Frog and Goat

When we moved into the new house we quickly found out that one of the heat pumps was busted and we spent a few shiny pennies to get a new coil installed. Friday night I went by the old house to drop off some items the buyers had requested (they were going to be there with a contractor on Saturday morning) and I realized the furnace was just blowing cold air. I checked the thermostat and it was registering 52 degrees.

After dinner we went back over to the old house and discovered that the furnace wasn’t igniting the propane so no heat was being produced. Luckily that house has inefficient electric baseboard heating so we turned some of those units on and left.

This morning the heating guy (who is such a cutie patootie) stopped by and lit the furnace so it could complete a cycle and then ordered a new igniter assembly. Thank heavens this repair is less than $200 because I’m sick of writing checks for heating.

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As you may remember, I frequently have a problem with the local news organizations. This morning I was watching the weather since we have a mix of snow, sleet and rain out there today. The weather guy said something like tomorrow is March 1st and it is going to be cold. It will feel like winter out there. I just yelled at the teevee, duh, it is winter you big dork and then I snapped off the set.

I just checked the mailbox and a box full of Amazon goodness was jammed in there.

Unclassified by Robert Randolph & the Family Band was in that box. We saw them perform last June when they opened for Eric Clapton at the MCI Center. I remember thinking that they were on fire that night.

I popped the CD in the player and cranked it up. The cat was a little wigged but he settled down and grooved as well. The last song on the disc is Run For Your Life and while it was playing I found it hard to suppress a laugh. It was a laugh of joy. The last two minutes of the song made me think that if this was the last thing I ever hear I won’t be too disappointed.

You can listen to the song on their website.

This week I’ve learned one really important thing and relearned another. The first one is when I start my new job that I shouldn’t rely completely on the administrative staff. They lost a vital piece of my paperwork and delayed my start date. I feel somewhat bad that I already have some cynicism going into the job. I don’t feel that I need to pass out too much charity since I’ve been administrative staff. I’ve been administrative staff in an HR department and the last thing you muff up is someone’s start date.

The relearned piece is just because you pay someone to do work for you doesn’t always mean that they will do a good job or give a care. The original owners of our new house paid $9K to have repairs done to the interior of the house. What they got was a BOHICA. It is a sad and terrible day when I can spackle better than a professional, but that’s just what happened. My repair is undetectable under the new coat of paint and the professional job was so bad that I had to redo it.

I know I’ve publicly ranted about the abysmal customer service we usually receive at Lowe’s. Seriously bad customer service. I don’t think I’ve ever been in an aisle and had an employee ask me if I need any assistance. I have had them push past me so they can get to wherever they are going to stand around and ignore me. We sarcastically say “Assistance Needed In The Key Cutting Aisle” on occasion because nearly every time we’re in the store that freaking automated voice shrieks over and over again. People, find another key cutter. For crying out loud, Kroger will do it for you. Walk next door and get them to cut your key.

I have to confess that we recently bought a ceiling fan from them and we received a 10% coupon in the mail the other day that we are going to use. Why? Because we need another ceiling fan and they have a bathroom light fixture we really like. I’m dismayed but the Home Depot just isn’t beating them in the fan/lighting department.

I feel as guilty stepping out on Home Depot as I did the time my former boss and I missed our flight out of Orlando and had to hang out in the airport for 5 hours (or more) and we got our hair cut at the Hair Port. The haircut was her idea but I went along with it and then had to apologize all over myself when I went to my regular hair stylist to the stars and she could tell that someone had butchered my hair. I should point out that as soon as I sat down in her chair I confessed. That was back in the early 90s and I haven’t cheated on her since.

I’m sorry Home Depot.

This is what I like about her.

One night last week I realized that I should cancel my account with a company that lets you print your own postage. When I was selling on ebay more frequently it made sense to have the account, but since I haven’t really been doing that so often, it is silly to pay $4.49 per month to not use the service.

