Buy G.E.

I'd like to take a moment to herald the praises of one of America's fondest and most well-established brands. General Electric.

These praises I sing because of a recent purchase I made on Craig's List. You might not believe it, but the fridge pictured at right retails for about $4000. It may look pretty average, (if you can see past its adhesive wrapper) but in fact it's counter depth. It's also wrapped in stainless. Where most fridge's have black sides, this one has stainless sides. And it's G.E. Monogram, the Monogram line being G.E.'s high, high-end line.

So, I answered an ad on Craigslist and paid $1000 for said fridge. The seller told me it was only a year old and virtually unused. Long story short, I got it home and found that it did not work. The refrigerator did not refrigerate. (Quick aside: Why is there a D in fridge but not in refrigerator?) And beyond that, a lot of the parts in the freezer section appeared to be rusted. GE sent out a repairperson, and though the fridge turned out to be not one year old but three, its broken compressor happened to be under warranty. Before I had a chance to so much as raise my voice or make up a lie about how the fridge I paid thousands for was suddenly not working, before I could produce a single poison pen letter claiming to be the original owner, the G.E. rep said, "Well, I'll just get a new unit out to you. Is Tuesday OK for delivery? And because they no longer make that model, we'll have to give you the current model, is that OK with you? Oh, and by the way, the warranty will start over from the day your new fridge arrives." Did it matter to them that this broke-ass refrigerator was a Craig's List bargain basement find? If it did, they weren't telling.

So that's why the fridge pictured above is wrapped. That's original packaging applied at the factory. That's evidence that his fridge is brand spanking new. Which is why I must say: New or used, buy G.E.

So, I finish this post with a few pictures of our kitchen in its current state:

A pile of boxes the size of a compact SUV piled in our living room, full of Ikea cabinetry waiting to be installed.	The floor tiles have been installed -- but are papered over in preparation for painting. The walls will be Dunn-Edwards' Arabian Red.
		View from the dining room of what would be looking into the kitchen — which is covered these days by a sheath of plastic.