Grump Central Archive: Week of 26 January 2020
Saturday, 1 February 2020
There's been a glimmer of hope on the septic system testing front: the engineer told the builder that a portion of the disposal bed had to be dug up for further testing, all on the builder's dime. Suddenly the builder says he had the fill material certification papers at hand, when he didn't before. Hmmm... Well, the engineer should know by the middle of next week if the builder can make good on his promise, or if he's just blowing smoke. I'm not holding my breath. But then, in the midst of this vaguely positive event—as per the story of my life—there's a negative: Zack isn't acting right. I've no idea what may be wrong, but he's definitely not himself. All I can do is keep my eye on him and hope he recovers on his own, because I haven't a clue what to do for him.
Friday, 31 January 2020
Just a year ago, contractors came to install drywall on the ceilings. Thus began an unfortunate experience: they were the first people I'd hired who did an inadequate job. Worse, one of the two men broke one of my kitchen lamps. While he offered to pay for a replacement, he was clearly unprepared for the cost: they were long discontinued, and after weeks of searching, I finally found one... for $250. When he heard that number, he went radio silent, and now no one—not his business partner, not even his own brother-in-law—is able to reach him to this day.
Thursday, 30 January 2020
At some point I'll get back to work on the house, but right now I just don't have it in me—not when I wake up more tired than when I went to bed, feeling as though my lungs are full of concrete, waking myself up wheezing or gasping for air, and coughing half the day. And, of course, bad news doesn't help: the septic engineer and the septic contractor are still at an impasse, and clearly have no sense of urgency: this should have all been resolved months ago—indeed, even years ago. These are the times when I regret trying to pursue my dream.
Wednesday, 29 January 2020
Look what I've just received from Amazon: a box o' kitties! Funny, but they look just like ones I already have, so I guess I'll have to return them. But seriously, the septic system situation is not improving—in fact, it's deteriorating. And to pile it on, the delivery of my refrigerator has been delayed two weeks. I need my kids now more than ever.
Tuesday, 28 January 2020
My heat pump is officially one year old. Still working well. I wish my body was.
Monday, 27 January 2020
I just realized that, two days ago, my kids have been in the house with me for a month. But we're still establishing new routines; it may take a few more months before everyone has fully settled in. The worst part is that, around midnight, my boys want to play, and do everything they can to get me out of bed. Well, I'm retired, so it's not as though a strange sleep schedule creates a problem.
Sunday, 26 January 2020
Decided to return to model railroading as a means to take my mind off a whole bunch of (literal) sh!t. I simply can't escape this sinking feeling that the worst-case scenario—a complete system rebuild, and a month or two (or three) of new delays—will play out in the fill material debacle, especially after learning two new tidbits: 1) there are no written specifications available on the fill material used, when there should be; 2) the contractor who built the system is not returning the engineer's calls. No matter how I look at it, it's just bad news all around.