You know how there's that saying "don't let a bad day make you feel like you have a bad life?" Well, I know I don't have a bad life but it's been quite an irritating one for over a week. In addition to the crap we had to deal with as far as the
patio install and grill delivery, it just never seemed to end.
All week, the only respite that kept my head above water was that it was going to be around 80 degrees on Saturday and we were going to road trip to paddle. My mind kept floating back to this serenity waiting for me...
Just the thought of being in my favorite lily pad patch is the only thing that kept me from needing bail money. Friday, we noticed the pitted sand between the stones that happened during the rainstorm 20 minutes after they installed the patio, was not being smoothed out with the rain. After the Mr looked it up, he saw we basically had one more day before this particular polymeric sand was going to stay that way forever. This would make the thousands we dropped on this project basically worthless. So guess how we got to spend our Friday night? The night we had about 20 things to get done to take the pressure off of us for the rest of the weekend? We got to spray down the patio at 7:30pm and use whatever we could to dig out the pits around
every. single. brick. and then smooth the sand with our fingers around
every. single. brick. Did I mention we didn't get done for almost 3 hours and we were both bleeding, had swollen fingers, I couldn't walk from being contorted in discomfort and covered in mosquito bites? At one point, I just sat there, digging up what was essentially stucco with my throbbing fingertips silently crying and wishing I could get a big hug from my grandma. Now we had to get up in about 6 hours and be ready to load up the truckster to go paddling.
We went to bed and it was 5:00 am before the pain everywhere woke and kept me up for the day. I took an ibuprofen 800 I had left over and it took about an hour to kick in and I took one with me in case I needed it. This was literally going to be the only day in the foreseeable future it wasn't going to be disgusting outside so I was going to suck it up. A quick check of the winds showed it'd be just under 10 mph which while it wouldn't make for glassy conditions, it would be pleasant.
God laughs.
We went to our usual deli so we could pick up our lunch sandwiches for later like we always do and it was closed. They apparently changed their hours and didn't open for another hour. We didn't have an hour to waste and we do our picnic halfway through our paddle so it wasn't the kind of thing where you just wait when you're done. You need energy (food) to finish the paddle. We found another option on the way there and while it wasn't the first or second choice, it would provide sustenance which was apparently all we could hope for that day. We got to the boat launch and the wind was strong. Like I couldn't even fold a towel outside, strong. I had to get in the car to fold a towel in half and roll it for back support. The water was super choppy and I looked heavenward and said "really?" It basically made it so that we could never take a break because if you stopped paddling, it would just push you where you didn't want to go. Thankfully, it wasn't so hard that no matter how hard you paddled, you didn't get anywhere. It was just a constant paddle required until we could dock for lunch or be done for the day. I was able to go back in the shallows in the back and thankfully I got a one minute reprieve from the wind and I exhaled a full breath and I would've given anything to just sit there for five to ten minutes but the Mr was hanging around somewhere deeper. Next time, I'm taking that time because it was (is) so desperately needed. My hands were wet so they were pruney and coupled with the swelling from sanding off our fingerprints the previous evening, neither of our hands was in good shape. It took a full day for the feeling to return to them.
Since the Mr was mentally done dealing with all of the issues with the patio and tapped out, I took pics of the part of the patio that was not yet complete. Oh yeah...didn't I tell you? It wasn't done because the part in front of the gate was not properly filled with sand so there was nothing holding that lip in place. Nice, eh? I emailed Sunday night and asked to send someone out to finish the patio, sent the picture and that the Mr would be unavailable this week so
only contact me and it should take 5 minutes tops. The contact woman at the office asked for a phone number for me in case they needed to call me and I gave it to her. She is in constant contact with the owner and always quick to respond. She gave me a window of time (between 11am-noon) which I knew if history was any indicator, was unlikely to be met but hoped for the best. It was Monday, what could go wrong?
As the window was closing, the Mr messaged me after his lunch out that the owner texted and left a voicemail for him wanting to know if the gate would be open before sending the person back out.
1) If I send an email saying the subcontractors didn't finish the job, we had issues with the job post install and we heard nothing from them (the people we
thought were doing the job), I think you should be showing
your face to wrap this up and
2) WHAT PART OF
HE IS NOT AVAILABLE DO YOU
NOT UNDERSTAND!?!!
Now I should tell you that when we had the initial meeting, this dude (late 50's/early 60's) was very rude to me, wouldn't let me speak even though he wouldn't HAVE our job if it wasn't for me since I am the one that got the referral from my friend and when he left I even told the Mr. I felt like I was getting the proverbial head pat and he wanted me in the kitchen where I belonged. The woman asked me for a contact number and that a-hole refused to use it because he wanted to talk to the 'man of the house.' It's not like I said "I want someone to come out today", they were the ones that gave me the window of time and I took them at their word. I was home and waiting for someone to come for a five-minute job and instead, I get to sit there seething from anger and all that entails because I want this friggin' nightmare over with. I tried to use every technique to relax, breathe, zen out, not hit a wall, and stop grinding my teeth. I'm not gonna lie, I stress ate a bowl of Special K Blueberry with lemon clusters to finish off the bag for lunch. (Probably 2 1/2 to 3 "official" servings) I have no doubt if I had a fresh box, I would've cracked open the plastic bag, dumped in milk and just ate it out of the bag in the corner. I sent an email an hour after the window, feigning ignorance at my knowledge that the owner contacted the Mr when I told him not to and asked if she had an ETA as no one had shown up. She said he was "delayed" but would still be out to fix it today...that was at 1 pm. 4 pm and still nothing. I went from angry to numb which doesn't bode well for anyone who has to put up with me. The Mr comes home and hands me the receipt that they charged us for the whole project. Well, guess what, I paid with a credit card so that if there was a problem, we had recourse. No one called to ask how it went, if there were issues and making sure we were satisfied before charging us. Lucky for them, 4:40 pm rolls around and they show up. I have no problem with you coming after a job but TELL ME that's when you're coming. Or should I say tell the people who subcontracted you to do their bidding that is when you plan to be there? That's almost 6 hours I wasted waiting around.
I also don't like when people show up and just start working without letting you know they're there. I immediately went out and he's like "it's hot!" I said yes and offered to get him and his crew some ice water. He said, "so you want an extra row so it comes to the gate?" Why yes, yes I do! He said he had the stones so we got a little extra that now makes the patio look worth what we spent on it instead of having to use the 4 janky blocks to match the critter wall to stop chipmunks from coming in the bottom. (#jerkswithfur) Oh, and one of them left with my cup. (Not disposable, like an actual cup.) So in the end, it looks better than it did, caused way more trouble than it was worth going through and I never want to do home improvement ever again. (I won't even mention how a piece of filler wood beside the dishwasher came off, the stick to close the blinds broke and we haven't even thought about replacing the medicine cabinet door because I don't give a rat's butt if you know I use Arm and Hammer toothpaste and a squirt of cooch spray.)
Done just doesn't even describe me right now. Now if you'll excuse me...
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How was your weekend?
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