|
Post by MacBeth on Apr 27, 2009 15:57:47 GMT -5
Congrats, Calluna! Wishing ou many happy times in your new home....
|
|
wheelspinner
Are We There Yet? Member
Nobody's perfect, I'm a nobody, so ...
Posts: 4,103
|
Post by wheelspinner on Apr 28, 2009 4:01:42 GMT -5
Great news Calluna. You're in for a lot of fun.
Does the cat like it?
|
|
Calluna
Super Duper Member
I think there's someone on the other side...
Posts: 1,005
|
Post by Calluna on Apr 28, 2009 11:05:18 GMT -5
I spent yesterday afternoon and night getting the first two rooms prepped for painting (including pulling up the ugly carpet...left the padding down as a drop cloth for now). The fun part of the project was pulling up the carpet and making big holes yanking stubborn wall anchors out of walls...not quite as fun was plasting the big holes I made (I'm picking up some disposable pastry bags today...I think that will greatly speed up the hole-filling process in other rooms).
The cat isn't moving until the furniture is there. Plus, since they put down baits for the mice, I need to track down all the baits that were left in the main house and remove them before Ember finds them first...and to leave enough time to also find any mice that also ingested it already...I don't want her eating mice that were poisoned either. I don't think the mice had gotten into the main house, since all those baits look untouched. The ones in the garage have definitely been tasted.
Besides, with all the painting and flooring projects, I don't want the cat in the way just yet anyway...and it would probably just stress her out. I can just envision little cat paw paint tracks across carpet if I was painting while she was around...she just can't resist dipping paws into novel liquids.
|
|
|
Post by Rob on Apr 28, 2009 11:35:31 GMT -5
Hee. I always poke the wall anchors through to the other side of the wallboard and let them drop. That may be a gender difference.
|
|
Calluna
Super Duper Member
I think there's someone on the other side...
Posts: 1,005
|
Post by Calluna on Apr 28, 2009 11:47:36 GMT -5
I never even thought about just poking them through. I might try that on some. The biggest holes, though, were from the ones attached to supports for the shelving in the closets (none of which was placed at a reasonable height for me, so needed to be lowered anyway). Those did the most damage because not only could you not poke them through, but they had nails, not screws, with the heads recessed into holes in the plastic that I couldn't get a hammer claw or cat's paw around to pull out before yanking out the whole anchor. Those seem to be designed with the expectation you would never want to move them once you got them in once. Must be designed by men. Actually, must be designed by single men...any married man would know that no project is permanent. ;D
|
|
Calluna
Super Duper Member
I think there's someone on the other side...
Posts: 1,005
|
Post by Calluna on May 3, 2009 21:25:33 GMT -5
It's been a busy week, and at least one more very busy week. I got two rooms completely done from top to bottom. Paint, floors, closet shelving, even changed the outlets and light switches (they were beige and after I did all the painting, I wanted them white). I took two more days off from work, so can get at least one more room painted before furniture starts getting moved in (I might manage two, since there's still a small bathroom on the list). I decided that the first use for the one small room that's redone now is as a storage room for everything else I'm moving in until it's sorted into proper places. This way, I can carry in boxes every day and don't have to figure out where to put them while trying to get other stuff done.
And, most importantly, after installing all the flooring, I still have all my fingers and toes. ;D I think my knees may be a bit worse for the wear though. So far, just minor bruises and scraped knuckles. Actually, I think my worst injury so far had nothing to do with any of the actual construction projects...it's the giant bruise on the back of my arm where the door knob caught me as the storm door closed behind me when I was carrying out trash.
|
|
|
Post by Georgina on May 3, 2009 22:00:20 GMT -5
Ow! Sounds like you're making great progress, though. And, wooo! Moving soon. It's all a process, I realise, but it's super-dooper cool when it's done. I know you know that; I'm just reinforcing.
|
|
Calluna
Super Duper Member
I think there's someone on the other side...
