1. We have been making margaritas lately and this recipe right here is SO FREAKING DELICIOUS and I have my friends Ryan and Lolly to thank for introducing it to us. Everyone must run out to Costco and buy a sack of limes straight away. Go. Now.
2. The downstairs AC unit died. If it was July and 110-degrees this would be a very big deal, but it's March and it was 66-degrees today so it's not quite as terrible. Our units (one for upstairs, one for downstairs) are 15-years-old and are pretty much at the end of their expected life and we knew this was lurking somewhere in our future but....bleh. Adios, many thousands of dollars.
3. I called nine companies to estimate the job and five were able to come over on Monday, so I had a pretty good range of quotes to look at and compare. One of the guys though? Oh my goodness, what a mess.
Firstly, he shows up looking like a slightly scruffier version of Jimmy Buffet. Aloha shirt unbuttoned one button too many, very casual, says things like, "I just have a good feeling about you, we're going to do some work together!" And at first it was kind of charming and funny. But then he stayed too long, over-explaining things I had no interest in learning about (even after I politely asked him to wrap it up as my interest in HVAC systems was extremely limited).
Then he said, "When your Da-HUSBAND gets home you can talk about blabbity-blah-whatever..."
!!!!
I mean, I know I am particularly radiant and young-looking (haaaa) but really? He almost said when my DADDY gets home? He also mentioned something about back surgery and being on painkillers and how they were making him feel messed up. Ohhh-kayyyyy. Maybe that's something you don't bring up to a potential client.
He says he'll email me a crazy-detailed estimate to review and he's sure he'll be the best and most awesome choice for the job and he's so excited and then (you see where this is going, right?).....I never got an estimate. I wasn't too concerned about it because I had a handful of people bidding but still, it did seem odd.
It got even weirder when he started calling, asking about the job! He was just SO EARNEST. And I was like, "I still need the estimate." I cannot hire anyone for anything without a price attached to it! He said he'd bring it by the house that evening and I was all no, dude. I do not need you to come by my house again. I have dinner to make and small people to put to bed. JUST EMAIL IT TO ME LIKE A NORMAL PERSON IN 2012 DOES. It's not hard to send an email! He texts me saying the estimate (that has yet to appear) is only good for three days.
All day long (Tuesday), still no estimate.
Today (Wednesday) he leaves a voicemail that says he left his phone in another vehicle and is just now getting it back. What kind of person loses their phone for an entire day? Why is he telling me these things? We are 48+ hours removed from the original visit.
An hour after the voicemail about the lost phone, I get an email forward from him. Oh! Finally! It contains my estimate and the estimates for two other clients with no other words or context. Just a bunch of attachments.
My estimate has a lot of words, but no number or dollar amount. Somehow, I am not surprised.
4. Claire has been playing Fruit Ninja on the Kinect and if that's not hilarious all on its own (it is, trust me) the other day Charlotte crawled in front of the sensor and started waving her hands like Claire was doing. The Kinect picked her up as the second player and Claire wasn't too happy about this and she shouted,
"Charlotte! NO FRUIT FOR YOU!"
Her tone was JUST LIKE the Soup Nazi. (Claire has never seen an episode of Seinfeld.) It was awesome.
Don't you wish there was something that automatically recorded children when they are hilarious?
Posted by: Raven | March 21, 2012 at 03:12 PM
Too funny! I literally laughed out loud.
Posted by: Mom | March 21, 2012 at 03:15 PM
Um, is the margarita recipe just as (or almost as) good without the beer? Roger and I both hate beer with the burning fury of ten-thousand suns....
Posted by: Salome Ellen | March 21, 2012 at 03:18 PM
So you are going to hire him, right? Just for the good stories? It will definitely be worth it.
Posted by: HereWeGoAJen | March 21, 2012 at 04:00 PM
HVAC sales guys are some crazy bastards.
When we had our new furnace and air conditioner installed a few years ago, I just never knew what/who was going to show up to give me an estimate.
Posted by: K | March 21, 2012 at 04:23 PM
Best Margarita recipe ever-TRUST-http://elzabelz.blogspot.com/2010/05/best-margarita-recipe-ever.html
That contractor sounds way weird. Those must be soem special painkillers he's taking!
Posted by: elz | March 21, 2012 at 06:47 PM
Well if you ever get lonely you now have your own version of the Brazilian pool boy.
Posted by: Erica | March 22, 2012 at 09:04 AM
Kids playing Fruit Ninja makes my heart happy. Mine is so freaking serious about it--the look on his face! Kills me. Your contractor sounds super creepy!
Posted by: Becca | March 22, 2012 at 02:20 PM
I am a sucker for a great margarita... but... beer? Really? REALLY?
The contractor sounds weird and more than a little creepy!
Posted by: Life of a Doctor's Wife | March 23, 2012 at 07:58 AM
That margarita sounds AWESOME. But I love beer. I sure would love to cheat on my diet and make one right now but I WILL WAIT. Puerto Rico, 2 weeks.
We've discussed getting a new HVAC simply for a higher SEER to help with our electricity costs in the summer (AAAHHHHH!!!!) and I was STUNNED at the cost of them. For 2 units? Uh. That's a nice new car. Seriously. So sorry you guys had to pay for that right now. It deserves its own savings category for real.
I love the "no fruit for you!" Made me laugh. Out loud EVEN!
Posted by: Mel | March 27, 2012 at 02:09 PM