My dishwasher

I got a dishwasher last week. A bonafide, under-the-counter, overpriced, undersized drawer-type dishwasher. We paid more for the dishwasher than we paid for our one-way tickets to Japan, for all four of us.

It was almost a joke. How many Japanese does it take to install a dishwasher? Apparently, four. It was the electrician and his helper, along with the plumber and the contractor who set it all up. And while I appreciate my sparkly clean dishes, I can't help but think that the butt-cleavage Sears installer would have done it for way less. And as my loving husband reminded me, this isn't Seattle.

Alas, my Japanese dishwasher falls prey to the same problems that many Japanese fall prey to: a confusion about what to do with large foreign things. My 11" dinner plates fit in, but then you can't use the area next to it for salad plates or small bowls. My American-sized, Japanese-designed, made in Malaysia coffee mugs fit on the small top rack, but there is no way that 12 drinking vessels will fit if I use them.

So every night, I play a game of "Will it fit?" And every night, I attempt to make my combination of Japanese and American tableware fit harmoniously into one small-drawer type dishwasher. And I wind up washing a few odd pieces by hand. I kind of empathize with those few odd pieces.