MOUNTAINVIEW HIDEAWAY: FRUSTRATIONS AND WORK

I had scheduled installations for phone, TV and internet at the beginning of our stay in order to have everything completed before coming back to Texas. Initially, we thought everything went smoothly with Direct TV but it has turned out to be my greatest source of frustration. The Tech came out and after determining placement and Dave sawing off a couple of tree limbs, he set up the dish at the very back of our property, before it goes down hill to the creek. He explained that it was temporarily "secured" to some firewood and weighed down by pavers and that he would be back out on the 21st to "set" the dish permanently.

The internet company came out a few days later and actually dug the hole, poured the concrete and "set" the dish all at the same time. Smooth as can be. The telephone line was another story. We had determined that we needed a land line for 911 calls since we live out in the boonies. The tech came out several times and for whatever reason (lack of knowledge or apathy over his job) couldn't seem to install a jack inside the house even if his life depended upon it! Our contractor Randy had ran the necessary wires through a conduit from the meter box (which he had moved to the garage when we had done the new porch and electrical project a couple of years ago) to the breaker box inside the house. The Tech told us he would have to cut a hole in the house and run the wires up and over windows and such but he'd have to come back out to do that. We talked to Randy who was just as bewildered as us over his inability to do the obvious and Dave and I decided to just have a jack installed in the garage, no one was cutting holes into the house!! On the day he was to return, he called and I explained to him that we were just going to have him install it in the garage; the next thing I know, a different Tech shows up to do the install. I explain one last time that the wiring is in place already, he goes in and installs the jack and was gone, all within 10 minutes!!

On the 21st, Direct TV was a no show and a no call. I contacted them to find out what was going on and was told there was nothing indicating a work order to finish the job. And yet...I had received an email confirming that the work order had been completed! I was told that the Tech shouldn't have left and it was considered incomplete...REALLY!? I was told the first available appointment was October 2nd which I explained would NOT work since I was leaving the 27th! The whole point of me scheduling things at the beginning was to insure that this sort of thing wouldn't happen! In all, I spoke with several reps but the one that really got my blood boiling was the one who told me that it looked like I was the one who cancelled the order and that I would have to contact the utilities and have them come out and mark for any kinds of lines, etc! I told her that me cancelling made NO sense and that no one, not the Tech or any of the other people I had spoken with, had EVER said anything about me contacting the utility companies! I set an appointment for "setting" the dish November 28th and told her that if it gets buried in snow or blows down into the creek I could care less! Once I got home, I filed a complaint and we are getting credit on our bill. On October 2nd, we got a phone call from Direct TV and the lady said, "You're Tech is here to set the dish, where are you?" I had to take a deep breath, force myself to be polite and explain for the umpteenth time our situation. Now I'm wondering if someone will actually show up November 28th? Give me strength...

The internet company gets it right and Direct TV is clueless!!

After a couple of days, Dave was having cabin fever and took a "play day". I opted out since I was in work mode and wanted to finish unboxing and organizing the kitchen. He drove up to Logan Pass where it was 36 degrees and socked in with clouds and fog. You can barely see Hidden Lake and he couldn't even see Bear Hat Mountain!

How it would normally look!

Dave didn't care, he was just glad to relax and feel like he was on vacation. I had a different mindset, I am already retired and no longer have any kind of work expectations upon me so I was focused on work rather than play. I wrapped up my work in the kitchen and decided to split the last of the logs that were in a huge pile in the backyard. Dave had chopped a little earlier in the week but I wanted to surprise him with getting the rest done.

Putting the Log Splitter from my Dad to good use!! This is about two hours in. It was incredibly easy to operate and so much safer for me than using an ax! I worked close to six hours and was just finishing up when Dave got back.