Short and meaningless
Friday, November the 11th at 3:05 PM
in the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Five (6 years, 6 months ago)
B
oth our lives and this post are pretty much in line with the subject above, but hey, you do what you can with the time you've got.
I've spent all week battling with Nicor gas. Literally 3 or 4 calls a day, and since Tuesday I have left work for most of 12 hours to sit and wait at the church for the gas critter to show up and unlock my meter. Never have I seen them, no, not once. I'd like to make the time productive, but being inside and working on the church means I have no way of knowing when they come, and thus, the Gas Faeries will visit and leave nothing under my pillow.
They can only give me an estimated arrival time to within 4 hours of a "scheduled visit." I remember the jokes about the old Soviet Union. A guy makes an appointment for a plumber to come fix his toilet and is told "He'll be there on this date, 10 years from today." The guy asks "Morning or Afternoon?" and the person making the appointment, taken aback, says "What does it matter? It's 10 years away!" and the guy replies "Well, the electrician is coming in the morning..."
So the last 3 days I waited, was stood up, and the next morning would begin the cycle all over again. Call Nicor. Punch the "#" key on the phone until the damnable automated voice system gives up trying to interpret the "beep" as "Emergency" or "Si, Habla Espanol". Get passed into the hold queue for a customer service representative. Wait. Wait. Wait. Get told they're too busy to take my call, but if I type in my phone number, they'll automatically dial me when someone's free. Type my number. Hang up. Many minutes later, take their automated response call. Wait on hold some more. Get a human voice. Re-explain the same thing I have since Monday morning. Hear a different answer EVERY BLESSED TIME. Beg, cajole, flatter, joke, wheedle, plead, PRAY PRAY PRAY that this is the person that knows the magic formula to prod the leviathan of Nicor into action - "[a] grey mountain of lumbering sadness, plodding towards Golgotha" (appropriate description courtesy of Stuart Milstein's "A Dream In Eden").
Each day, new hope. Each afternoon, a growing despair, frustration, and bootstrapped perspective that "this too shall pass." Each night a thin attempt to put a humorous spin on it for my wife. "Not today honey. Maybe tomorrow." Your husband failed again, because in that enormous web of grey matter in his skull he lacked the deductive power to divine the "true" path to a solution, and believed more thoughtless pablum from a phone jockey who would probably love to hang up when someone as frustrated as your husband calls.
The excuses and myriad of reasons for "the gas situation" are astonishing. I'm a guy who likes to observe, build, tweak, and understand "systems." Computer systems, human systems, social systems, business systems. Processes and the dynamics by which the world operates are incredibly addictive to learn. Mostly. Sometimes I don't want to turn on the light, because I know I'll see cockroaches scattering. Nicor, grey mountain of lumbering sadness that it is, is infested.
I passed through the shallower rage early in the week, and found peace in my frustration while sitting in the car for 5 hours yesterday, waiting yet again outside the church. I had the car running with the heater going, and I was drawing designs for a master bedroom. At the top of the page I found myself scratching out a priority list. I didn't like how I was tossing away valuable work time sitting in the car on this fool's errand. So I marked down my priorities. The church was last, preceded by God, Sally, family, friends and work. I left at 5:00 and came back to work. I got to eat dinner with Shep and Cindy and hang out with Sally later on. Those are the important things of the day.
Today I talked to Nicor. 33rd time's a charm, right? I talked my way to somebody one level above "useless" and adopted a very calm, "if you even think of dismissing me I will feast on your extremities while you watch" sort of approach, and even threw in some vocal tremors. No tears, curses, or discourtesy, but just thinly veiled rage. I know this person wasn't responsible for my trouble... Though on second thought, no "one person" is responsible, and thus, none of them feel particularly accountable when they screw up. It's all put back on my shoulders to call again, to complain again, and to survive at their pleasure.
This week has not improved my feelings about large companies and/or the illegality of vigilante corporate justice.
So sometime this afternoon, I'm told a Nicor rep will go to the church and take the lock off. I don't have to be there. I've heard this before, and I'll believe it when I see it, but I have no other recourse.
Have I mentioned much about geothermal heating yet? Yeah, it doesn't use gas, and it's considerably cheaper each month than gas. Just costs more to install, but cuts the cord from the gas company. Have I mentioned the people who go "off the grid" and don't use any public utilities? Most do it for reasons of conservation and such. Forget saving the earth though - I'd just like to scrape an ounce of dignity back from this week.
I guess this post sort of blew through the "short" part of the subject above, but remained faithfully meaningless. I'm battin' .500 baby!
13 Comments
2
6 years, 6 months ago
Thanks for the ideas Dave. I actually did some research on the lock removal, and think I could have removed it, but found several stories online of people who were sued, successfully, for "theft of service" by doing their own lock removal (apparently I'm not alone with this issue) even though they had a service contract. The gas company seems to guard their meters quite ferociously (yet be completely unable to find them when anyone else needs something).
