UNCLE! I want a do-over

As payback for waiting until every piece of laundry in the house was dirty (or nearly so), the washer started making odd noises on Saturday. Sloshing noises. My washer is normally very quiet (a requirement for me - I don't like the noises appliances make). Sloshing noises aren't good. Ever. Particularly when there is still heaping piles of dress clothes and sheets left to wash.

I went to investigate. Damp floor. Not such a huge deal. It's concrete, and there is a drain. Plus, someone had knocked over the stain remover - I assumed the bottle leaked.

Until I opened the washer.

Turns out sloshing is REALLY REALLY bad. The rubber gasket that keeps the water IN the washing drum (front-loader) was torn. Badly. Too badly to repair with innertube goop (suggested on a fix-it-yourself appliance blog).

Cost for part: $120
Cost for labor: Far more than that
Piles of laundry NOW in existence: 5 - apparently lack of a washing machine does not decrease the fertility of laundry piles (in case you were wondering)
STRIKE 1.

Himself took my car in for regular service, and we received the official death notice on two of my tires. I knew it was coming. I'd planned to shell out way too much money in March for new ones. Still, it didn't exactly give me warm fuzzies to have it confirmed.

Cost for two new tires: $300+
Number of minutes contemplating our overly priced public transit system: None (sadly)
STRIKE 2.

The final nail in my fabulous (insert sarcastic googly eyes here) week came today, when I received a call from the billing department of the hospital that will be administering my abdominal CT scan Friday. The woman chirpily asked if she could put me down for forking over my $500 deductible on Friday.

Um ... excuse me? I said, "Um, no."

Taken aback (really? does she get equally chirpy "sure, no problem" answers usually?!), she said, "Okay, we'll put you down for $200 up front then."

Whatever.

Out-of-Pocket Cost for Abdominal CT scan that could deliver very bad news, but will more likely deliver no news at all: $600
Out-of-Pocket Cost for Abdominal CT scan almost 6 years ago prior to my appendectomy: $50. I miss my old insurance plan.
STRIKE 3

Oh yes. And Woodstock drank the bubbles she was blowing today, necessitating a call to Poison Control. The Poison Control lady laughed and said, "Oh if I could count the number of times that has happened ..." It made me feel better at least - particularly when she informed me Woodstock would be just fine.

UNCLE. I'm done.