All for the views

I had an appointment to meet with a wood floor company up at the remodel. We had paid them to come out and measure the upstairs so they could give us a quote. Most places do quotes for free, but whatever. We are pretty far out here.

We had ordered and paid for the visit on July 15. They were supposed to call and schedule within the next day or two. After repeated attempts to reach them, they finally did call on July 26, and scheduled for today at 3:00.

So here I am, sitting in a vacant, half-demolished house, waiting for them. This is not where we’re living, and there’s no internet, so there’s not a lot for me to do here. At 3:20 they had called to say they were delayed. At 3:48 they were stuck in traffic (although my phone showed no traffic). At 4:10 they called saying they were lost. So I gave them detailed directions (they were very close by) and told them I would go down and stand by the road to meet them.

I stood by the side of the road for longer than it should have taken, and then called them again. They had run out of gas, within easy walking distance of the house. I told them they were within walking distance, and also offered to come with my car and get them. They refused to leave their car and said their boss would arrive “in 7 minutes.” At 5:00 I texted them asking them to please let me know if they were going to cancel, because I’m still waiting. They didn’t reply. So I called them again, and again offered a ride. They again turned down my offer.

At 5:40 they called and said they were on their way and be here any second. So I went out to the balcony to watch for them, and noticed police vehicle lights flashing through the trees about where they were stuck. I didn’t think too much of it, and thought maybe it was just the flashing of a tow truck bringing them gas.

Then at 5:45 I got a call from a different phone, with poor reception that I think was them saying they wanted to give me their boss’s number. But then the call dropped. So I didn’t actually know if they were still coming. So I called both numbers, and got sent to voicemail. So I waited a few minutes and called again at 6:00 (they are now 3 hours late and I am hungry).

So finally I reach one of them and he says that the sheriff made him turn around and leave Sandoval County! Uhhhh….! He said that it was because he hadn’t paid his insurance. But law enforcement is really lax here, and lots of people don’t pay their insurance. They don’t get run out of the county for it. Maybe it’s a good thing he never got here.

Meanwhile, a different wood floor company is scheduled for sometime between 6:00 and 7:00. It’s now 6:15, so here I am. No going home now. I had not expected this to be a 5-hour ordeal.

But we keep reminding ourselves, this house has great views. Great views! I can see police car lights for miles and miles.