I wash up by hand - yes I know...! I live alone, so I can wash up once a day rather than waiting for enough crockery etc to collect in the machine. I only use the dishwasher if I have friends or family for a meal. The first time was on Tuesday. Lovely day, lovely friends, reasonably good lunch. Loaded dishwasher - brand new dishwasher didn't work!
The landlord came round & checked that it wasn't me or the fuses. The electrician came this morning. There is power but no one at home in the dishwasher. It's not a cheap make. Don't manufacturers test? How could it be sold? I also thought that was what the Inventory person was supposed to do - make sure everything is OK?
Then there is the garden. I made it clear at the outset that I am not able to mow & weed, etc. There wasn't a mower or any tools anyway, (but the landlord did get one). I couldn't stand the state of the garden by yesterday, so I mowed. I had also done some weeding in short bursts. My main problem was the weight of the grass box & the difficulty lifting it. Getting the clippings into a bag is really awkward. The thing is it's a very small garden & there is nowhere for a compost heap to put clippings. So I suggested that the landlord gets a brown bin & I will do my best to keep the garden tidy as a goodwill gesture & so I don't have to look out on a wilderness. For some reason I don't understand you have to pay for a brown bin. He told me it was my responsibility - I don't agree. Yes, obviously, I should pay utilities & council tax. But a brown bin? Really?
Switching Utilities is meant to be easy. The government wants everyone to have a smart meter. I want smart meters in the rental - (Really don't want the PayGo electric meter!) I also need the gas & electric meters moved & changed from very old fashioned meters in a totally inaccessible cupboard under the stairs, in the house I have bought. The wires / pipes literally have to be moved from the inside of the side wall to the outside. "Simples." No!
SGN & SSE are both involved. SGN have been amazing. I only set things in motion this week & the gas surveyor did the survey yesterday. He asked me if I am a pensioner & so I told him that I am also a "Welfare Case" & theoretically have priority. The quote arrived in the afternoon & SGN are not charging me for the work because I physically can't access the meters. They do all the work so that my energy supplier can install the smart meter & SGN provide the new external box. So totally efficient & really nice with it.
SSE on the other hand don't seem to be sending anyone to survey. They just want me to supply all relevant information by email - e.g. the type of meter, the serial number, a photo of the meter etc. (The SGN gas man had to lie on the floor, half in & half out of the understairs cupboard to see the gas meter! There is no way I could do that.) They asked me to do that after I had told them about my medical conditions.
SSE don't provide the box, I have to source that. On the day the work is done I have to arrange for my electrician to be there with my utility provider to all do the installation simultaneously. I know from the situation at my rental that there is a long wait time for fitters to install smart meters. There is a backlog & not enough trained fitters. So getting 3 people from different companies on site at the same time is going to be tricky. Nothing like the seamless & helpful way SGN operate.
Finally there is my money. I sold my house for more than I paid for my new one. The surplus, after the huge bills, is in a bank account paying virtually no interest. I tried - 7 times, to transfer money into an account paying a slightly bigger pittance of interest. You have to do it from the receiver bank website for some reason. It kept telling me the transaction was declined & to contact my source bank. I changed the amount several times because I know that banks have different amounts they will process. I phoned my source bank many times. That involved lots of menus, lots of different people working from home, lots of security, lots of dreadful music & huge amounts of time & frustration. My source bank assured me that they had sorted the problem - many times. They hadn't. To cut the story short, I've ended up having to do 4 small transactions from the source bank, one every 24 hours, to get my money from one bank to another. Apparently it's because it's an unusually large transaction. It's ridiculous. I proved it was me & where the money came from. They must know I'm not a money launderer.
I keep telling myself life is complex - Change is hard to manage - It will all be OK eventually - I am actually a very fortunate person. I keep the vision of what I am trying to achieve at the forefront of my mind.
But I haven't even started renovating my house & garden & building an extension yet.
I really need to maintain a Zen like calm & remember my Buddhist teachings. Or I might just go completely potty!
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