Whoopee!! The air conditioning is fixed and I'm almost back to myself. It's amazing how trying to work in a very hot house drains the spirit and the energy to a point where you can barely function. I've gotten so much done since wonderful Daniel, a repairman who actually knows what he's doing, restored my air conditioning and my sanity along with it.
Okay, so we're clicking along on the final draft of THE DEVIL'S DUE. I was talking to my writer's group the other night about what it feels like to finally know that the effort of fourteen years will be in print next year. Why, having the AC fixed almost feels as good. Not quite...but almost.
Everything has to have a bit of a benefit. The next time I'm writing about someone sweltering, or hopping mad, I'll think about last week.
I've had to slow down to posting once a week because there are so many things in various stages of completion, I finally acknowledged that I need a schedule. I admit I sometimes picture myself as Wonder Woman, but even those magic bracelets don't give you an extra three or four hours in a day.
Next time I'll talk about writing very emotional scenes and the difference between writing them in third person vs. first person. Until then,
---Arliss Adams
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
IS IT HOT ENOUGH FOR YOU?
This time I'm not going to write about writing! Today's post is about frustration--frustration with lack of quality control, knowledgable service people and heat. Heat was my trigger, I guess. The upstairs air conditioning has been out of order for days now. Every time the serviceman comes, he says, "Okay. It's fixed." Then five minutes later, the beast quits working again.
In some places it might be tolerable, but not when the temperature outside is hitting 105 and higher, and it's 85 upstairs where my office is located. That tends to make my temper flare. So, today's mechanical meltdown was the last straw and I hit the wall.
This was call number three, because calls one and two...well, I guess the fact that number three was necessary sort of explains it. Anyway, this time I told him I thought it might be the thermostat, because although it's set at seventy-six, nothing happens. Nothing but watching the temperature climb, and climb and finally hit the mid-eighties, while I slowly degenerate into a limp puddle.
He went into a long explanation of the fact that this thermostat model is programmable and it shows a program, which he was sure was the problem. Even though I told him I tried to reprogram it and it wouldn't take, then changed the batteries twice and hadn't had this problem in the seven years I've been in this house, he insisted it was the program and was ready to leave.
That's when I got mad. I told him to try to reprogram it. No--he couldn't do that, because his company didn't want people getting mad at him if the programming was wrong. We went around and around, with me trying to point out that even if the elusive cause of the problem was this program that suddenly popped up...one that hadn't been there before...it had to be something else. I insisted that if he would only look at it he could see that every period showed that it was programmed in the seventies, but the unit wouldn't come on. He started to leave.
That's when I lost it and demanded that he wipe out whatever was programmed. I must have appeared manic, because he consented to try, and guess what? When he tried to reprogram it, he couldn't. He said what I'd been trying to tell him during the entire service call: there must be something wrong with the thermostat. He grudgingly installed a new one, insisting that should take care of it. And, it did. For all of five minutes after he left. Then the fan stopped again. Sorry...did I mention that his first two service calls involved the fan?
Okay, I flipped the breaker and the fan came on again. For another five minutes or so. Then it went off. About half an hour later it came on again just as I was on the phone with the contractor, about to raise hell. Instead, I told them I would watch it. And I did...for another five minutes, when it went off again, right after I hung up on them.
Have you ever wanted to just scream to get rid of the mounting frustration? When I called back, I insisted that they send someone else. I was told that the problem was, the senior tech was very busy. I wasn't surprised. He must be straightening out everything the other guy did. The operator suggested that if I was in a hurry, they would send the same man tomorrow. I flatly refused and was able to get an appointment two days from now.
Here's my question. What ever happened to sending someone who knew enough about air conditioning to properly check to make sure things are working? Where is that guy who knows how to find out what the problem is? I see more and more of this in so many service fields, and I'm beginning to feel that the old tradesman who knew what he was doing may be moving toward extinction.
But maybe I'll feel better when the temp is back down to a liveable level. Do you suppose they might actually send a repairman who has a clue about how to keep the air conditioning running for more than five minutes? If so, I need for him to perform his magic.
Until then, I think I'll go sit on a cake of ice.
--Arliss Adams
In some places it might be tolerable, but not when the temperature outside is hitting 105 and higher, and it's 85 upstairs where my office is located. That tends to make my temper flare. So, today's mechanical meltdown was the last straw and I hit the wall.
This was call number three, because calls one and two...well, I guess the fact that number three was necessary sort of explains it. Anyway, this time I told him I thought it might be the thermostat, because although it's set at seventy-six, nothing happens. Nothing but watching the temperature climb, and climb and finally hit the mid-eighties, while I slowly degenerate into a limp puddle.