Posts: 1,005
|
Post by Calluna on May 6, 2009 7:53:37 GMT -5
By the way, Rob, you're brilliant! ;D Poking wall anchors through the wall is definitely the easier approach, and doesn't require sanding down rough edges of a hole when done, because all the edges poke into the wall not out of it! I used one of those thingamajigs for countersinking nails (the name of the thingamajig seems to be packed in a storage box in the back of my brain somewhere) to poke them through and it was super easy.
And, then, just to show that blending male and female approaches works better than either one alone, I tried my new idea of a pastry bag (fitted with a #10 tip...just the right size to get spackle through the tip and fit into most wall anchor holes), and it also worked like a charm. I did still need to do a second dab of spackle on each hole after it started drying and sinking into the center a bit, but again, it required no sanding, because I just had a tiny dab that I swiped with a putty knife and it was all done. No big globs of spackle on the wall while trying to coax it into a hole it refuses to enter with a putty or spackle knife.
|
|
|
Post by Georgina on May 6, 2009 8:38:02 GMT -5
That pastry bag idea is brilliant. I'm going to have to keep that one in mind. Finding clever ways to fill up those holes has always been a challenge. Don't forget that tip number. I may ask you for it again one day.
|
|
Calluna
Super Duper Member
I think there's someone on the other side...
Posts: 1,005
|
Post by Calluna on May 6, 2009 10:01:52 GMT -5
Don't worry, the tip will be in my toolbox from now on (don't want it mixed up with the baking supplies!), so I can check the number again if we both forget by the time you need it again.
|
|
Brian
Super Duper Member
Posts: 1,081
|
Post by Brian on May 8, 2009 18:08:11 GMT -5
Congratulations on your new house, Calluna!
|
|
|
Post by gael on May 14, 2009 15:10:47 GMT -5
I went through your posts, vicariously wincing and enjoying ...at your descriptions! I'm very happy for you! When I look for a place, the house is secondary to the situation too. it's rare that you find one that has both that suit your heart. Thanks for sharing it all. You surely are a hard worker, Ma'am. Happy House!
|
|
Calluna
Super Duper Member
I think there's someone on the other side...
Posts: 1,005
|
Post by Calluna on May 15, 2009 13:25:27 GMT -5
The latest hassle is just getting my phone installed. I was assured I didn't need to be here for it to be connected, so scheduled it to be done while I was out of town so it would be on when I got back. When I finally got back to cell service yesterday, there was a message that they did need access, but since they managed to get so far as to install it to the one outside box (for some reason, I have two phone boxes, one outside and one in the garage), now it's showing up as a completed installation as far as the nitwits at Verizon's call centers can tell. I've been shuffled around on the phone with about 8 different people already, finally got one who could just send a technician out to finish the job, and was told that would be this morning...when I called back that morning had passed and there was no sign of a technician, I was told that it wasn't scheduled for this morning, but the time was left open for any time before 8 PM today! Oh, and one of the call people even told me I should ask my husband to check the outside box for a dial tone...I didn't even care to be nice at that point and gave her an earful about how insultingly rude that was, and that if she had even listened to what I was telling her, she'd realize I already did that myself and was trying to explain the situation beyond that. When I can't seem to find a single competent person there just to get my service connected here, they aren't going to keep my business. I've already been scoping out my cable provider's VoIP service. I didn't really want to have my phone and internet all in one bundle, but since the cable company hasn't been screwing up my orders and the phone company has, I'm going to go with the cable provider. And then I'm sending a scathing letter to Verizon informing them of the incompetence of their phone staff, the sexist remarks, and let them know that's why they've lost my business.
|
|
|
Post by Georgina on May 15, 2009 14:49:31 GMT -5
You mean your husband *couldn't* hear a dial tone? (Hee!)
|
|
Calluna
Super Duper Member
I think there's someone on the other side...
