Monday, May 4.
We took the day off of work today to do work around the
house, and finish (ha ha) moving in.
morning:
We go down to Orchard Supply Hardway, and I empty my wallet
on the counter, and buy as much stuff as I can. I
understand this is a common act of homeowners. We buy such
luxuries as towel racks.
Afternoon:
Hey, you know what? Our old phone has been turned off, but
we don't have our new phone turned on yet. I thought they
would switch at the same time. Right now, if you call the
old number, it says to please call the new number. If you
call the new number, it says that it is no longer in
service. (Kinda reminds me of the joke, How do you keep a
blonde busy? [over] How do you keep a blond busy? [over]..)
Anyway, I call them up around 1:00, and they have no idea
who I am, no idea about my new phone number, and no idea
in general. After about 20 minutes of convincing them that
I exist, and talking to various managers, I am told that it
will be taken care of, and they will call me later. I then
vanish into Pac Bell's Black Hole(tm)...
later that afternoon....:
Hey, you know what? I still don't have phone hooked up. I
use Jill's cell phone this time (she has one of those deal
that has "free" anytime minutes) and I spend 33 minutes
talking with 3 people, who have finally figured out who I
am, but don't understand what I want... sigh... After 33
minutes, the woman tells me, "Oh, your hookup will take
place by 5:00." She promised me that it would be there..
5:00 pm
Hey, the phone guy came out to install two brand new
phones.... huh? Well, ok. He hooked them up and left.
Super, now I can call out. But wait a minute, how come I
can call my number from my phone, and it rings? Well, they
installed line #1 into line #2, and vise-versa. Crap! I go
out to the phone box, and discover the spagetti that is my
new hell. The previous owners had three lines, and rather
than running two cables (2 lines in one cable, 1 line in the
other) they decided to run three cables all throughout the
house. I figure out how to swap the two lines, call the
number, and its busy. Good. I verify by using the cell
phone. Yeah, it works! Looks like they got it
rightholdoneaminute. There is no caller-id coming up. The
flubbed up this part of the order too. I call up Pac Bell,
but they have closed their office by now (now I now why they
install lines at 5:00)
5:30
Someone at Pac Bell calls me (on my cell phone) to ask if
everything is OK. There is a God! ;-) I explain each and
every mix up, and she promises that she will take care of
it. I then end up in the Pacific Bell Black Hole(tm)
I spend the rest of the evening until dark trying to figure
out the spagetti phone setup. I manage to disconnect the
one working phone line only once. I failed to get line two
anywhere, and had to give up because of bugs (the ones that
draw blood) and darkness.
Evening
Install the luxuries bought earlier in the day. While I am
playing "Tool Time" Jill is unpacking boxes (and doing a
damn good job of it too!)