(Here comes your) 19th Nervous Breakdown
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| Chapter 6 (Here comes your) 19th Nervous Breakdown |
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| Table of Contents | |||||||||||
| Days 164 & 165 - It's the weekend. Robert and I meet and go out to Suffolk County to SL Metals (the place that's going to refinish my radiators) to pick colors. We couldn't just borrow the book of colors, we had to go out. Gunmetal, Silk Blue and Victory Grey are the candidates. Kevin (of SL Metals) is going to make up some samples and send them to me. BTW, the weather is great. Saturday is November 1st-- Indian Summer. | |||||||||||
| Day 163 - It's Halloween (Boo!). I go up to the apartment in the late afternoon. John and Bobby are gone for the day, Otto is just leaving. He goes back in to turn on the lights for me. Warren was there and hooked some lights up to switches! I see that my dishwasher has been put in and my wine refrigerator! Granted they're hidden under cardboard and plastic, but I know they're there. I go into the back bathroom with much trepidation. There are, in fact, tiles on the walls! John has started tile my bathroom! Yay! It's Day 164 and my bathroom is started! We're definitely on a roll now... | |||||||||||
| Day 162 - Thurs. - I meet Robert to look at kitchen faucets and cabinet and drawer pulls. We get some samples of handles and go up to the apartment. John is there, with Bobby and Otto, and they are working! All the doors are hung (and I now realize we didn't think about hinge color when we were choosing the door knobs). Cutting and sawing is going on. John's not very talkative today. Robert and I count cabinet and drawer fronts about five times and alternately come up, between us, with any number ranging from 58 to 65 handles needed. I have to look at the plan of the kitchen and count the cabinets and drawers. John says he is going to start tiling the back bathroom tomorrow and Warren is supposed to come and do something with the lights. | |||||||||||
| Day 161 - I don't go up to the apartment. John has already told me he's not going to be there-- parent teacher conference. I'm not sure what his wife (who doesn't work) does with her days. Anyway, with any luck somebody is up there working. | |||||||||||
| Day 160 - I went up to the apartment at about 6 o'clock. I needed a flashlight to find the junction box and could only find one working switch. With that, I was able to see that, in fact, the Advantium, the regular oven and warming drawer are all installed. I couldn't see anything else. I, once again, curse many things. Now, I'm including Daylight Savings Time. | |||||||||||
| Day 159 - Monday, October 27, 2003 - I got in from Argentina at 6am, showered, changed and went to the apartment. After bursting into tears, I called John, who said he was on his way over. I told him I would wait for him. When he got there, I mentioned to him that I had been gone for a week and the only thing that was new was that two doors were hung. He said, "no, I did some stuff in the kitchen." I went into the kitchen with him and, trying to stifle crying, I told him, it looked to me like I was gone for a week and the only thing that was done was that TWO DOORS WERE HUNG. Long story short, he apologized, gave some excuses and said he was bringing over a whole crew and that things would start moving along now. I almost fell for it. I can't help it, I have a slight amount of hope. I met Robert in the afternoon and we looked at doorknobs (big sale at Simon's) and then went to Waterworks to look at Absolute Black tile. It's as absolute as we're going to get and with an enhancer it will look just the way I want it, so I order it. Robert speaks to John, who tells him to tell me, that my Advantium "speedcook" oven, my regular Dacor oven and my warming drawer are all installed. That's more work than has been done in my apartment in two weeks... uff. | |||||||||||
| Days 150-158 - Thursday, October 18-Sunday, October 26, 2003 - I went to Argentina for a week with my parents. Saw some relatives, drank some wine, ate some beef. It was great. | |||||||||||
| Day 149 - Fri. - John's at the apartment today (I think). I speak to Robert. He's fine. Just busy on stuff that's not mine. We go over a number of things: the fireplace logs-- where are they?; tiles-- new absolute black, the calcutta white for the front bathroom; the stacking kit for my washer/dryer-- they didn't sell it to me when I bought the washer/dryer, now I have to spend $5 shipping for a $2 part! I tell Robert I'm not happy with the cutout for shampoo and soap in the back bathroom. He had Ruben do it without asking me. I have waited all this time thinking it would grow on me. It hasn't. I have to have it changed. We discuss taking away the half shelf at the end of the tub, building up a wall, and putting the cutout in there. So, that's what we're going to do. Fordham Marble is now scheduled for Wednesday. John (and others) are supposed to be there all day. Tomorrow is five months. | |||||||||||
