As I am sure that you have all been awaiting the conclusion of the saga, I give you without further delay, the second and final part of The Very Lengthy and Woeful Tale of the Great Westward Move, including Diatribes and Very Naughty Words, in Several Parts for the Edification of our Learned Readership.

Friday: We awoke and after breakfast I decided I couldn't delay any longer, and called our insurance company regarding the car. Apparently, as in most other things, Quebec is crazy, and the fellow I spoke to was really rather confused at first about how to deal with a comprehensive claim in Ontario. At one point he asked the question, "Was there any property damage to the raccoon?" although he very quickly realized that was a silly question. Anyway, although it took a while to sort it all out, the damage was covered under our comprehensive policy, with only a $100 deductible, and we are also covered for a replacement rental car for as long as we need it. Meanwhile, during the phone call, the delivery truck from Leon's arrived with our new mattress, boxspring and bed frame which we had ordered the previous afternoon (Sears, take note ...), solving our bedding problem. Moreover, the Bell technician also arrived to tell us that the problem with the phone was that it had been disconnected at the pole, and that she had now fixed it - and lo, we had a dial tone! So in the span of half an hour, the phone, car, and bed problems had all been taken care of. I went out to rent a car, and took the extended warranty in case I decide to kill any more raccoons out of spite. (The car rental guy informed me that officially he could not recommend this course of action, but unofficially, he informed me that I would be covered should I do so ...). I then went to pick up our new corner media unit. Put together the unit and the bed with the help of my brother, and then my parents and brother headed off, leaving us less frazzled than we had been. The Sears store in Montreal where we originally placed the order called us; the sales representative tried to convince Julia not to cancel the order and to allow them to re-ship the mattress from Montreal (uh, yeah, no thanks). We slept that night on our brand new, very nice bed.

Saturday: Mostly a quiet day around the house. We called Sears since we hadn't heard anything from them since Thursday, to get them to pick up the boxspring and headboard that they had uselessly shipped to us. Picked up the endtables to go with our coffee table, and put them together, thus more or less completing our living room (until we get the new TV). Heard from the repairs on the car also are going to include replacing the front bumper (which wasn't damaged from the front, but apparently was underneath), which is fine with me since it's under the comprehensive and won't cost me anything extra, but the adjuster and the service centre had no problem agreeing on the repairs.

Sunday: Arthur's third birthday! Mostly this is accounted for at Julia's journal here, so I won't repeat much here, except to gripe about Thomas the Tank Engine having two nearly identical styles of train, one of which goes on the wooden tracks and the other of which is barely too small, and to gripe about Chuck E. Cheese for making the world's most addictive place for kids, with the world's saltiest, crappiest pizza. In general, a day of rest from woes and tribulations.

Monday: Apparently nothing happened on Monday, either good or bad.

Tuesday: The day of the revenge of the woes. Called Sears back to ask why they hadn't contacted us regarding a pickup time for the stuff we were returning. Mostly I was calling because I no longer trusted Sears, and with good reason: they informed me that while the mattress had been cancelled, the rest of the order hadn't been cancelled on their system. When I informed them I wanted to cancel this order and have the material picked up, they informed me that there would be a $50.00 pickup fee because the items were delivered to us on time and in good condition. I pointed out that a boxspring without a mattress is not a completed order, and informed them that I would not be paying any such fee. Eventually I got them to agree to this, although I'll believe it when my credit card balance is fully corrected. Called the auto shop, to find out that the new radiator was now going to be delayed until at least Thursday, and so the earliest I would have my car back would be Friday. Called Bell, although this time it was only to have a new phone jack installed in the basement (since we don't have any, contrary to our earlier recollection during our visits prior to buying the house). Spent most of the day over on campus, picking out an office and dealing with various bureaucratic issues.

Wednesday: Julia's mom arrived in the evening for the beginning of a lengthy stay. Took important research findings on the stop signs at the Windsor airport. No significant woes.

Thursday: Last night, around 9:45 pm, a truck pulled up to our house - it was Sears, appearing unannounced to pick up our stuff. Of course, Arthur was already asleep by this point, but fortunately they managed to extricate the boxspring and headboard without waking him.

Friday: Bell arrived in the morning to install our new phone jack, which was uneventful. I scampered around in preparation for crossing the border and getting my TN (NAFTA) visa this morning, only to realize that my department had failed to provide me with a necessary document, and that I would have to pick it up some other day. Ah well, it gave me more time to write this post.

And this brings to a conclusion our sordid tale (for now). One-sentence recap: Sears, Bell, Lion Moving, and all raccoons everywhere should be exterminated. We still don't have our car back (hopefully today or tomorrow), but our phone is working, we have exactly the amount of furniture we are supposed to, I still have a job, and really, the most important thing - the house itself - is exactly as promised, with no obvious unexpected repairs or costs. I've skipped over a lot of non-woe stuff, and we still have some unpacking to do, but otherwise things are starting to get settled. I may even be able to catch up on emails tonight, if fortune favours me.

Tags: growlery, windsor
Current Mood: calm