Having a day off to myself was not really how I had planned the first official national holiday of the year. (January 1st being on a weekend did not count!) I was late starting out, and almost did not go, as I lacked motivation. However, I had things to do, and do them I would! It was quite chilly, with the prospect of getting warmer. I wore boots, hat and a jacket, and knew this would be a little over the top by lunchtime, so I had to make sure I was home before then!
Seeing Raul by my carport made me a little later and as I got into my car, the motivation seeped away like the tide from a beach, edging slowly out until the walk to dip one's toes becomes more of a chore than a delight! However, I had things to do, and do them I would!
My first port of call was south on the Interstate. I smiled to myself as I chugged along, knowing where to come off, and finally referring to the Interstate by its name, rather than calling it a 'motorway'. Samantha and I still refer to some roads by those we travelled at home as they are reminiscent, but here was I taking the 'frontage road' and 'looping' to get to the other side, and my store of preference. The fact that my store of preference did not have what I was looking for was a little disappointing, but at least I could cross it off my list. I got back into my car and headed north.
From quite deep south Austin, I kept on the Interstate and headed to deep north. In fact, I was out of Austin and into Round Rock. One long, (virtually) straight road, and I was at my second destination. Ikea had not what I wanted, either, so it was back on to the Interstate and the third stop. This was where I perceived I could encounter a problem. However, I came off at the desired exit, took a right turn, then a left and I was on the road where I needed to be. After coming away empty handed for a third time, I made my way home!
"I went deep south, far north, and in the middle, and didn't get lost!" I exclaimed to Dana when I arrived home. I was very pleased with myself. Admittedly, I am less likely to get lost now, having been here for so long, but I still have memories of those days when I would go round in circles looking for a landmark.
There is always a slight sound of apprehension in the voice of the person who answers the phone in the 'order' department. The first question is "Where are you calling from?", or "Where did you place the order?" It is a little bizarre to think that I would place the order across the pond, to pick up here! I checked the website and there appeared to be a delay in delivery. I remembered this occurred last year, and I had to hunt around the store to find it, with the result being that the department where I thought it was (because of where it was the year before last) did not answer the phone, and when they did, they replaced the receiver immediately. The website did indicate that delivery had been made. "Um. We don't appear to have it", said the confused lad on the other end of the phone. Instead of asking as to where he thought it might be, I remained silent. He took the bait! "Um. Let me check with my manager and call you back", he said. He called me back within ten minutes. "Yeah, it is not here. We don't do those orders. Don't know why they said they would, but we don't do them. You will have to call the main number and see if they can ship it somewhere else". I thanked him for his time and asked if it had possibly gone through to the photo department. "No, we don't do them. They don't deliver those to our store". He was adamant. I called the main number.
"Ah, yes, well the website said it was...um...it said..um...well...". I remained silent. "Perhaps you could call the .... um, well you have called and they haven't...um, well, maybe if you go there and they could...um...well, if you have called. Um.... You could start again, and cancel....um, but we can't cancel as we don't know where it is...and ...um". It was on the final "Um" that I thought I would put the poor girl out of her misery. It was a call centre, probably not in the continental USA, but somewhere further afield, with a knowledge of this particular store's delivery policy as vast as mine of the Austin road system, upon my arrival 18 years ago! "What would you suggest. You can't sent it to another store because you don't know where it is. I think it might be at the photo section, but they are adamant it is not". The answer was, "Um". I remained silent again, hoping for something more. "I have the number for the photo department. Would you like that?" I would give it a try!
"Electronics. How can I help you?" I was delighted someone had answered, although 'Electronics' was hardly the department I would expect to find a desk calendar. The young man was extremely patient, and helpful, and called his manager to help. "What's the name, miss" he asked. I told him, and after some shuffling, I heard, "Wondered why this came here. Been here for a week!" They had my calendar! I wanted to call back the 'order' guy and tell him. I wanted to tell the girl in the call centre, but knew I would get someone else, possibly on a completely different continent! I was so happy! "I will collect it tomorrow. Please don't send it back!"
Thursday was one of those days that will remain on the 'never to repeat' list of days, should I get the chance to live my life over!
The first phone call was a little after ten thirty. It was my neighbour. "Hey Tracie, it's Christi. Um..". It was the "Um" that stunned me into silence. I remained silent this time not because I was waiting for an answer but rather waiting for a siren! It appeared that her workmen had been replacing some sheetrock on her side of the wall, and had inadvertently driven a nail into a water pipe that sits in the gap between our two condos. It was my water pipe. They had turned off the water, but her kitchen was flooded and she wanted to know if I had any water come through. Samantha drove me home. Christi was waiting for us. We all walked into my house, and the first thing I saw was not water, but the disarray in which I left my house. My disclaimers were responded to with, "Oh my house is a mess. I am living out of boxes". Her house is being remodeled! Of course it is a mess!
