama closed.

how the washing machine broke in the first place is a mystery. the most likely explanation is the constant vibration slowly worked loose the cable, which might not have been clipped on tightly to begin with. slow and steady vibration was also to blame when the dryer broke back in early november. after some lengthy sleuthing, all it took to fix it was to push the dryer drum back into alignment.

i arrived in belmont by 2:30 to dogsit while my sister was off at work. it rained earlier so the streets were still wet and the sky was overcast with a slight fog. after letting hailey go out into the backyard (she usually doesn't like going out when it's wet), i cleaned the mud off her paws and snout. she slept for the rest of the day, waking up a few times in the early evening when she thought my sister had came home. i finally fed her by 6:45, right when my sister got back. i left soon afterwards.

the protective plastic sticker for my 60D LCD screen arrived today. for about $2 i got a 3 pack. they're nothing fancy, but i finally got to remove the sticker that came with the camera; it wasn't designed for permanent use since it blurs the images displayed on the screen. this new protective sticker doesn't have that problem (i can finally see the LCD clearly now).

i left the house to pick up the wings order right when drew was returning from MIT. the weather was surprisingly balmy and since i didn't bring my bag i could ride faster. we ate while watching the big bang theory, followed by happy endings and the b in apartment 23. i actually hit a wall tonight, stopping after 8 wings, saving the remaining 2 for tomorrow. the highlight of the evening was a new episode of ink master. jamie ended up getting cut; he said the reason was because he didn't have any tattoos of his own.