| Day 148 - Nothing happened. John didn't go to the apartment and I didn't even speak to Robert. I went through withdrawal. I worried something had happened to him. | |||||||||||
| Day 147 - Wed. - Apparently, Fordham Marble called last night and cancelled for today. I don't know when they are coming back. I go up to the apartment in the late afternoon. John is still there! Well, he was supposed to be there all day, but I can't tell what, if anything, he's done. Anyway, he's there. Robert comes, too. We go over lighting, taking into consideration the fixtures I've just bought, tiling for the back bathroom (it finally came! (yay!)-- well, most of it (boo!), and some of it wasn't the right stuff (argh!) (I want Absolute Black-- Nero Absoluto, but this wasn't absoluto), so we're sending it back (waah!). We go over the fireplace. I've decided on 16x16-inch jura gray tiles, with a black slate hearth, and a black slate shelf about mantel height. Decision 8,257 made. | |||||||||||
| Day 146 - John has told Robert he can't come to the apartment until noon (which means even later). The closet people are supposed to come between 9 and 10:30am. They come at 9, install all the stuff and Robert tells me the everything looks good (John's guys never closed up the light switch in the back closet, but they tell me I won't notice it after it's plastered, spackled and repainted). The granite people are coming in the morning also. John asked Robert to reschedule the Fordham Marble (the granite people), but he couldn't/wouldn't. In the end, the granite people came at about 11:30, couldn't get a parking space in front to unload (of course), found out that John wasn't there and left. They're rescheduled for tomorrow. John's supposed to be there all day tomorrow. The tile is also supposed to be delivered (again) tomorrow. Hope springs eternal. | |||||||||||
| Day 145 - Monday, October 13, 2003 - Columbus Day. John doesn't come. I'm hoping someone came and that the closets are ready for California Closets to come and install tomorrow. I think the window people came to remeasure. I meet Robert at Lighting by Gregory and in an hour and a half buy lighting for the hallway, entryway, dining area and kitchen. Yay! and urgh. | |||||||||||
| Days 143 & 144 - It's the weekend. On Saturday, Robert and I go to a marble yard to look at stone for my fireplace. Two large, expensive pieces, or 16x16-inch tiles. What to do , what to do... | |||||||||||
| Day 142 - Fri. - I don't go up to the apartment. The tile wasn't delivered. John didn't come. But, with any luck (ha!), someone was there doing something (spackling and painting spring to mind). | |||||||||||
| Day 141 - Thurs. - I go up to the apartment to plan out the kitchen countertops and island. They were supposed to come from Fordham Marble to measure and do the templates for the granite today, but they can't come until Friday. John won't be there on Friday (an observant Jew who takes Columbus Day off), so I had Robert reschedule to a day that John will be there. This one is too important and expensive to mess up. They're coming next Tuesday. We talk about insets for the shower (to hold shampoo and soap). There's not much room to play with, but we can put in something on the showerhead wall. The tile for the back bathroom should be delivered on Friday (it, too, was supposed to come today, but since it's free delivery, I can't complain too much). That means John can start tiling the back bathroom next week! | |||||||||||
| Day 140 - Wednesday, October 8 - I meet with the second closet person again. She inspires no confidence in me and I decide to go with California Closets (Closet person No. 1 - Suzanne). Suzanne goes up to the apartment to measure the small hall closet which I've decided to do at the last minute and John tells her we won't be ready for California Closets to install the closets on Tuesday the 14th. Three weeks ago, he promised it would be ready, but when I started getting other bids, he ASSUMED (you know what happens when we assume... ). Anyway, calls back and forth and the closets will be ready. Uff! John tells me that they are taking Columbus Day off, because it's a holiday. Really? I'm working, aren't you? So, I speak to Gary, the managing agent and although it's true, he will let them go in to paint and spackle. So that's what they're going to do. This way, there's a chance that they won't be installing the closets on wet paint! | |||||||||||