5.20.2010

The Whiny Post Where I Complain JUST Because I Can ...

In about 48 hours Matthew's plane will land back here in hot and steamy Chennai, thus relieving me from my single mom, and pre-pack out alone duties. I can honestly say that these past five weeks have flown by. Though as of today, for the first time since he left, I've pretty much reached my limit... I. Am. Done.

My car is still in the shop. The Toyota dealership towed my car to their shop almost three weeks ago, and it took them until last Friday to figure out what was wrong. Apparently they 'say' I need a new ECM / ECU. Maybe even another fuel pump. But that's not all. They call me every other day changing their story; They have the part. They don't have the part. It's going to cost Rs 50,000 (about $1100), it's going to cost less. They have to order the part from Japan. They need to search for it from Sri Lanka. It will take 15 days. Now it will take 25. It's going to cost Rs. 100000. Nobody makes the part anymore. So which one is it? I. Don't. Know. And I just can't deal with the apathetic attitude of the maintenance department and management of Lanson Toyota anymore. So I wait. Until Matthew returns. Because I'm putting him on the case. Maybe they'll listen to him. Or maybe they'll just nod their heads. I'm going with the latter.

These past two weeks have been quite busy with School Board responsibilities. We are in the final stretches of hiring a new Head of School (aka Superintendent) to begin in the 2011 school year. The search committee has diligently worked since December to recruit the best candidates, and last month the Board read through all of the resumes and selected three finalists to each fly out and spend 2 full days at our school. Thankfully, I was not on the committee, but I have gone to dinner with all three finalists we flew in, and been involved in two sections of the interview process. It's been a fantastic experience meeting with these three candidates, and hearing the directions that they would potentially take our school. Now we just have Saturday to deliberate over all of the information collected and make our decision. I'm sure that will be a LONG day!

On top of the car cr*p, the School Board stuff, and the internet outages that have me throwing my fists in the air, I've also been dealing with a now 1-year old who has turned from a sweet docile little munchkin, to an almost-toddler who arches his back and does 'the noodle', who only wants to be held when HE wants to be held, who wants to crawl around all day, and who loves to get into his sisters' stuff more than anything in the world, and who cut 2 more teeth this week. What is it with the 1-year mark that completely changes their innocent behavior? I completely forgot about this annoying stage. Oh he's now a busy boy. A busy, busy boy!

I went to the dentist on Monday to decide if we could take the next steps to fit my crown. After examining my tooth again, the dentist thinks that I still need to give it additional time to heal and see if the pain is truly gone. If it isn't by next week they need to perform the 2nd root canal. So far, we've postponed the crown for the 4th time while we wait and see. My next appointment is scheduled on Memorial Day. Who knows what we'll do then....

Cyclone Laila made her way through Chennai on Tuesday and Wednesday, providing a reprieve from the heat and enough rain to warrant borrowing Noah's Ark. Of course, with the cyclone also came incessant power outages, internet outages, and maintenance issues, and I'm still dealing with a tad of the aftermath.

So forgive me if there's a delay in returning e-mails. If I don't sound as chipper or even as humorously sarcastic as usual. I'm a little down in the mouth. And I'm starting to get into pack-out mode.

Ten days until the movers come. Twenty-one days until wheels up. It's happening folks...

11 comments:

Mom24 said...

OMG! I'm overwhelmed reading it, I can't even imagine living it.

Hang in there. This is insane and it HAS to get better. I'm sure having Matt there will help. Well, mostly help. ;)

Denise said...

Hope the craziness lets up soon! And enjoy the happy hubby homecoming! When things quiet down, yes I'd love to get info on your friend in Dhaka, thank you. You can post or send via the spouse yahoo group. There isn't exactly a ton of info out there on cool, touristy desired Dhaka! But we are still excited nonetheless.

Tks, Denise

Z. Marie said...

I refuse to believe Grady has turned into a mini-tyrant because Owen's only a week away from 1. Of course, there are times I already think he's a mini-tyrant. And his sister's stuff hasn't been safe in months.
Good luck with the "issues." At least you can send Matt after some stupid people, even if it won't make a difference.

Robin said...

Hang in there. A few more weeks and most of this will all be a memory.

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Ramit Grover said...

I'm so happy I'm not in your shoes!

Errr... Ooops... Sowwwiiieee!

By the way, you might want to ask the Junk dealers how much they would give you for your car. And/or sell it in the open market on an As is where is basis.

A Daring Adventure said...

Oh HONEY. I'm so, so sorry. Even just ONE of those things would be hard to take, let alone all of them together!

So glad Matt's going to be back soon. Hope that makes all the difference in every circumstance.

Sunny said...

Sorry about the car. You may as well ship it to California and fix it on the dock in Long Beach with better results. That is rotten. What is your driver doing? I make mine wait at the shop every day it is being fixed to pressure the shop, maybe I am a little evil, maybe I just like to keep him employed but it has worked for me.

I am glad you will be relieved soon. Life with kids is tough, life as a single parent in a foreign developing country-extra rough.

hannah said...

It's Friday, time for the weekly State Department Blog RoundUp - and you're on it!

Here is the link: http://bit.ly/amVBfj

(If I quoted your text or used your photo(s) and you would rather I had not, please let me know. Please also be sure to check the link(s) that I put up to you, in order to verify that they work properly. If you would rather that I had not referenced you, and/or do not want me to reference you in the future, please also contact me at stateroundup2.0 {at} gmail.com.)

Thanks!

Shannon said...

I do not know how you have held it together this long. A root canal, broken car, husband out of town, typhoon,school board, baking the coolest California birthday cake for a very active 1 year old, preparing for packout. Someday on the distant future this will all make for an amusing story about Chennai. Hopefully that day comes soon.

Christy said...

You are AMAZING! Your man is home now, or will be soon, and you can keep your eye on the prize - less than three weeks to go! Yippee! And less than three months till NYC!

Sara said...

Chin up, having your hubby home will make things so much easier. You definitely deserve a medal for your time alone in India with your kiddos. Super Mom for sure!

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