pmsumner

Back online, in a limited kinda fashion. 56k dialup, meep!

Well, it's been one hell of a week. Friday I was in work early early early, 5am for Excalibur testing. Went OK and was out of work for 3pm, when I went home and packed like a demon. When Ian and Dad arrived on Saturday morning at 10am, there was nothing left apart from clothes and small stuff. Wasn't fun moving everything but it all went in the van perfectly.

At this point everything had gone smoothly apart from NTL. They were supposed to come on Saturday between 12-2 and pick up my digibox and cable modem. Fah. Dad and Ian left at midday, then I left at just before 2pm with them not coming, and didn't get a phone call from the dude until 2:30pm. I had no choice but to leave it there, I'll arrange to get it picked up from the agency.

Arrived at the new place at about 6:30-7pm. Walked in the door to find no lights working. Hmm, check the bulbs... none. Oops. Find a lamp and plug it in, hmmm... nothing. Check the trip switches, all on. Hmm. Hmmmm. This is weird. Check the meter.

GGGAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

It's a prepaid meter. Nobody had even thought to tell me there was a prepay meter.

I was not happy. I called up Scottish Power's customer services who were closed until Monday. I called up their emergencies dept who refused to help me. Apparently being without electricity or gas (heat or light) for a weekend isn't an emergency. I'd love to know how that works. Called the agency expecting to find an emergency contact number on their answering machine, nothing. Nada. Apart from being dodgy, I am sure this is probably against some obscure code of conduct, possibly even illegal.

Did the best we could, moved everything in and left it there, I stressed lots and called as many people as I could to try and get help, nobody was able to. Left a REALLY vicious message on the agency's answering machine, and went to the pub.

I was seriously angry, I was furious, I was mad, pissed off and if I could have gotten hold of one of the people who sold me the place, I would have hit them round the head with something very hard. 6 words is all it would have taken to tell me, and all this could have been avoided. *sighs and calms down now that's out*

I went to stay with Jane, it was all I could do. I could have stayed and frozen and been bored and dark and cold, but this didn't appeal when I had a warm lady to go and hug and help out.

Monday I did stuff, called Scottish Power who gave me a number with which I could buy electricity. Still can't get gas even today, 'cuz I still ain't got the card, so I have light but no heat. I have a laptop to provide heat though :) Bought loads of electric tokens and fed the meter, ignored the agency because I was still very angry. Went to work, which didn't go well - they hadn't bothered to change me over from Greenock to Dearne, despite being given 2mths notice. Ho hum. So I sat and listened in and did Atlas management all day.

I spent the first two days going to work one way and coming back the other, somehow. It was light on the way there and I couldn't recognise the roads in the dark! *laughs* It's all good though.

Yeah. Work is good, house is good, if cold. Getting sorted, but I'm still in partial chaos because I didn't get the weekend I needed to sort things out before starting work. Not a happy man, was I.