I gave them any and every phone number possible, and asked for any means of talking to the actual "meter guy" when & if he was nearby. Not to save myself the time, but SO HE COULD FIND THE BUILDING - which I described, in painful detail. One day upon calling them Nicor said "Our meter guy went to the address yesterday, and said it didn't match your description at all."
At that point I shot blood from my eye sockets and don't remember anything else. Suffice to say, their database was messed up, and they wouldn't entertain the thought that I might be telling the truth that they weren't ever coming to the proper location. Their condescension and lack of concern was rather upsetting.
We're totally going after "This Old House" to subsidize this money pit. PBS roolz.
I gave them any and every phone number possible, and asked for any means of talking to the actual "meter guy" when & if he was nearby. Not to save myself the time, but SO HE COULD FIND THE BUILDING - which I described, in painful detail. One day upon calling them Nicor said "Our meter guy went to the address yesterday, and said it didn't match your description at all."
At that point I shot blood from my eye sockets and don't remember anything else. Suffice to say, their database was messed up, and they wouldn't entertain the thought that I might be telling the truth that they weren't ever coming to the proper location. Their condescension and lack of concern was rather upsetting.
We're totally going after "This Old House" to subsidize this money pit. PBS roolz.
3
6 years, 6 months ago
Hey, we are going to install the geothermal unit when we build. My mother-in-law sells the units at her store. Check out this website if you haven't already. www.climatemaster.com I also think radiant heating is awesome. You might need that in your new home if you plan on having looming vaulted ceilings. The hot water system will work with the geothermal system if you have an integrated hot water heater!
4
6 years, 6 months ago
That's pretty cool stuff, Ellen. We're pretty intent on getting geothermal, even more so after the frustrations of dealing with the gas company.
When do you start construction on your place?
When do you start construction on your place?
5
6 years, 6 months ago
We won't be able to start construction until the TN Dept. of Transportation finally get around to contacting us with an acceptable offer on our house and land. We are planning to get some acreage closer to Nissan around the Murfreesboro area where I used to live. The purchase contract we had on 10 acres fell through the day before closing because the restrictions were ammended incorrectly. So we are back at square one.
6
6 years, 5 months ago
How's the gas? Are you turned on yet???? Erm.... Do I make you gassy baby? Do I?
7
6 years, 5 months ago
I'd like to report an Andrew sighting at his and Sally's new homestead just this past Sunday. A strange occurance caused all of the pictures I snapped to be blank, so you will just have to settle for my eyewitness account. I entered the remote village of towanda, weaved my way through the local street(s), and saw him in the distance emerging from the church in dusty work clothes. Yes, it appears that he has actually been working and making progress these past few weeks. Once inside, my two children shyed away from the reclusive (and lately silent) creature, but they enjoyed running around the construction zone and getting amply dirty. It is on my honour that I proclaim that what has been recorded here is an acurate record of the actual events that took place.
10
6 years, 5 months ago
Butch, you made a mighty fine post there, and it was all true, except for your kids getting dirty. Their blankets were still recognizable in their original colors, which means they didn't roll around in piles of drywall dust quite enough.
It was a real bonus to see Butch Sr. show up. He seemed pretty enthusiastic (both about the grand kids and the church. =)
It was a real bonus to see Butch Sr. show up. He seemed pretty enthusiastic (both about the grand kids and the church. =)
12
6 years, 5 months ago
Someone needs to put you on notice buddy. Twenty days without a blog? This site has about as much activity as the Tom Bergeron Fan Club Blog. Double snap.
13
6 years, 5 months ago
I'll be "on notice" when there's a new post on here, buddy. Until then, you've lost your place on my bookmarks list (right in between the Tom Bergeron Fan Club Blog and Navel Lint Gallery.com) You've been neglecting your faithful readers and friends - all three of us. >:-P
Besides - it's not like you've got a huge house to remodel or anything like that....
Besides - it's not like you've got a huge house to remodel or anything like that....
Comments welcome - Flattery is much more welcomer.
Fancy comments are frowned upon - your WWW links will work though.
Want your own rockin' icon by your comment? Go to www.gravatar.com.
Want your own rockin' icon by your comment? Go to www.gravatar.com.
Posts in Time
1) Next time you're told that they will send someone out there in a 4-hour span of time, ask if they can call you on your cell phone about 10 minutes before they arrive. I believe this is a normal practice these days, and it would keep you from burning off precious fuel and spedning hours of time doing nothing but resenting the gas company.
2) Cut the lock off yourself. If they can't ever seem to come out to your place, they might not ever know you cut it off. Plus, you can always pull the ol' "There wasn't a lock on when we bought it..." excuse.
3) Maybe they aren't expecting a church, so when they drive by, they skip your house. This is probably not the case if you've been outside waiting, but it's a thought.
4) Have a heat pump installed that has a backup heating unit for those cold winter days. These systems are much more effecient than regular air conditioning, and you could cut off the gas company completely (assuming you get an electric stove, water heater - oh forget it that's just too much money. Scratch this idea).
Well that's not much help I'm sure. But good luck, and hang in there. One day your housechurch might be featured on HGTV, and you might make as much as $10! Sweet rewards.