Unpleasant Roofies Transmissions
Last night I was talking to my friend Cindy about those jobs that were a pure joy in the past. The places I loved working at, that I couldn't wait to get up in the morn and go to work. Without a doubt the ones I adored had in common one big thing. A non-insane boss that knew well enough to allow me to do my own thing creatively, and not micro manage everything and everyone. Plus some creative element.'
I was thinking about that a lot because of how I struggle living in Costa Rica with having to sometimes be the heavy. I don't much care for either supervising people any more than I like being supervised heavily. Unfortunately you have to do that here. Like the tale of the three plumbers it took until they changed the wax gasket under the toilet right. I don't much like standing over the plumber and insisting they do it my way.
Plus I'm not wild about the Tico Shuffle, that thing that many locals will do, try to squeeze the maximum dollar amount out of you because they can.
The gardener Wilberto showed up today, working hard and well without supervision or an attempted rip off. I adore him. His bill amounts to roughly 2 bucks a hour, but we pay him much more than that voluntarily. We pay him ten an hour. It's well worth it, it's more than he'll get elsewhere, yet nowhere near as much as those that try to pull the Gringo Shuffle when doing yardwork. I've had quotes for as much as twenty five an hour, and when you question the workers the boss is only giving them two bucks an hour. Four guys getting two bucks an hour on a job where you're supplying all the tools and the boss is getting roughly 17 an hour. I'd rather pay the worker directly a fair wage.
The engineer came out and I finally stopped taking a mind bending amount of muscle relaxers for my back. His suggestion, which we will be following, is to reroute the gutter drainage and add a few more gutters while finishing up the French drain. Turns out the guttering guys have all the gutters drainage emptying under the bitter orange trees, where the flooding now starts. The gutters will now all be run together and the pipe will go up over the wall to the vacant lot. I wasn't around when the partial gutters were installed and had no idea where exactly they'd funneled the water.
Part of the problem is that with the covered lanai and house we're close to 4,000 square feet of roof line, which is why the hot tub and the new guttering system are screwed up the drainage. That's a lot of water. The house is one story for our old aching bones, with a huge living room, kitchen and master suite. There are two smaller bedrooms and attached baths, a maids room and a laundry room and larder. I'm not sure how we ended up so big when we agreed originally on a small beachside house.
The other issue we're dealing with now involves our ancient Honda CRV. The transmission is slipping. Told Jim the minute it started making the noise that it was the same noise my Ford Crown Vic would make when the transmission filter needed changing, and the fluid changed. Took it to a local mechanic we know is honest. He said it was just the fluid was low, added some and now it's much better. It's just still every once in a great while making that noise. Told Jim again I thought it was the filter, but he took it off to one of the bigger places here who swears it needs a new transmission. They wanted 2k up front for something that is risky at best. I've had no luck with new engines or transmissions.
He took it elsewhere and they said it was likely the filter needed changing, not a new transmission. They wanted 500 bucks to do it. Over a hundred just for the filter, which we looked up online and found runs around 4 bucks in the States. Guess who's waiting to buy the filter next month in the States and getting the original local guy to change it? Us.
I swear, this attempts to shake Americans down for maximum money gets so old. Which is how once in a great while Jim and I will knock heads mightily.
My father used to call Jim the "Nutty Professor" behind his back because when it comes to things like home repairs, gardening, getting the car worked on, the nuts and bolts of dealing with these traditionally male things he hasn't got a clue. Since I've spend the majority of our marriage handling all of these things while he commuted to D.C. and worked I have a better idea on a few of them. Not that I'm perfect and know it all, because clearly I do not. With his retirement followed by my stroke and various health confloptions he's taken over some of that.
There will always be times when we do not agree on the best path to take, or he will perhaps not deal with something in the same timely fashion I might. And that's okay. We fuss, sometimes it's quick, sometimes it takes a day or so to smooth over ruffled feathers and come to an agreement, but we always resolve it.
