Uphill and alligators

I had to wait two weeks for the insulation company to schedule my job, but finally today was the big day. I was nervous – all the other house repairs hinge on this one.

I kind of knew something would go wrong.

A young guy from the crew checked in with me a couple times, first to let me know they were running late, and then to say they were 30 minutes from my house.

Thirty minutes passed, then 40, then 50.

He called again. “Ma’am, well, we can’t make it up that big hill. The truck just – stopped. We’re looking for another route.”

They were driving a big-box truck, and it was loaded with all the materials for all the insulation jobs today. Very heavy. Uphill.

My house is at 2000 feet elevation. There’s no alternate route that doesn’t go uphill – either steeply, or on sharp curves.

The truck broke down completely trying to find another way.

By mid-afternoon the company had cancelled the job.

I was irritated, to say the least.  The salesman had driven to my house, so he knew the terrain. The company has done jobs here before; I’d seen their trucks and that’s why I called them for the estimate.

Now I’m back in the swamp. I have to start the whole process again of finding a company, getting estimates – and delaying the painter and carpeting and repairs.

It was a bad day for me. The insulation being cancelled was just the biggest in a long string of house and work problems that made me feel like I was wrestling an alligator.

The house is a mess. Downstairs is unusable. Working from the couch is getting old fast. I really am not able to keep up with my project responsibilities; it is hard to concentrate with all these distractions and workers to manage. The time suck and money drain is driving me crazy.

When things are crappy, Tom and I will sing a song to each other from the old TV show Hee-Haw because it makes us laugh – especially the moaning at the end of each line.

Gloom, despair, and agony on me [oooooooh],

Deep dark depression, excessive misery [whoooaaaa],

If it weren’t for bad luck I’d have no luck at all [ooooowwww],

Gloom, despair and agony on me.

I thought of that young kid driving the truck. Of the salesman who made the estimate. Of the company losing money trying to get my insulation up to me. I felt bad for all of them.

And then, researching other insulation companies, I learned something.

They were going to blow in fiberglass insulation. But with basement walls that back up to the cement foundation, there’s a risk of mold when you do blown in fiberglass, since there’s no vapor barrier.

I might have just been saved from having to tear the walls apart later on.

If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.

Today’s penny is a 2014. That’s the year I originally got the estimate for this insulation job.

4 thoughts on “Uphill and alligators”

  1. I hear ya! My good friend recently bought a house in BC and was having work done, including installing hardwood floors. Day of the wood delivery, she got a call from the gate saying they would not allow the truck inside Big Canoe because the driver only had a learner’s permit for his license. My friend cheerfully said, “no problem” and drove down to the gate to ride along so the delivery could be made. Turns out my friend had to drive the truck herself to keep everything legal.

    Took awhile to make it up the mountain as the truck wasn’t in the best shape. She was a wreck since most of the driving had to be done standing up because she couldn’t see over the wheel. The trip back down was really scary!

    Seems sometimes getting work done in the mountains ain’t for sissies or the faint of heart!

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