The kick in the head is that I have to contact them via their 800 number to cancel the account. The first day I tried I got busy tones and then was on hold for 30 minutes. I hung up the phone, marched about the house and ranted. My email to support came back saying sorry loser call us. I returned the email and said I would but your customer service group isn’t answering the phone. The support email said sorry for your trouble but call back. After marching about ranting, I sent an actual stamped (not with their stamp) letter to the CEO. I’m sure he’ll get right on it.

This afternoon I decided to spend some more time on the phone and have been on hold for over 12 minutes now. I’ll hang up at the 30-minute mark again. If I get no satisfaction this afternoon and never hear from their lame CEO (he’s lame because he runs this company) then I’m sure my credit card company will be more than happy to pull the rug out from under their draft on my account.

Update: Naturally as soon as I post this rant a customer service rep answers the phone (after 20 minutes on hold) and is very professional. The account is closed.

I’m not going to be able to start the new job on Friday. A snafu with the paperwork. The new bosses are sad (they have already thrown work on my soon to be desk) and I’m bummed. I have to wait two weeks to get back in their hiring cycle. Curses.

The good news is that even more of our interior at the new house will be painted. I’ve been going to the office in the morning and painting or doing other house related projects in the afternoon. Some may think that we live here or something.

We may or may not be getting snow tomorrow. Around here no one is ever sure of winter weather. It is always “the sky is falling, the sky is falling” and then we get a little or nothing. This morning the weatherman said 6″. Today at lunch I checked their website and it said rain. I checked weatherDOTcom and it is still predicting snow. It seems hard to believe that I rode home with my window down this afternoon and snow is in tomorrow’s forecast.

Updated! Oh wait, the best part. I forgot the best part. I stopped by the grocery store on the way home and in the frozen food area a man was pushing a small child in a cart. The child was leaning over the handlebar thing and was resting his head against the man’s chest. It was all very snuggly. I smiled (after I passed them because I can not be known as that sappy lady in the grocery store). Then, I heard the unmistakable opening segment of “Blister in the Sun”. The man’s cell phone was ringing. I almost followed them home.

I saw this after signing out of my hotmail account today.

I didn’t see any point in reading the article since I got so much joy out of the title.

We just got back from lunch at a place where we’ve only been to dinner. We had a coupon and who doesn’t like buy one get one free? The last two times we’ve been there we’ve been treated to insanity at other tables. The last time we were there I think a small child was celebrating his birthday. The child was 2 or 3 and it is possible that someone else at the table was celebrating. The child clearly said he wanted some cake but the other people at the table, all of them adults, spoke in such loud baby talk that I really am unsure of what was going on. The kid’s pronunciation was nearly flawless.

Today at lunch a family of four let their kids throw stuff on the floor and run around a bit. How old do kids have to be before the rest of us can enjoy our meal too? Then there was the guy who put ketchup on his steak and when the ketchup came out of the bottle it sounded like he blew his nose–all wet and viscous. He also spent quite a bit of time sounding like he was hocking up a loogy. I was so sad to see him leave.

So you don’t get the idea that we are always model citizens, the better-half acted like he was going to stab me in the head with a fork. I didn’t even notice (it happens so often that I am immune to it) but the waiter did and asked if he was going to have to break it up. I told him I had it under control and then acted like I was going to karate chop the better-half.

If you don’t like to cook, then I guess this week’s entries so far are boring you to tears. Sorry about that.

Sunday night we cut up pork chops into medallions. The better-half breaded and sauted the medallions. Then he made a sauce by deglazing the pan with red wine (shiraz?) and then built on the sauce from there with chicken broth, a little more flour, dried cherries, dried cranberries and golden raisins.

I cooked all day and all night to produce the polenta. Ok, what actually happened is I stepped into the pantry, grabbed the polenta, sliced it and then put it in the hot oven to bake. Then I sat down and had a glass of the red wine and talked to the better-half while he did all of the work.

We served with a salad which I did cut up and artfully arrange.