There was water all over the floor. The culprit came in and moved out my fridge, and Samantha emptied my pantry floor. The mess was growing! The workman was not a happy chappy! In fact, we thought he was a mute. He pointed for a towel to wipe the floor, then pointed for another. He did not speak at all, despite being asked questions. He shrugged, sneered, and snorted. Eventually, though, he must have got angry, because he shouted! I smiled, hoping that he would not be angry all day, but it appears that having to fix the problem was more than he had bargained for! Oh well! They had turned off the water, and the plumber was on his way, so all should be well within the hour. We moped up the water and left the messy house to go back to work.
When the phone rang again, and the first word said was "Sorry". Now it was my turn to be not very happy. The morning had been quiet, and I had taken the opportunity to go and collect my calendar, from a department manager who was as confused as anyone as to why it had landed in his section, but happy that it had a home to go to, and when I returned to the office, the work had started to pour in. "There's water all over my floor again", said Christi. "I'm on my way", said I! I drove myself this time and in she came as I arrived home. It appeared that the builders had turned off the water to three of the blocks. Someone had called Raul to say that they had no water, and having no idea as to what was going on, Raul had turned on the water to all the units. I moped up the floor for a second time, and as the plumber had just arrived, I headed back to work, confident that it would be fixed in a jiffy!
Two hours later, I received a call. I answered the phone and all I heard was a scream and the line went dead. I called back but received voicemail. I got another call a minute later. Samantha dropped me off and headed back, and I went inside. Christi was devastated. The plumber had tried to 'fix' the problem by 'repairing' the pipe, but it did not work. Raul had told him that he needed to replace the pipe, and Christi had asked him if she needed to get in another plumber who knew what he was doing! The plumber, rather than offended, was rather embarrassed at having tried to make a fix that would have been temporary, and headed out to find some pipes. Having been married to a 'Jack of all Trades' with plumbing being a forte, I was familiar with how not to do things. One of my problems here is that the systems are different. Electrics are wired differently, plumbing is not quite the same either, but the basics are the basics anywhere. You do not fit a certain metal pipes to a different metal pipes; they contract at different temperatures. You do not 'fix' a leak to an old pipe, for a permanent measure. You replace the pipe!
At five thirty, in the morning, the power went out. I resigned myself to a long, fretful weekend. Thankfully, it came back on very quickly.
"Try it now", said Christi, as she spoke to her plumber. It appears that my bathroom water is controlled by her 'cut off' switch, and they had turned off the water to her unit, overnight. I tried, but to no avail. "I will call Raul", she said. Having been caught out the previous day, I had made sure that my bedroom and bathroom were in pristine condition. However, the decor could do with a bit of a 'refresher', and along with being a 'realtor', Christi is an interior designer. I could feel her refurbishing with her eyes as she entered the room! Raul came upstairs and started to check the taps. Thankfully, they were only 'clogged'. With the water being turned off, all the deposits had been forced up the pipes and congealed in the filters. However, the shower was not working. The head had been cleaned, but the blockage appeared to be further down the pipe. I called Dana and asked if Grant could come and take a look. He knew how to take off the main tap fixture and I trusted him! Much as I hate to say it, in this day and age, he is also a man, and wool is far less likely to be pulled over the eyes of a male by workmen than over the peepers of a woman! Although I use my 'I know what you are doing' look, I am not always au fait with the explanations, and I needed it fixed! Christi's plumber arrived shortly after all avenues were explored, and the shower did not work. As four people stood in my bathroom, I melted into a puddle on the floor. Thoughts of my shower tiles having to be ripped out and pipes replaced was too much for me to bear. Of course, my mind went to worse case scenario, and all the walls in my house would have to come down and I would be sitting on a pile of rubble by the end of the day. Of course, deep down, I knew that even in the worse case scenario this would not be the case, but I could not access 'deep down', and was standing stoic, with a half grin on my lips, and wide eyes, to disguise my furrowed brow. Grant came around the corner with a piece of metal in his hand and explained the problem, and what they were going to try next. I nodded, but he knew I was not there! I heard the plumber say, "That's bad", and felt my knees buckle, but from somewhere, stays were put in place, and I stood upright. Grant, apparently, gave him a look of "Are you sure about that", and having conversed during the last fifteen minutes in 'plumber talk', the plumber nodded and then said, "Let's try one more thing". The 'one more thing' did the trick! It appeared that the problem had caused an 'accident waiting to happen' and whilst it may have taken a while, perhaps a year, perhaps a few months, certain 'bits' due to the hard water needed to be cleaned out every so often. They could last for years, but it was best to clean them every couple of years or so. A lesson learned, and a disaster averted, all due to a nail in a water pipe!
Grant took me back to work, and I did not get another call! Christi was devastated, and wanted to buy us dinner, put us up in a hotel, give us her first born if she had one, but we declined. I told her it was an accident, and they happen. In fact it was a blessing in disguise. When I said cheerio after all was fixed, I told her, "I say this in the nicest possible way...but I hope I don't see or speak to you again today!" Thankfully, she agreed!
All was well for the rest of the weekend. I had water, I had electricity, I had a calendar! The only thing I did not have was the items I went looking for on Monday, but they will be found by the time I need them! What am I up to now? Well that will be ..... another story!
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