First off, I'd like to report that the death toll of yesterday's disaster stands at 1. Lucky's paddling around Heaven today. Bless his little fish soul. :-)

To start my day off today I got a frantic call from a chick that rents a house I own out in the sticks.
At this place, the electric meter is mounted on a telephone pole near the house. The power then goes underground to the service in the basement.
Well, this morning a tractor trailer came down the road in front of the house, grabbed ahold of the telephone line (that's also hooked to the power pole), snapped the pole off and tore the electric out of the house.

I talked to Penelec while they were on the scene and came to find that I own the telephone pole and I need to get a new one.
My first question was, obviously, "where the hell does a guy buy a telephone pole?" :-)

So after spending all day wrangling around and putting this job together, paying electricians emergency overtime, and getting a new pole sunk so that power can be restored in 20 degree weather, I come to find out (10 minutes ago) that Penelec today passed a new dictum that their linemen cannot restore power until inspection is done. That's despite the fact that they've always made exception on emergency calls, and inspectors aren't available after 5:00pm.
I've come to find it doesn't even matter if the person in the house is on a ventilator, it still doesn't get turned on. It's "an insurance thing".
And because my luck's been going this way, today is day #1 of the new rule, and I'm the very first guy who's got to experience it.

I'm not sure what disaster #3 is going to be (cause they always come in 3's), but I'm starting to wonder if my patience is going to hold out. :-)
[Reply]

Man.. Scott, who did you piss off? :-)

Sorry to hear of the bad luck.. someone needs to bake YOU some cookies.
[Reply]

damn, I'll be more careful when saying I'll get even.
[Reply]

And you say I am a Jinx ?

Sorry could not resist. Sorry to hear of the bad luck.

Here is to some good fortune coming your way !
[Reply]

I think I figured out Disaster #3.
Perry's cookies aren't done yet. :-)
(Boy, I hope that's it.)
[Reply]

:-) Scott I think you need to step away from the oven.
[Reply]

You're right, I never put that together. Totally forgot.
Here I've been blaming this all on Al...
[Reply]

:-):-)
[Reply]

Disaster #3 will come if you don't hurry up and make Perry's cookies. Get to work! :-)



Sorry about your bad luck. :-)
[Reply]

So what does a telephone pole cost nowadys anyway???
[Reply]

So sorry to hear of your run of horrible luck! It actually doesn't surprise me that the big utilities are so cemented in their rules that they'd rather let someone die than break one!

Here's wishing you better days ahead!

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
James 1:12
[Reply]

you are not helping
[Reply]

I'm afraid to find out. :-)
The conversation went like this...
Electrician: "If the old pole weren't too high, we can set a 6x6 treated pole, otherwise we're gonna play hell tryin' to find a telephone pole. There's some guy in Punxsy that has em, I think."
Me: "Yeah, his name's Brian Bickle. He's unlisted and I haven't tracked him down yet."
Electrician: "How high is that pole, you suppose".
Me: "I have no clue at all. Maybe 20 foot, max."
Electrician: "You think it's bigger than that?"
Me: "I don't think so, but I wouldn't bet on it."
Electrician: "You wanna run out there and measure it?"
Me: "Being as you're going there to take off a material list, you think you could measure it when you get there?"
Electrician: "Good idea."

I never got a callback and I ended up with a 6x6 treated pole, so it's all good. :-)
[Reply]

You crack me up everytime I read one of your posts!!!
[Reply]

I don't have a problem with their rule, I just wish it started tomorrow. :-)
I found it odd that they never thought it out further than they did, or alerted Gaurdian (the inspection service for the tri-county area they serve) that they'd need to have an inspector on-call from here on out.
Someone's gonna get tore up tomorrow. Penelec's linemen didn't even know of the new rule until they arrived to hook up the service and recieved a call from main office.
The linemen are pissed, my renter's steamed, the guy who owns the inspection service is torqued, and so is the contractor that did the job for me. They're already lighting up the switchboard. :-)

I'm okay with all of it, Hugh.
It is what it is. If I get upset or lose my patience, then I'm gonna be miserable. It's not worth it. Being miserable sure ain't gonna pay the bill. :-)
I am dead tired though.
My back's shot, the house is in disarray from yesterday's disaster, and I have a full dance card tomorrow.

On a positive note, I got the new countertops today to undo disaster #1 and lo and behold, THEY MATCH!!! :-)
Sofaman just called and we made a date to smoke a couple of the DPG Firecrackers tomorrow when he gets off work.
And...
When I was at Lowe's I got a nice Dewalt Jigsaw and they had a 9volt Dewalt cordless on sale that I've been eyeing up for months. I grabbed it, too. It's ideal for drilling all the little stuff I drill out in the shop. I'm gonna love it. :-)

Thanks for the passage, my brother.
It's one of my favorites and there's nothing truer.
The way I feel right now is proof positive. :-)
[Reply]

Scott, it really isn't shocking to me.

the third installment in the series will certainly be something more electrifying.


In a good way... you could use it. :-)
[Reply]

That exchange cracked me up, too. It's been just like that all day today.
I could write a book on all the things I heard today.
That happened around lunch time.
The same guy called me because he got lost going to the house.
My directions to him were:
"...Yes. If you take that road from Sykesville and come to that stop sign in Troutville, you turn right then take the first left. The pole is about 50 yards from that stop sign you just told me about."
He called me for new directions when he was about 15 miles past the house. :-)
All day was a test littered with people trying to pull me over the edge.
I even got a call from the ex wife that ended with her calling me an f-ing something because I told her a Y membership for the kid wasn't my top financial priority at the moment considering I don't have an income and just suffered a couple thousand in disasters. Told her it'd have to wait a couple months.
The only reason it was f-ing "something" is because I hung the phone up before she got the entire expletive across. :-)
[Reply]

Scott, stay strong brother.
[Reply]

I'm perfectly okay, Albert. 100%.
I'm excited about getting the kitchen done tomorrow. It's gonna be so nice to put the house back together and make those fargin cookies. :-)
[Reply]

Well you still have it better than Lucky.....imagine if you got dipped in flour and put in a fishtank for diaster #3? Hope things start turning around. :-)
[Reply]