Total Pageviews

Friday, August 16, 2019

The Silent Blogger Returns....

Sorry, it's been so long since I've posted. Hopefully, gentle readers, you haven't forgotten me!

It's been hectic, seems like one thing after another here.... AC problems continue, first time it was a cracked drain pan which was replaced and supposed to have taken care of the problem, but the thing still leaked or shut off completely and every time I call the company, they send a different technician out with a different view/idea of what the problem is, I think six or seven have been here so far telling me everything from it's my fault for keeping the AC temp too low (69 degrees), then one says I burn too many candles, another says the drain line isn't angled correctly and repipes the drain line, but the damn thing is leaking again and/or shutting off, so I call again and the next tech says I need more insulation as the AC system is sweating and attic is too hot, but before I have time to look into that, the ceiling is leaking again, so I call again the last one says I have "cold attic syndrome" and need to pull out all the insulation....

Are you confused? I sure am. And the last time the ceiling leaked, I had the temp set at 73 degrees. And I have two candles I burn at night.... and I really haven't changed my habits at all...

Finally I gave up on that company, called the original installer who showed up and told they ALL were full of BS. And have been overcharging me, $975 + for an $80 drain pan, etc. He said keep the insulation, the attic is too hot that why the system is "sweating", he actually cut a hole in the AC compartment to air condition the attic -- that was Wednesday, he's coming back today to check if it's working  -- all this at no charge. So we'll see what happens.... but so far no new leaks and AC is working....

Then, devastating news from my writing partner, the one I met at the writer's group who kicked me out, and we've been sending chapters back and forth via e-mail as she is up north for the summer. This past week or so, her oldest son died in his sleep. She's the one writing a memoir about her youngest son's death. I feel so bad for her, it just sucks, and certainly brought a lot of "grief triggers" back for me. And she's also "out of the loop" (which I totally understand) as a writing partner for now....

So my "pressure" to keep writing came to a screeching halt.... and I seem to be "stuck" after Chapter 18. Big time writers' block.

Then the termite guy comes and finds (below) this after probing the front french doors.  I tell you, I'm near tears watching the door crumble before my eyes....
 Only good news is that it seems to be the central spot, he found two other smaller spots in other rooms, but not much damage.... and it's being treated under my warranty. I use a company that injects the wood with a mostly organic chemical.... I'm hoping I can repair the damage with putty and paint (?) and hold the door together that way.... But have to wait 60 days to make sure all termites are dead. I do not want to "tent" the house or replace the doors (they are original/antique).

Frustrating.....

Add to all this crud, keep getting scam calls, some worse than usual including a courier service calling to tell me they were coming with a court order to appear in court Friday (today)....

For what? I have no clue, but am told it's for an unpaid bill.... I called my attorney and he said "Don't answer the door." So spent last few days sneaking out the back door, stressed out, even though it sounds like a scam.

And the calls keep coming, usually I just don't answer the phone, but one morning when the phone rang at 8:15 a.m., I picked it up (pissed) said "Hello?" in a rather gruff tone and this jerk asks to speak to Robert: I scream at the guy, literally SCREAM: "DO YOU REALIZE IT'S 8 FUCKING O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING AND YOU ARE CALLING A DEAD PERSON????!!!!"  I don't think that one will call back.

And the "Microsoft rep" who called saying my subscription was due for renewal, that one got me concerned because last year my subscription lapsed and (thank god I backed up my ms. on a flash drive) but I lost my entire manuscript, so I did answer that one, only to find it suspicious sounding, then spent an hour trying to talk to someone at Microsoft to find out my subscription is good until Feb. and set up for an automatic renewal. They asked me to file a complaint regarding this "phishing" company, which I did. Still, shook me up a bit.

Then the pool overflowed and flooded my back yard. Ha! So I'm out in the middle of a storm, ankle deep in water trying to drain out the pool to keep my garage/apt. from flooding....

And Kona has another ear infection....

A lot of heavy rain storms, keep losing my internet connection, oh then a power outage that lasted from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. one day.

Oh it's been a fun month, some days I just don't want to even crawl out of bed....

Oh, and forgot to mention the mold -- caused by the AC leaking... and me, falling off a ladder -- good thing I landed on my butt! Still hurts.

Just another day/month in paradise....


5 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a pain regarding your air conditioning. Hope you can get that fixed once and for all. Makes me wonder how much a/c technicians earn per year in places like FL where they are in such high demand. Good luck with the termite situation too!

Very sad about your friend and her son...

Hope you can find another writing buddy.

Lynne in CT

Cockeyed Jo said...

I'm glad to be living in North GA now. We don;t have AC just a couple of fans in the windows circulate the air around inside keeps the inside temps around 80 even though outside it's 100 and much lower humidity. I don't miss my south GA summers at all. Luckily I have brothers in the H/AC biz. For a brand new 2 ton AC was $200 and most repairs cost me a hoagie and a six pack of beer. :o)

Termites, ugh! My problem was carpenter ants. I got some wood putty from Home Depot to fix minor wood damage that cost me $13 to replace the damage. The hardest part was removing the door and putting it back up.

Writer's block is the worst. Keep writing every day even it's "The quick red fox jumped over the lazy brown dog" for an hour each day. It keeps your fingers limber and gets the writing muse going. Try two sentences and then three as the days progress.

Denise said...

I think Jo's advice to keep writing every day is solid. I'm going to do that myself.

Stephany in Iowa said...

Keeping up a home by yourself is the pits. You don't even have anyone with whom you can discuss the problems, or trouble shoot, or trade ideas. Last night, the plumbing started thumping. Not a loud thump, not an invasive terrible knocking, just an occasional thump. Every 30 seconds or so. A trip to the basement (another difference between Florida and Iowa) showed the water meter just ticking around, with an extra jump with the thump. I decided it did not look or sound like an emergency, and went to bed.

Today, no thumps. It's a good day.

Glad to see your are writing again.

Stephany in Iowa

Jenn said...

Good lord! What a bummer about the French doors, on top of everything else. Say. During the meditation session, keep your house lights on. It'll help you stay awake. Darkness and candles w/incense = snooze land! Lol