No end to the Kia Rio fun!

OK, so about 10 days ago I had called a guy, Bob, to quote the fence job. Then last Friday night I get home and mom has gone and found that farmer dude who committed to doing the job and showing up on Saturday. I go out and buy fence supplies and well, you know the story...

So, I had not held out much hope for the guy, Bob, who was to come quote the job this week. He said it would be Wednesday before he could quote and probably two weeks before he could do the work. Given the track record of the fellas around here, that amounted to absolutely no value in my book.

Well, on Monday Bob showed up to check out the yard and mom happened to be here playing with the kittens and letting Snuggie out for a bit. She tried to just go ahead and hire him for an hourly rate on my behalf. Heart in the right place. I, however, need to establish some parameters, like is this a 15 hour job or an 80 hour job you are going to bill me for? Fortunately, he insisted on getting approval from me, since I am the one that asked for the quote.

Well, he came back after I got off work and we struck a deal and he said he could start on Wednesday. Bob even got out a multi-copy form and spelled out the work he would do and the total cost. Points. He is the only person who did not go into a lecture about the fact that this fence would not totally prevent my cats from getting out of the yard.

I am always saddened and amused by how stupid or ignorant people think other people are - I mean really, they are cats and frankly, there is no containing Snuggie if he is not agreeable to being contained. Are most people really that clueless about the abilities of a cat? Maybe I am being snarky, but come on.

Snuggie chewed his way out of a soft sided pet carrier when he was less than 4 months old. A solid steel cage with a single breathing hole might do the trick, but otherwise, good freaking luck - this is really about reducing the odds, not eliminating them. Best chances for survival while still being a cat in modern day america.

So anyway, Bob says he'll be here on Wednesday but that I HAVE to get the utilities marked or he won't do anything along the street for worry of hitting something. Now, I have all the posts in except for the general vicinity of the utilities and where the gate is to go.

BTW - I have a fall back career. After looking at the fence posts I pounded on Sunday, which was all of them but about 6, he asked mom how many fences I had put up before. She said none, and he said something like, no way. He was quite impressed with how straight my fence row was and how considerably even my post heights were. He said looking down the line it just looked like one post. Well, I was happy with that, you know, my rule is 85% planning and 15% execution and I still stand by it. Given that I am blind in one eye and my "center" is different than most people, I felt extra confident in my ability to run a fence line.

So, if I get sick of office work, I may start pounding t-posts for a living. It is a good outlet for frustration.

Well, I am getting increasingly scared about Snuggies survival until the fence is finished, so the boy is on lock down. He has been across the road at least 4 times in the last 2 weeks. I cannot stand the thought of him getting killed within a few days of the fence and gate going up.

I was just out there calling him to come in and out of the corner of my eye I see a white streak clearing the short fence across the street and flying across the road. 2 seconds after he cleared the road a car came through at about 55 mph. Nope, lock down until the perimeter is sorta secure!

So, back to the need to get the utilties marked. I called and they said they would all be marked by - I am not kidding on this - 7:59 am Thursday. Not 8 people, 7:59. Even I am not that anal.

Well, when Bob was walking the yard with me he said he smelled gas and I should call the gas company. So, I was planning to do that one day this week. Well, tonight I hear a loud motor running and see a huge gas company truck sitting on the edge of the road in front of the house. 2 guys are out there trying to locate the gas line and mark it.

I go out and talk to them. They show me the gas line. I mention the gas leak and ask if they are able to check that. Yup. They get the meter, go to the gas line, it beeps like it is on a speed trip and the expressions they exchanged clued me in to a problem in the offing.

They pull out the more accurate meter to get a better read because that hand held reading was suspect, given how high it read. Well, folks, the quality meter read a 70% leakage rate.

70%.

Now the good news is that the leak was before the meter, so I was not paying for leakage gas.

I very well may be lucky to be alive. The meter is right next to the basement. The older guy explained to me the way gas can leak through foundations and create a nasty situation. In my basement, btw, with the gas furnace that has a gas flame on it.

Nice.

Now this guy, the one that is about 30 - oozing by the way, with boyish charm, twinkling eyes, a pin up boy smile and a disposition that causes him to smile alot (ok, I wanted to keep him, he was sooooo adorable - and his name was Kyle - I love that name) he looks at me, and I say "man this is gonna cost me a bundle isn't it?"

He says, "no, it is your lucky day! A month ago the gas company took over responsibility for the line to the house and to the meter and the meter itself - you are only responsible for the line from the meter into the house. Now if it was 6 weeks ago, you'd have a big bill to pay."

I literrally jumped for joy. The replacement was for their portion of the system, not mine.

So then, little cutie pa-tootie says, "the bad news is we have to shut your gas off now"

OK, remember that 75 degree summer day I spoke about? Well, it is about 36 at the moment and headed to 21 tonight. Yup, it really is still winter here.

OK, dead or cold?

Well, I said to him, I'd rather be cold than dead, so what are ya gonna do?

He went back to the truck to call his supervisor and said their 'might' be a chance they would be allowed to do the job tonight, but probably it would be Thursday and if I was not home they could not turn the gas back on.

Well, you know I was flirting with this adorable young man. You get more flies with honey. He seemed to really like me and was probably relieved when I did not become a raving ass when they shut the gas off. Thank heavens I am not pms-ing.

At 8 pm he said his supervisor approved the job for tonight, but they had to go get some equipment and would be back in an hour to pull the line and repair it. Well it has been over an hour and no sign of them. I hope they get here soon.

So, just another day at Kia Rio, where the fun never stops.

Ooooooooohhh - Bob actually showed up today and strung a 70 or 80 foot section of fence along the side yard. He still has to string the other 30 feet on that side, finish the t-posts, string the front, set the gate posts in concrete and hang the gate, but, at least he showed when he said he would.

With any luck the Rough Riders will enter the grounds and the IF this saturday!

Cross your fingers!