Posts: 1,005
|
Post by Calluna on May 15, 2009 15:49:45 GMT -5
It's a lucky thing I don't have a husband...if I did, apparently he needs to be told to do a lot of things. Well, at least while sitting home all day waiting for someone to show up anytime, I got a lot of boxes unpacked. I wanted to be at the old house tonight packing up more stuff, but I'm probably going to be sitting here waiting for a phone guy to not arrive.
|
|
|
Post by MacBeth on May 15, 2009 18:13:09 GMT -5
I have had digital phone via my cable/Internet provider for about 4 years now....it has been a very good experience, and considerably less expensive than using the traditional phone company.
So sorry to hear about the problems with getting service. There is nothing more annoying than knowing, no matter how much you hope thist time it will go well, that the technician will be late if they show up at all.....same for deliveries that require you to be home.
|
|
Calluna
Super Duper Member
I think there's someone on the other side...
Posts: 1,005
|
Post by Calluna on May 15, 2009 19:31:26 GMT -5
Yep, it's after 8, which was the end of the window when they said the tech would show up, and still no sign of him/her. As soon as 8:00 hit and he/she was still a no-show, I called the cable provider. It'll still be a week and a half until they can do the installation, but the person I spoke with said that he'd put in a request to do it sooner if something opened up (I guess that's if someone cancels). They still can't do it sooner than 5 days, since it takes that long to transfer the number, but 5 days would be better than 12. I better email my sister and tell her that my phone isn't working and have her pass that on to other relatives so nobody is worried if they are trying to call and I'm not answering or returning calls. I'm now going to draft a letter to Verizon and let them know why they've lost me as a customer. When there are so many unemployed people right now, for them to have so many incompetent people employed is something they need to know about...besides, it'll be somewhat cathartic for me to write the letter and tell them how badly everyone I dealt with performed.
Edit: And, yes, I'm amazed how much cheaper it is to use the cable provider's phone service! The regular fee for unlimited local and long distance service is about half what I'm paying currently, and they have a special going on right now for new customers that's 12 months of unlimited service for only $19.99! With Verizon, I don't think I can even get basic local service for that, and it includes all the features (and it was no hassle at all for them to turn off the call waiting...the customer service person I spoke with asked me about that since he said I was the second person today who asked for call waiting to be turned off. I explained to him that when I'm speaking with someone, I don't like to interrupt them, and that's why I do use voicemail, because it means someone else calling can still leave me a message that I can check when I'm done speaking with the first person).
|
|
|
Post by Georgina on May 15, 2009 23:15:23 GMT -5
The phone company has long impressed me with their imbecile-as-employee policy and inability to provide anything that looks like decent service and/or a good product. I've had all of my services -- phone, Internet, and cable -- with the cable company almost as soon as it was available here. I haven't regretted it one moment. The cable company even has competent, knowledgeable people manning their customer help lines. It's incredible. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise that the phone people messed up so much, Calluna. The cable people may pleasantly surprise you all 'round.
|
|
Calluna
Super Duper Member
I think there's someone on the other side...
Posts: 1,005
|
Post by Calluna on May 16, 2009 7:25:23 GMT -5
I haven't had any complaints with the cable people. I had just preferred keeping some services separate so that if a cable line was down, I would still have phone, or if a phone line was down, I'd still have internet, so I wasn't completely without communications. But, yeah, since the cable companies have competent people working for them (sometimes it has taken going through a couple people before I get to someone who can help me, but that's generally because they tier their support that you start out with the person who handles all the easy "Did you check if it's plugged in?" issues first, and then have to get bumped up a level or two for the more complicated problems (I always seem to be more complicated than normal ). I haven't had to deal much with Verizon before other than to connect service at the last house...I never had any service problems so was content with what I had. But, when you do have a problem, boy oh boy, that's not the time you want to encounter incompetents. My cell service is also with Verizon, but I think their wireless division is run as a separate company...they don't even share websites and for a long time, I couldn't even combine billing...now I'm glad of that. The wireless support people have been very good and I have weird issues with their wireless service because I live in an area where the company that owns the cell towers doesn't play nicely and share with other providers for some services, so whenever I get a new phone, I can't just call in to the automated activation numbers, because US Cellular blocks those calls from going through on their towers...I don't know how the FCC allows that, but it happens. So, that keeps me from ever wanting to use US Cellular, because I really don't like their business practices of blocking calls for other providers. The other thing I had been worried about with cable phone is they didn't previously work with the 911 systems, so I preferred having a phone that if I dialed 911 and couldn't talk, they'd still be able to locate me. But, they seem to have addressed that and now works with the 911 services. Like any technology, there are issues when it first rolls out, and as it matures a bit and gets more users, they can fix the issues and make it a better product.
