lost in translation.
last night, my mom and i test-ran the hand-me-down washing machine from my sister. it’s a four-year-old machine which my sister fairly used when she and her family were posted in “the kingdom” in the middle east. they decided against shipping it to brisbane where they now live, so she pretty much bequeathed it to us. the task required me to read through the manual since there were a bunch of buttons to push. luckily, the manual came in two forms: arabic and english.
i breezed through most of the instructions as they were pretty straightforward until i got to this point, and i quote verbatim:
Pause Option
- Within 5 minutes for start, it is possible to put in the laundry or take out.
- If push Start/Pause button, the door is unlocked immediately.
- In case of too hot or too much water in washer, the door can not be opened.
- After closed the door, one more push Start/Pause button to made washing process going on continuously.
uh-huh. and then, i scratched my head, read it again, and got the gist.
it was about past 10pm when we decided to wash some towels and other unmentionables. after a full day of fasting and abstinence (for good friday), and a day blanketed by a somber mood, it was just what i needed to break the ice and have a good laugh.
