Much to my chagrin, the Apotasaurus concept never caught on.
I do confess I am the least bit consoled by the fact that, after a great deal of rigmarole (I almost said "male rigmarole" but I struggled with it being an oxymoron while at the same time knowing that since Rob was supervising, things actually were resolved--but then again, we both have our suspicions that he may have an ovary in there somewhere).
So there is this fascinating thing about maintenance contractors. It reminds me a lot of a similar phenomenon that occurs with many used car salesmen. There might be a whole heap of intelligence in there, but you'd never know it because if it's there it's entirely coated in a thick layer of.....well....bullshit.
Now, I would never say it applies to each and every one of them, because on occasion I have met several very competent, friendly contractors (less frequent with car salesmen) who actually take pride in the rarely embraced concept of doing a good job and the even more uncommon the first time. Ironically, I seem to encounter these folk after I, like so many, have been the recipient of a great load of bullshit and have finally put my foot down, so to speak. And that is what most of the aforementioned men (and some women) would call, "being a bitch."
And I have to say that this time I didn't have to be a bitch. I really like that. I mean, I REALLY like that. But it doesn't mean they didn't try their best hand with Rob...
the HVAC guy inspects the heat pump/furnace in the attic and emerges, as I've said, scratching his butt and shrugging his shoulders....Rob follows him outside where he's taking a gander at where the power wires enter the roof. The HVAC guy notes that the insulation on the main wire entering the house has been torn off, most likely by those furry little acrobats we call squirrels. So he says "th'insulations torn off of that power wire there, so that loud noise y'all heard was prob'bly one of them squirrels getting 'lectricuted." Rob listened to this, took a moment to reflect, glanced around and said, "hmh. that's weird, there should be six or seven dead squirrels lying around here on the ground"....to which the HVAC guy responds, "well, maybe a cat drug 'em off"
I'd been home for a few minutes that evening when Roy the electrician stopped by on his way home from work -- cause he just lived a street over. After a brief viewing of the exterior of the house his response to me was "well, whatever it is it'll be on Georgia Power, not us." So I said "well the HVAC guy said there was a bit of rodent activity in the attic....so there might be damage to some of the wires in the attic, we just want to make sure there's no fire hazard." Roy starts walking away as I'm talking and when I say "fire hazard he stops, tilts his head a bit, squints his eyes and says, "What's your last name?" -- this was funny because Louis Oalmann was my Papa, so I learned all these tricks.....and the last name game is just a way of asking who your Daddy is...and back in the day it could be followed by, "what does your Daddy do"...but, it is also a backhanded way of implying they're highly suspicious you might be a trouble maker...probably because your Daddy was one. Times like this I wish I could morph INTO my Papa so that I would have the proper presence to dish shit right back at an asshole of this type. Anyway, Roy was no help.
I pondered that the rest of the evening. All Rob and I were asking was that the problem be identified and repaired. And thus far everyone who had come to the house had done nothing more than waste our time from work, accomplish nothing and point the finger at someone else. WEIRD!
Yesterday Rob had the day off so he was home all day to supervise and direct the cat-herding of getting these contractors to actually do what they need to do. The Terminex guy was great. He did a thorough inspection of the entire house, confirmed our attic had indeed over the years been allowed to become a "rodent playground" (though when I made these reports to our landlady they were laughed off as "squirrels on the roof"...grrrr)...I mean, sure squirrels are way better to think about than RATS, but reality is reality. Anyway, the Terminex guy actually continued his "work," set traps, patched entry points and will be back tomorrow to follow-up and possibly lay down poison under the house. Thank you Terminex.
And when Georgia Power came out they called Roy and waited at the house until he got there to repair what was indeed his job to repair...a "lug" that was improperly installed AND the wrong kind to go on the back of the meter. Good boy, Roy.
I have already drafted the letter to the owner that we will not be renewing our lease at the end of March and I have an appointment next week to view a condo where we will most likely be living as of April 1st! Whooooooo Hooooooooo happy day.
