07 October 2005

delving the depths of waiting

cold wakes me. thermostat reveals furnace shd be on but isn't. barefoot in dark I stumble toward the mechanical closet. pilot off. I'm unable to light it. all my tries produce is a tower of burnt matches. must wait for light to call my electrical man. he doesn't know when he can come but he'll call.

I've done this before. there is an uneasiness abt waiting. the mind fails to concentrate. I do a bit of cleaning. I attack my coin jar. I read how beautiful the young Hawthorne was. I don't got to the gym. I don't turn on the computer because the electrical man mite call. I don't go to the store (so I eat eggs for lunch).

the day soon disappears & my stomach tightens. I've done nothing but wait. I hate to wait. I picture myself on my deathbed demanding this day back. the more I think abt it the greater my agitation. I hear my chest scream but the cat doesn't move so I know that the scream isn't real. dinner can't be far away. but can I eat with my stomach in wait mode? will the spinach in my salad slide down my throat? & if the salad doesn't satisfy will I be able to sleep as the house cools down again? will my mind be defining string theory as I attempt to force my eyelids to close?

then he appears. it's 5:30 & I haven't startd to slice the garlic for my salad. he gets the pilot to go on but it won't stay on. he thinks it's a thermocouple. he isn't sure if he'll come back tonite or tomorrow morning.

the wait continues. but I feel all right now. I see the possibility of a conclusion. I can go into the kitchen & prepare the salad.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

ah the waiting game. as if the helplessness isn't bad enough we occasionally have to suffer their complete incompetence.

last summer i wasted a day waiting for the cable man to arrive. this happened several times including one day that the wait went into the evening. i'd call and was surely on the list. i'd call back and be on their after hour list, they'd be there in less than an hour. repeat and less than an hour again. finally they noshowed again and there was no one to answer the phones.

i occasionally get miffed but lordy i was furious. the next am still mad i called from work and hammered the person that answered. i didn't yell but told them my problem and that i wanted it solved immediately. told them that i was recording names and that if they could not solve my problem to put me through to someone that could. i would hold for a minute or would expect a call back, but this was my last call before calling a lawyer.

bottom line was that i lost five days waiting for them, and besides their guarantee i reckoned i was owed a weeks pay.

i talked to boss, and boss' boss, and boss' boss's boss, and finally his boss called me back.

end result he promised someone would be out first thing in the morn, they were. he made good on their 'on time guarantee' and i got almost 6 months free service.

lordy the one wait was bad but others had pushed me over the edge. i was seriously gonna sue. eeks.

Alex Gildzen said...

hey Jazz Baby -- sorry you had to wait for me to reply. you postd yr comment while I was moving junk from the breezeway to the garage for my father. he assures me it's all gold. he also assures me it's better in the garage than the breezeway.

anyway I'm glad you got 6 months free.