Year: 2004

Natalie will forever be my hero. My own personal rock star. My … oh, whatever. I can’t even gush adequately enough. She knew I was having so much fun moving that she was crazy kind enough to offer to help. Never one to pass up a good deal, and knowing that she has a minivan with a ton-o-room, I took her up on it. She came over twice yesterday to help. Twice! Once while the kids were at school, and later last night after she put them to bed. I thought Mike was going to cry when he saw how large the van was and how easy it was to load it up! If she ever needs anything, I am *SO* there!

So now the apartment is almost empty. There is trash to haul to the dumpster and a few items left in the fridge that I need to clear out. (Maybe two shopping bags worth, nothing major.) I need to give a good Windex shine to everything before I turn in the keys.

Then it’s over.

I feel like I am finishing the process of closing one chapter of my life and moving on to better things. It’s a good feeling…

I just reread the hang tag the cable guy so kindly left on my door yesterday while I was home. It says right there on the last line:

“Calls received before 3 p.m. may be rescheduled for the same day.”

What?!? Ok, so why couldn’t they get him back out here yesterday? They thought I was mad then… just wait until they hear me now! (Ok, ok, I’ll try not to flip out on them.) But I am calling. If you say you can do it, then do it! I called at 1:45 – well before 3:00!

Last night, while moving some bags full of stuff out of my apartment, I noticed that my neighbor walking past me had a smirk on his face. I was amused because I’m sure I looked odd carrying no less than six bags at one time.

Then I got in the car and looked in my rearview mirror. I had placed my tiara on my head because I wanted to leave it in the car so it wouldn’t get lost before Friday’s Tiara Happy Hour, plus I didn’t want to risk smooshing it by packing it in a bag.

No wonder the guy was smirking. I guess you don’t see tiara-wearing women just any day of the week normally. Oops.

However, it did make moving more fun. I think that I will wear it as I finish cleaning the place out. Wearing a tiara always makes life better. Try it someday – you’ll know what I mean!

The cable guy was supposed to be back today between 10 and 12. They came last week, but the work order was missing an outlet that we had requested be installed – so I had to book a second appointment to get the rest of the work done, and there would be no charge for the outlet. Needless to say, I wasn’t happy about having to wait again (the first guy was over an hour late), but I decided I would get some boxes unpacked while I waited, so it would work out ok.

Noon came and went, with no cable guy. I called about 12:15, and they apologized and said he would be here within the hour. 1:46 – an hour and a half later – I called again. I had not left the house, and by this point in time I had waited close to four hours. I was ready to snap.

Then I was told that the cable guy had been here, but there was no one home at 1:36 so he put a tag on the door and moved on to his next job.

I went carnival freak crazy on the poor customer service guy.

I had waited four hours, I have an apartment to finish cleaning out, I have things to do today, I haven’t been able to do anything because I am here waiting for them, and why on earth would I call the cable company 10 minutes later asking where he was if he had been here?!?

All I can figure out is that he knocked on the door and didn’t ring the doorbell. I was in the bedroom (maybe 20 feet from the front door) unpacking boxes, and I was definitely here. I wanted a refund.

The customer service guy pointed out that it was already being done for free. I pointed out that the original install wasn’t free, plus there is monthly service – I wanted a credit for the four hours of my time that was wasted. Or I wanted someone out here – TODAY. There is no way the dispatcher couldn’t get anyone back out here. I ended up crying, I was so irritated.

He put me on hold forever as he went to talk to his supervisor. He probably has a blog too and was posting about the freaked out customer on the line that was wigging out on him. It’s all different when you think about it in those terms, isn’t it?

He came back to the line, and apologized for putting me on hold for so long. Before he could say anything else, I profusely apologized for freaking out on him. I mean, he’s just the nice guy on the other end of the phone – none of this is his fault, right? He thanked me for that, pointing out that he understood how stressful it is when you’re trying to move and there is a lot to do and that waiting that long was probably pretty frustrating for me. He was quite sweet, actually. I told him that I hoped he would remove the blacklisting from my account – I don’t normally freak out like that.

In the end, there is a $20 credit on the account and the cable guy will be here on Friday between 10 and 12.

Now I get to go and clean out the old apartment. Ugh. I guess I got a nice little four hour break thanks to the cable guy – now it’s time to get busy. Anyone want to come and help?

I’ve been working on this for awhile, but with everything else going on I haven’t been working on it enough. I need to find a new home for my cat. I’m heartbroken and sad, and neither Jason nor I could handle taking him to the Humane Society. I just can’t do it.

Jason’s allergies are to the point where they have said he is so sensitive to everything the cats must go. We actually have two cats, but at this time I can’t give up Mona too. Baby steps here.

We picked a pretty “allergy-proof” house – hardwood floors and tile downstairs, except the master bedroom, so the dust mites can’t survive. We have leather furniture in the living room right now, and will probably replace that with leather someday. The cats are not allowed in Jason’s room – to help cut down on the dander. But it’s still not enough.

I got him from the VAP group here in Houston, and I am going to try to contact them to see if they will adopt him out again. I just have to know that he has a good home. If they can’t help, I don’t know what I will do.

So, if you live in Houston and would like to have a sweet, adorable, fun fat cat – PLEASE let me know. He’s all yours. I just want to save him from the Humane Society. I refuse to take him there…