I got up at 6:00 with the alarm, because I had so much to do to get ready! The electric meter guy was coming, and the sink/counter guy. Turns out I got it all done in like a minute and half and then I was just waiting, waiting, waiting ...During which time I realized I couldn't change the humidifer filter and I called the AC/Heat people to send someone to do that ...
During which time I realized the basement sink was backed up from the sewer line and at least it didn't take me a week and a half to figure it out, like it did last time, and I called the plumber ...
And it was 10:00 and I was waiting, waiting, for any of these guys to show up and start working. No one was late, I was just anxious.
10:03 - The electric meter guy is here and aside from being chatty, he's almost done when ...
10:07 - The sink/counter gets here and starts to work and the meter guy leaves and ...
10:20 - The humidifer filter guy gets here and figures out that the house water is turned off which is good because I forgot to tell him and ...
10:40 - My horrid old avocado sink and fifties gold-speckled countertop are out of the house forever, thank you thank you, and ...
10:41 - I am scrubbing the laminate walls that I can now see behind where the counter was and eeuuww ick, and you know it's not so easy to scrub when the water is turned off. But it's a lot better now, anyway, even though I could definitely be on one of those Oprah "Ugliest Kitchen in America" contest. But it's getting better.
10:45 - I begin to realize that this is turning into an extremely expensive vacation day, and I haven't even left my house once.
11:08 - In honor of this being the weirdest day ever, I have just eaten the very last of the KinderEggs. I got the coolest little toy, too.
11:14 - I begin to wonder if the sink/counter guy is having trouble drilling the sink opening in which case we're screwed, man.
11:32 - The sewer rooter guys arrive. They keep apologizing for the mess they are going to make in my basement. Aren't they sweet? Or blind? It is already a garbage dump down there, despite any ongoing efforts of mine to keep it "neat." They're afraid the floor will get wet. Yeah, so? How will I recognize the difference? Will it wash away the cat poop stains? Okay, then.
11:48 - The sewer guys are done but they can't test it because the water is turned off. Sink guy hooked up the sink fast, but it turns out he did cut the opening wrong and the sink if way off center. Sewer guy turns the water on (but there's no hot, why is that?) and pulls a big clump of roots out of the sewer and gets it all to work.
12:00 - In the meantime, despite my assurance that if he scootches the counter over, and fills in with some of the excess and it will be under the drainboard anyway so it won't show, sink guy says he's gotta do it right and he'll go out and pick up another counter and he'll pay for it and just keep the one he ruined and use it somewhere. So he's a good guy, which I knew he was, and it'll take longer but he wants it done right. So he disappeared back to the Home Depot, and ...
12:10 - Sewer guy left and holy crap that floor really was a disgusting mess, but nothing more than it should have been, y'know? So the oounter and sink are sitting there sort of attached and I can see it's going to look really nice when it's done, but GAAAAAAAA! I can't take it anymore!
12:55 - Sink guy is back. He says he turned off the hot water separately, so that's good, it explains what happened to it. In the meantime, Q is climbing me like a tree because her routine is all thrown off by these hordes of men tramping through the house so she thinks it must be time to eat. She is, however, wrong.
2:00 - The counter is in place and looks really good. He left a bit more of an overhang on the free side so that my 15" wide counterspace is now more like 20", which ought to be really nice. And I have a stainless steel sink! It's so pretty! It's not avocado! He's connecting up the plumbing now and then I guess he'll be done and I can start re-assembling the kitchen.
3:20 - Three-freaking-twenty. He's done, he's gone. Lest anyone think this nice kid was ripping me off here, here's how the money worked out. Even at $25 an hour -- his asking price -- it would have been $150. Including, of course, two trips to the hardware store. Remember, he also had to buy the second countertop. When he was done, I gave him $200. He gave me back $120. He said I had already given him more than he need to buy the original countertop. (I know, I had done that on purpose.) I forced $40 back on him. He really did work hard, and for way longer than he must have planned for.
This kid, by the way, is the protege of my best Chum at work; he shares her classroom and really looks up to her as a mom, and I know she is very very fond of him. She had offered her house as the place for his wedding, if he wanted.
Okay, I'm going to reassemble now. As you can see, I've had little to do all day except keep a running account of all this craziness, just for you! Go, get a nosh. I'm done.