He went into a long explanation of the fact that this thermostat model is programmable and it shows a program, which he was sure was the problem. Even though I told him I tried to reprogram it and it wouldn't take, then changed the batteries twice and hadn't had this problem in the seven years I've been in this house, he insisted it was the program and was ready to leave.
That's when I got mad. I told him to try to reprogram it. No--he couldn't do that, because his company didn't want people getting mad at him if the programming was wrong. We went around and around, with me trying to point out that even if the elusive cause of the problem was this program that suddenly popped up...one that hadn't been there before...it had to be something else. I insisted that if he would only look at it he could see that every period showed that it was programmed in the seventies, but the unit wouldn't come on. He started to leave.
That's when I lost it and demanded that he wipe out whatever was programmed. I must have appeared manic, because he consented to try, and guess what? When he tried to reprogram it, he couldn't. He said what I'd been trying to tell him during the entire service call: there must be something wrong with the thermostat. He grudgingly installed a new one, insisting that should take care of it. And, it did. For all of five minutes after he left. Then the fan stopped again. Sorry...did I mention that his first two service calls involved the fan?
Okay, I flipped the breaker and the fan came on again. For another five minutes or so. Then it went off. About half an hour later it came on again just as I was on the phone with the contractor, about to raise hell. Instead, I told them I would watch it. And I did...for another five minutes, when it went off again, right after I hung up on them.
Have you ever wanted to just scream to get rid of the mounting frustration? When I called back, I insisted that they send someone else. I was told that the problem was, the senior tech was very busy. I wasn't surprised. He must be straightening out everything the other guy did. The operator suggested that if I was in a hurry, they would send the same man tomorrow. I flatly refused and was able to get an appointment two days from now.
Here's my question. What ever happened to sending someone who knew enough about air conditioning to properly check to make sure things are working? Where is that guy who knows how to find out what the problem is? I see more and more of this in so many service fields, and I'm beginning to feel that the old tradesman who knew what he was doing may be moving toward extinction.
But maybe I'll feel better when the temp is back down to a liveable level. Do you suppose they might actually send a repairman who has a clue about how to keep the air conditioning running for more than five minutes? If so, I need for him to perform his magic.
Until then, I think I'll go sit on a cake of ice.
--Arliss Adams
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
AND THE BEAT GOES ON
Still moving along on the third round of editing THE DEVIL'S DUE. Of course, that's only the third round of this journey. Over the past fourteen years, this section has been chopped, diced, expanded, tweaked and just about everything you can do to a manuscript. And yet, there is still more.
My editing buddy jokingly says he's saving stuff for rounds 4 and 5, but I don't have the heart to tell him 4and 5 belong to my publisher's editor. He's has become a DEVIL'S DUE junkie...must edit--must edit--must--....
One of the things I'm finding at this stage, with only a few chapters left to go, is that I've really come to appreciate Jen's growth and the fact that she found the strength to go on. I've been a survivor all of my life, but the things she faces are daunting. I've dealt with situations that seemed like everything had gone to hell in a handbasket and wound up on my feet, but she's rebounded so many times she's like that blow-up clown with the weighted bottom.
Still, through all of her ordeals, I've strived to show that she has inner strength. She just has to get in touch with it. And, I've made sure that good mixes with the bad, just as it has in my own life. When it seems like things can't get any worse, sometimes they do, but then there's some little ray of sunshine. Even if it's barely visible, that what you must embrace and build upon.
Jen has people in her life that help guide her along the way, but she also has those who would love to see her fail, or those that use her for their own gain. This is the tapestry of life. We've all been there whether it's in big or small doses.
That's it for today.
--Arliss Adams
My editing buddy jokingly says he's saving stuff for rounds 4 and 5, but I don't have the heart to tell him 4and 5 belong to my publisher's editor. He's has become a DEVIL'S DUE junkie...must edit--must edit--must--....
One of the things I'm finding at this stage, with only a few chapters left to go, is that I've really come to appreciate Jen's growth and the fact that she found the strength to go on. I've been a survivor all of my life, but the things she faces are daunting. I've dealt with situations that seemed like everything had gone to hell in a handbasket and wound up on my feet, but she's rebounded so many times she's like that blow-up clown with the weighted bottom.
Still, through all of her ordeals, I've strived to show that she has inner strength. She just has to get in touch with it. And, I've made sure that good mixes with the bad, just as it has in my own life. When it seems like things can't get any worse, sometimes they do, but then there's some little ray of sunshine. Even if it's barely visible, that what you must embrace and build upon.
Jen has people in her life that help guide her along the way, but she also has those who would love to see her fail, or those that use her for their own gain. This is the tapestry of life. We've all been there whether it's in big or small doses.
That's it for today.
--Arliss Adams
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