RIP - Microwave

With animals freely wandering into cities without a care and the air becoming cleaner, today marks the first time National Earth Day is ACTUALLY thematically faithful.

And on top of everything, the Microwave that'd been faithfully used for 30+ years finally conked out. This model, a Litton Generation II Multi-wave was useful not just in how quickly it heated up food compared to the later models, but also beneficial in that the interior had a flat base, without a rotational model in the middle, allowing room for larger pots to be cooked inside.

There was the visible smell of smoke emanating from the kitchen, and I wondered if I was responsible.  But that couldn't be.  The hard-boiled eggs I cooked were taken care of that morning.  And the stew was taken out of the oven.  I was later informed that it was from the engine side, which produced a vibrating noise that would've been in imperceptible to my underdeveloped ears.

Finding a suitable replacement isn't going to be easy. Especially one that'll last longer than 3 years.  I also found the early model to be more powerful and functional compared to the later models.  I've become so accustomed to using the microwave for heating up everything that I prefer the melted bread to the toasted one, even when the bread would wind up sticking to the plate unless lifted quickly enough.  I later devised a method to transfer the bread from the hot plate to a cold one so I wouldn't be forced to eat it as quickly.

Whenever I cooked any food inside, I would always prefer to keep it on the default highest setting, no matter how much splatter it would cause inside.  The food always tasted better to me the hotter it was.  And if the water from noodles happened to spill over (which happened often), I would do my utmost best to cover up the mess as best as possible before anybody noticed.  As long as the proof of mess was cleaned up in a hurry, I was confident I could get away with the crime, no matter how many times I failed.

The last time the machine was in for repairs, it was because the code buttons for setting heat times for frozen items (peas, meats) wasn't working. When the Repairman came, there were only three numbered buttons that didn't work. After he left, four more numbered buttons didn't work anymore. And my Dad paid good money for that.  He said the only way he could've fixed it was by finding the right parts, which weren't around anymore.

At the end, the only buttons that still worked were 3, 6, 8, 0, Start and Clock. (later, the number 9 started working again) As a result, I usually inputted times in multiples of 3 for quick and easy use. Also, to input the time, we had to wait for 3:00, 3:03, 3:06, 3:08, 3:30, 3:33, 3:36, 3:38, 6:00, 6:03, 6:06, 6:08, etc. otherwise we'd have to wait hours before the proper time would come up again.

To get an idea of how old this model was, the lightbulb had long since burned out, so that opening the door and seeing only darkness within was expected.  Likewise, the knob that opened/closed the front door was falling off. At first, Scotch tape was put over the knob to keep it in place, before being replaced with masking tape the colour of the microwave. My Dad later replaced the tape himself, but I wasn't satisfied with how he did it, since there was too much of a gap. So I held the knob close and redid the taping to make it feel more natural. If he noticed anything, he didn't tell me, and I preferred to keep it that way.

In its last years, the door was also beginning to sag, and certain secret methods were used to keep it locked in place.  Before throwing it out on the front lawn, the cable wire was removed along with the knob to prevent anyone from using the defective microwave ever again.  In the meantime, I'll have to rely on the generosity of neighbors fortunate enough to have a spare microwave lying around until a suitable replacement can be found.  Years ago, I actually found a close non-rotatable microwave at a garage sale for $10, but it was given away without my knowledge simply because it 'made too much noise'.  That 'noisy' spare sure could've come in handy right now.

It'd been around for as long as I'd been alive. I'd practically lived growing up with it. Losing the microwave was like losing a friend.

These images aren't from the defunct microwave in question, but online auctions that have passed. They're the closest to the one I had.  I had no idea other models had dials on them.

LOOK at that flat smooth base, with no annoying rotating center to get in the way!
Plenty of room to stuff large cooking pots inside!