Being retired, my days are mostly eating breakfast, taking a shower, exercise, dog walks, coffee break, shopping and writing, lunch, reading, sewing and TV, sometimes dancing.
Wednesday was different and tough. It started out with a contractor calling yet again to schedule the earthquake bolt and brace job under the house. Even though I loved his partner’s bathroom renovation of my hall bath, this guy was a bull shitter, and he hadn’t actually been under my house. He had drawn up boiler-plate plans for a foundation that I do not have. One of his crew told me that it would be too hard to do the job. I told him so and he sent out another guy to look at the job.
The young kid told me that there was nowhere to put the L-90s, a bracket with a 90-degree angle. Later, the bathroom partner called to say that yes, the job could be done. Then the other partner called again, and we discussed the L-90s.
“We don’t need them,” he said.
I looked at the written bid before me. There was a line item for sixty-six L-90s at the cost of $660.00.
“I can’t take that off the cost. Your job is really labor intensive.”
As I continued to discuss things with him, he threw at me his certifications, his 40 years in the business, etc, etc.
I fired him, as in I called off the job. It felt wrong to have him do it, like he was used to getting away with stuff like this all the time. He even said he needed to get his employees to keep their mouths shut.
That was the last straw for me. He was upset that the young guy who looked under my house had integrity. I almost feel like turning him in to the Contractor’s Sate License Board. We shall see if he lets things drop or not. He said he had already pulled the permit.
Then I got an email with one of my book’s translation into Spanish. The translator was taking my English and Spanish rhyming book and making it an all-Spanish rhyming book. He is a wizard. But he did change the story in a few spots to get the rhyme to work. And he changed the word for pea, throwing out the Castilian word and putting in an indigenous word.
I took a quick survey of everyone I know who speaks Spanish. My neighbor from El Salvador said guisantes. My friend’s daughter who lived in Argentina said guisantes. My restaurant experience in Venezuela was with guisantes (I ordered gusanos). My Cuban teachers taught guisantes. But the art is Peruvian, and the Peruvian word for peas is arvejas, so the title is being changed to the less-universal word. This comes up often with nouns, where Spain Spanish conflicts with Mexican Spanish on regional words.
I was out-voted. I can’t do a thing. I did feel better when I heard the book is going to be marketed mostly for educational stuff. Those teachers can complain or not complain. I’m just an old white woman and non-native speaker who has been fighting over Spanish words in my books for 30 years. Now, at least, there are people who know the language in the book business.
Then I went to the HOA meeting (first time ever) where I pitched the board for signage in the park next to my house, stating dogs must be leashed and pick up after your dog. They agreed. I even offered to pay for the signs, but they waved me away. It was a two-hour meeting. I could never be a board member. I don’t know enough about finance.
I’m glad that day is over. I only expected the board meeting, not the other two things to happen that day.
P.S. Two days later (Friday) Google Alerts notified me that my new book (about peas) will be out on January 24th and I can pre-order now at Target.com. Gee, that was mysteriously fast. Sometimes you have to let it go and see what happens.
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 