How's that for a catchy title? If I ever write a book, that's what I'm going to call it. Just so you know.My day began in a most lovely manner, even though I woke up at 5:00, because my first thought was "Oh, I'm not going to school today!" I woke up early anyway, tidied a bit and moved things around so that the workers could do what they need to do, had a cup of coffee and ate a yogurt, and started waiting. At about a quarter to 8:00, I put the cats, along with a water bowl and a litter box, in our bedroom, which is the only room in the house with a door, except the bathroom, so it's the only place to lock them up. I had another cup of coffee.
The mattress came a little after 9:00, in and out, a quick delivery. So, no conflict between the mattress coming in and the carpet going out.
It's 9:20 now. Waiting for the cleanout guys, who are supposed to arrive between 9:00 and 10:00. They were perfectly punctual when I had them here two years ago. Since most of what they're doing today is picking stuff up and carrying it out, hopefully it won't take too long. (The carpet they're taking up is bound on the edges and not tacked down, except for the stairs, so that's not a huge job.) Now that the bed is here, I can go out and do other things once the cleanout guys are gone. We shall see.
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10:45. They arrived 15 minutes ago, a half hour late, but I had called the company so I knew they were delayed. They are ripping carpet as I speak type. They gave me a price before they started, and I gave them an "Aw shucks, hope you take a check because I only have XX in cash," because I have dealt with these guys before. The leader came back five minutes later with a better deal, if I pay some of it in cash. Well, sure. That's the some of it he's not telling the company he did. That's what happened last time too, so I'm okay with that.
I'm going to have to share my impression of immigrant workers here now, because I've had two sets of people in my house, all of them immigrants (legal or not, I have no idea, but more on that in a minute.) I've read recently that the largest number of illegal immigrants employed in this country are hired by individuals to work in their homes. I don't know where I would even find people willing to work like that, and I've never tried. If I need work done, I call a service of some kind, a legitimate business with a phone number, zillions of trucks everywhere, and commercials on TV. I assume that a big enough company will be careful enough to hire legal immigrants, but I'm not asking for papers. People who do their work are all I'm interested in.
So, the bed this morning was delivered by two men who appeared to me to be Mexican. As I often find with teams of workers, one of them didn't speak at all, but nodded hello as I showed the leader where to put the bed and signed the delivery receipt and such. This man was extremely polite and friendly and business like. It has been my experience that any of the workers whom I believe to be Mexican are the same. I don't believe I have ever noticed one of these men to take a break from work while in my house, either, not today (they were only here for five minutes), but even when my kitchen floor was put in last year and two men were here all day.
The cleanout guys are another story, not that they are rude or lazy, but they are hagglers, as you can see. The movers that I use are very much the same, friendly in an aggressive sort of way, looking to get the best deal for themselves that they can. (Now it sounds like I'm buying into a stereotype, which I am, in a way. Hold on.) The truckers, it seems, such as the cleanout guys and the movers, are Israeli. There are lots of small truckers and movers around this area who are.
It's not a Jewish stereoype of being cheap that I'm buying into, because that's crap. Israelis, it has been my experience, tend to be aggressive by nature, even when they're pleasant, which is more often the case than not. And I can understand why Israelis need to be aggressive. I'm just saying, is all.
The cats must be going crazy, with all the noise and such, and they can't even see to investigate what's going on. It's taking these guys forever to rip of the tacking-strips off the steps, which is really nothing compared to a whole room, and they don't need to do that. They were going to leave them there, which would be fine if the new carpeting were coming tomorrow and there were no cats to get impaled on them, but I asked them to take them out and they are. They've been here an hour now. In an hour and half -- a little less -- I have to leave to go to the Apple store, so they better be done by then.
Noon. They left about 15 minutes ago, and everything is in place now. I expected to do have to sweep upstairs right away so that the floor wouldn't be a hazard to the cats, but the workers did that. They were very nice, and did the job. They put all the furniture back in place upstairs and left everything as clean as possible.
The cats have been released, air freshener has been sprayed in the bedroom and the window opened. On to the Apple Store.
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3:00. I have Appled. Now all I have to do is, ahem, digest everything they told me. I took copious notes.
Waiting for the carpet guy.
The carpet lady came about 3:15. Picked out a nice navy carpet, and it's coming next Friday.
Talked to K. R just arrived. And I think this is long enough, no?
