Monday, September 14, 2009
The ceiling fell
Last night, a little after midnight, there was a terrible crashing noise, & it sounded like it was coming from the other room, although it could have been upstairs. The other room, which is my "attic,": is where I have a new PC temporarily set up. I flipped on the light & at first noticed nothing awry. The bathroom was alright. Examining the other room more closely, I saw that a ceiling patch job, done during the winter after a radiator in the apt upstairs leaked, had collapsed, taking more of the ceiling with it. It was by the window, opposite side of the room from the PC. Looked like more of the ceiling could come down. It is a major repair job. I didn't think the PC was at risk, but I unplugged & covered the tower & monitor against any small flying debris & dust. I don't do much in that room, but I was mulling over the idea of creating a PC space in there, getting a few more inexpensive metal shelf units & storing the boxes neatly, mostly books., laying down a cheap area rug. So better it happened now.
I called Louie, the guy who fixes things, although this repair job is beyond his skills. If I had my futon in there it would be right under the ceiling collapse, against the inside wall near the window like it is in this room, I could have been seriously injured.
***
I never gave my Verizon phone service much thought one way or another until a year ago. That's when a construction accident at a new school around the corner shut off land line phone & DSL service in the entire neighborhood for five days. In the followng month's billing I looked for a five day deduction. No surprise, there was none. We all were charged for services we didn't receive. In all other matters, Verizon has no problem keeping track of what customers do.
I tend to pay the phone bill every other month by old-fashioned check. I suppose I could sign up for autopay, which I use for several other services. A few years ago I forgot to pay for three months & my service was briefly terminated. The total phone bill hadn't topped $100. What's more, the third unpaid bill had no pay by or terminate notice on it. I guess the low amount didn't warrant a warning but the time triggered the service interruption.
Apparently for those reasons Verizon will not permit me to establish a separate online account for DSL, mailing me offers for special deals every other day but only if I sign up for DSL online. So screw them. I went with another ISP, one I've dealt with for years without incident.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
I called Louie, the guy who fixes things, although this repair job is beyond his skills. If I had my futon in there it would be right under the ceiling collapse, against the inside wall near the window like it is in this room, I could have been seriously injured.
***
I never gave my Verizon phone service much thought one way or another until a year ago. That's when a construction accident at a new school around the corner shut off land line phone & DSL service in the entire neighborhood for five days. In the followng month's billing I looked for a five day deduction. No surprise, there was none. We all were charged for services we didn't receive. In all other matters, Verizon has no problem keeping track of what customers do.
I tend to pay the phone bill every other month by old-fashioned check. I suppose I could sign up for autopay, which I use for several other services. A few years ago I forgot to pay for three months & my service was briefly terminated. The total phone bill hadn't topped $100. What's more, the third unpaid bill had no pay by or terminate notice on it. I guess the low amount didn't warrant a warning but the time triggered the service interruption.
Apparently for those reasons Verizon will not permit me to establish a separate online account for DSL, mailing me offers for special deals every other day but only if I sign up for DSL online. So screw them. I went with another ISP, one I've dealt with for years without incident.
Labels: home furnishings
