TheBanyanTree: Convergence

[Margaret R. Kramer]

Holy days and planets and stars converge from time to time just like good
times all roll together and then there comes along a period of time, maybe a
month, maybe a week, or maybe just a day when everything that we fear,
everything that we hate, and anything that disrupts our lives from their
normal courses gathers together to wreak havoc.

We had incredible summer-like weather earlier this week.  Highs were in the
upper 80s.  The sun showed off the golds and reds of the trees.  Then the
cold front came through and it rained and rained and rained with
hair-raising shows of electric lightning and classic thunder booms.  And
then temps dropped like a rock.

Our hot water heater went out the night of the storm and we found wet floors
the next morning.  Of course, the water was on our new carpet.  Good old Ray
sucked up the excess moisture with the steam cleaner and got the fans
blowing to dry out the carpet.  He tried to light the pilot light on the
water heater, but no go, and after looking around, he determined that the
water heater died a painful death during the storm and the water from the
heater was what got our carpet wet.

He went to Home Depot and ordered a new hot water heater and it was to be
installed on Friday, October 7.  Now our water heater is not “normal.”  Our
house is custom designed and I think whoever the designer was forgot to
leave room for the water heater.  So the heater ended up being stuck in the
crawl space, which doesn’t have a cement floor, in a hole dug in the ground.
Because the hot water heater wasn’t vented correctly, if the wind came up
strong enough, it could blow out the pilot light.  The pilot light’s
location was within the hole in the ground and so with a mirror and a
prayer, it could be re-lit after a million attempts.

Ray got the area all cleaned out.  He laid extra carpet down, so the new and
old water heaters wouldn’t damage our new carpet.  He was up and ready at 6
am when the technicians showed up.  Well, the first thing they discovered
was the bad venting and in order to correct that, it would cost over $2,000.
But if they put in an electric water heater, the cost would be around
$1,500.  So we decided to put in an electric heater.  An electrician came
out and got the wiring all set up and then Ray waited and waited and waited
for the hot water technicians to come back (they had gone out to another
job).  He called and called and they kept telling him that they would be
right there.

Meanwhile, my car went in for its 80,000 maintenance check and I also needed
a new headlight.  The maintenance appointment is when they check on all the
systems, top off the fluids, change the oil, and look for problems.  There
were two problems – my car needed an oxygen sensor and a fan belt.  Those
problems cost me more than I was anticipating, but the work was done, my car
was ready when I got off work, and I got to drive a 2006 Jetta that day.  So
that wasn’t too bad, except the cost was more than I was anticipating.  A
convergence of a minor inconvenience, I guess.

Our realtor had a realtor’s open house for our home this week.  About 14
agents came and then left comments.  Evidently, there is still a pet odor in
the house.  OK, my dogs are dead.  We put in new carpet.  Ray sealed off
some of the bad floorboards.  Where could the smell be coming from?  Ray
thinks it might be coming from the couches, so I’ll spray them with
something today.  Otherwise, they liked the house and the backyard.  The
other detriment they mentioned is our detached garage.  Well, I can’t do
much about that.

My agent is having an open house on Sunday, so we’ll get the house ready
today.  I got some ideas about smell, like bread, coffee, and cinnamon air
fresheners we can use, from the internet.  As hokey as it sounds, I’ll load
up the CD player on the stereo and play classical music.  Candles?  I’ll try
those, too.  While our house is open, we can visit houses that I compiled
from a list of open houses.  I have to remember that I can only look and not
buy.

Now back to that water heater . . . When I got home from work, I angrily
called the water heater installers and told them to tell me the truth.  If
they couldn’t install the water heater that day, then let me know if they
could do it on Saturday or Sunday or whenever, but don’t keep telling me
that they’re on their way.  He finally admitted they wouldn’t be able to
come to our house until after 7 pm, because one of the technicians was in
Wisconsin and had an hour and a half drive to the Cities.

I was so angry, I couldn’t even function properly, so I spent the evening in
our bedroom trying to block out my bad thoughts by reading People magazine
and learning more about Prince William’s girlfriend.

They finally got to our house after 7:30 pm.  I could hear banging and
clanking as they dragged out the old heater and brought in the new.  Shortly
before 9:00 pm, the new heater was installed, the water was turned back on,
and we had hot water.

I was going to turn on the gas fireplace to warm up our loft, but the pilot
light to that was out, too.  Ray got a flashlight to look at it, but I told
him to wait until today.  My brain couldn’t handle any more convergence.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net

http://www.bpwmn.org
Business and Professional Women of Minnesota

Men say that in this midnight hour,
The disembodièd have power
To wander as it liketh them,
By wizard oak and fairy stream.
~William Motherwell