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Saturday, July 3, 2004

The Money Pit

Everybody has a little bad luck from time to time.  I've always believed that the purpose of bad luck was to help you appreciate good luck when you have it.
I'm beginning to think that maybe the good luck is just a ploy to trick you into believing that all you have to do is just hang in there a little longer, and things will get better...
After I met Ray, saw his house, got up enough courage to go inside, made a path through the middle so we could walk, plowed down the weeds, hired some guys to pull down the crumbling shingles, hauled away the collapsed porch and deck, replaced the windows, painted the entire inside, remodeled the master bathroom, finished the basement, re-sided the house, and landscaped the front lawn, I was still pretty optimistic.
After the pipe to the hose bib burst and flooded the downstairs living room, the tree man cut down the irreplaceable second story balcony for no apparent reason, the garbage disposal broke and the pipes under the kitchen sink rusted out and flooded the laundry room, I started getting a little concerned.
When we discovered that the house had an architectural flaw that made our brand new, custom made bow window impossible to install without major modifications, and we realized half way through that turning the attic into a walk in closet was a nightmare, I started to worry.  A lot. 
When I tried to peel off the wallpaper in the master bathroom so I could re-paper it, and the walls began to crumble, we brought home the wrong fixtures four times, the township refused to give us a permit to replace the front porch that we had just torn down, and the basement started to leak after we finished it, I realized that worrying was not the answer.  I considered drinking.
Then ... when the master bathroom recently started leaking into the kitchen below, the central air conditioner died, the guest bathroom began to leak into the living room, the dishwasher needed repairs, my nursing license expired, the hot water heater rusted and needed to be replaced, the roof sprung a leak ruining the new paint in the master bedroom, and the refrigerator/freezer motor burnt out and all the food inside spoiled, allowing the smell of spoiled fish and fowl to permeate the entire house... I was getting darn close to ... panic.
But now ... my computer ... the one that has safely housed the unpublished manuscript that I have been writing for the PAST FIVE YEARS has crashed.  Self-destructed.
Most people would be numb by now.  But my pain ... has no relief.  I never did get around to copying my manuscript onto a floppy disk or CD, even though I had promised myself that I would do just that a thousand times.
Glancing over at MY blank computer screen, I am ... consoled by the fact that RAY'S computer is working just fine.  He still has all the scores from his skillions of FreeCell Games safely stored in his hard drive.  All the jokes from his Internet buddies are still intact, easily accessible and ready to be enjoyed again and again.So as I sit here, grieving over all my lost files, breathing through my mouth so as not to assault my nostrils with the painfully slow fading scent of fish and fowl from the basement, mumbling to myself trying to remember how I started that first sentence of my manuscript back in 1999, I hear raindrops starting to fall on the roof.  The ones that will be leaking into the bedroom and the basement in just a few more minutes.  Not to be confused with the bathroom leaks in the kitchen and the living room, of course.  But ... at least I now have air conditioning.

And I realize ... no one would even notice the smell if I killed Ray...

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have laughed and laughed and laughed at your entry.  Although, I've experiened the pain with you. The ending was great!  I am sorry though, that you have been through so much and that you lost the computer data.  Hopefully you can recreate an outline of what you had.  You are a superb writer.  I will buy all of your books!  Just let me know when they are out!!!!!  Did you ever read the Mitford series?  Your writing style is a bit like Jan Karon!  Good luck with all.  I know a good real estate agent! LOL!

Anonymous said...

And to think the "Money Pit" starring Tom Hanks was just a bit of fiction!  Oh boy!
Good story!
Happy 4th of July!

Penny

Anonymous said...

Lisa, you can bring the hard-drive (or the whole tower) to a computer tech and SOMETIMES, they can find your files and you MIGHT be able to get that book back. Don't throw it out yet. I had this happen years ago and some files could be salvaged. Make sure you bring it to someone who knows what they are doing. Good luck.

Anonymous said...

I think I would try to take the hard drive to a computer place.  They may be able to recover more than you think.  I am so sorry.

don't kill ray.  the township won't give permits to bury him.  then what you gonna do?  

kathy

Anonymous said...

Just discovered your journal and I am exhausted just reading it. Good luck, Paula

Anonymous said...

OMG Lisa, you're just too funny!  I loved the last line especially.  Reminds me of my line about finding a deep mine shaft for my hubby at times.  The men sure can drive us women nuts sometimes.  Hope all goes well with the house problems, been there, done that.  At least you have air conditioning, makes other problems a little more bearable.  Take care, Terri

Anonymous said...

LOLOLOLOLOLOL

Anonymous said...

LOL at the last line. Take your computer to an expert. They should be able to save your manuscript. After all, they were able to retrieve deleted emails off of Lewinsky's 'puter. It may cost a little but all that hard work won't be wasted.
:-) ---Robbie

Anonymous said...

LOL

The last line is fantastic. Sad, but fantastic! As always, great writing, Lisa!