|
|
Calluna
Super Duper Member
I think there's someone on the other side...
Posts: 1,005
|
Post by Calluna on May 16, 2009 9:06:02 GMT -5
Woo hoo, I have a phone again! The tech came out this morning...he didn't even get the order until this morning! When I mentioned to him how incompetent the people answering the phones are, he said he hears that a lot...HE even has trouble with them when he has to call in from a job for something where it's not convenient to use the laptops they are provided, and he gets a runaround of them telling him to do it through the laptop! If they can't even provide support for their technicians on the job, that company is broken. And, in spite of not having a husband to listen to dial tones for me, I was in fact correct that the wrong line was connected and I had pinpointed the correct one to connect all by my little ol' self!
|
|
|
Post by Georgina on May 16, 2009 10:24:50 GMT -5
Yay for you having a phone! Although, if you would have had a husband to listen for a dial tone for you, it would have all gone much more quickly. How bad is that when their own techs can't get support? I too was worried about having all of my communication lines with one company for the same reason. I though if one went out, they all did. Not so. I've had each of my phone, cable, and Internet go out, and none of the others was affected when one went down. Just so you know.
|
|
Calluna
Super Duper Member
I think there's someone on the other side...
Posts: 1,005
|
Post by Calluna on May 16, 2009 20:30:59 GMT -5
I wonder what magic husbands listening to dial tones can work?
As for outages, the main thing for me was that my cable has been out far more times than my phone service was. But, when it becomes a major chore to get through to anyone with a brain when there's a problem, that's more important to me than the lack of outages. At least with the cable company, when I call about an outage, usually they already have a recording that there's a problem in the area and they are already working on it. And, I can get through to a live person 24 hours a day. I just did that tonight. When I moved, there was a special package deal with some upgraded features...I don't know if I'll keep them after the special rates expire, but it cost so little extra for now that I decided it's worth trying. Anyway, I ran into trouble tonight using one of the features, because it was asking for a PIN and I had no idea what my PIN was...I never told it one! So, I called and at 9:00 on a Saturday night was able to get a live person who told me what the default PIN was. So, yeah, much easier than dealing with the phone company.
I already have a letter drafted to send to Verizon. I still need to edit it and polish it, but as I tried to decide who to send it to, I ended up opting to send it to the CEO with copies to the CFO and a few other executives. I don't expect they'll be the ones to actually read it, but I figure it'll make more of an impact to get read by whoever reads their mail than if I sent it to the local office without an actual person's name on it.
Oh, and the story even gets better! When I finally checked all my missed voicemail messages, there was one from Verizon telling me they were changing the time of my scheduled service. No, I kid you not...they called the number I was reporting was not working, even though I had given my cell phone number to several of the people I spoke with as a contact number while the landline was out, to tell me they were changing the time! What idiots! I mean, really, you have to actually try hard to be that stupid I think.
|
|
|
Post by MacBeth on May 17, 2009 13:13:24 GMT -5
I would copy the local paper as well - and any consumer reporters on the local RV stations. Does WV have a Utilities COmmissioner or something like that? I would send it to them and copy it to everyone else.
|
|