Even when it is something I've said no to a hundred and one times and he attempts to steamroll over my no. Like his wanting to rent out the house and have us stay in the guesthouse during high season. No way will I ever agree to that, and he has to have my agreement and help for it to work. He'll never get it. I didn't move here to be an innkeeper and have to endlessly shuffle my possessions from building to building.
But that's the nature of marriage that many people miss. It is a give and take. You better have some bedrock love, kindness and friendship under laying it all or it's going to be horrid. Like the time I worked a few years for the drunken crazy lady that was constantly coming up with wild schemes. I got very tired of talking her down off some very weird ledges in the years I worked there. I wore out. But there was no real connection between us, or liking, or anything else more than a paycheck.
I was thinking about that a lot because of how I struggle living in Costa Rica with having to sometimes be the heavy. I don't much care for either supervising people any more than I like being supervised heavily. Unfortunately you have to do that here. Like the tale of the three plumbers it took until they changed the wax gasket under the toilet right. I don't much like standing over the plumber and insisting they do it my way.
Plus I'm not wild about the Tico Shuffle, that thing that many locals will do, try to squeeze the maximum dollar amount out of you because they can.
The gardener Wilberto showed up today, working hard and well without supervision or an attempted rip off. I adore him. His bill amounts to roughly 2 bucks a hour, but we pay him much more than that voluntarily. We pay him ten an hour. It's well worth it, it's more than he'll get elsewhere, yet nowhere near as much as those that try to pull the Gringo Shuffle when doing yardwork. I've had quotes for as much as twenty five an hour, and when you question the workers the boss is only giving them two bucks an hour. Four guys getting two bucks an hour on a job where you're supplying all the tools and the boss is getting roughly 17 an hour. I'd rather pay the worker directly a fair wage.
The engineer came out and I finally stopped taking a mind bending amount of muscle relaxers for my back. His suggestion, which we will be following, is to reroute the gutter drainage and add a few more gutters while finishing up the French drain. Turns out the guttering guys have all the gutters drainage emptying under the bitter orange trees, where the flooding now starts. The gutters will now all be run together and the pipe will go up over the wall to the vacant lot. I wasn't around when the partial gutters were installed and had no idea where exactly they'd funneled the water.
Part of the problem is that with the covered lanai and house we're close to 4,000 square feet of roof line, which is why the hot tub and the new guttering system are screwed up the drainage. That's a lot of water. The house is one story for our old aching bones, with a huge living room, kitchen and master suite. There are two smaller bedrooms and attached baths, a maids room and a laundry room and larder. I'm not sure how we ended up so big when we agreed originally on a small beachside house.
The other issue we're dealing with now involves our ancient Honda CRV. The transmission is slipping. Told Jim the minute it started making the noise that it was the same noise my Ford Crown Vic would make when the transmission filter needed changing, and the fluid changed. Took it to a local mechanic we know is honest. He said it was just the fluid was low, added some and now it's much better. It's just still every once in a great while making that noise. Told Jim again I thought it was the filter, but he took it off to one of the bigger places here who swears it needs a new transmission. They wanted 2k up front for something that is risky at best. I've had no luck with new engines or transmissions.
He took it elsewhere and they said it was likely the filter needed changing, not a new transmission. They wanted 500 bucks to do it. Over a hundred just for the filter, which we looked up online and found runs around 4 bucks in the States. Guess who's waiting to buy the filter next month in the States and getting the original local guy to change it? Us.
I swear, this attempts to shake Americans down for maximum money gets so old. Which is how once in a great while Jim and I will knock heads mightily.
My father used to call Jim the "Nutty Professor" behind his back because when it comes to things like home repairs, gardening, getting the car worked on, the nuts and bolts of dealing with these traditionally male things he hasn't got a clue. Since I've spend the majority of our marriage handling all of these things while he commuted to D.C. and worked I have a better idea on a few of them. Not that I'm perfect and know it all, because clearly I do not. With his retirement followed by my stroke and various health confloptions he's taken over some of that.
There will always be times when we do not agree on the best path to take, or he will perhaps not deal with something in the same timely fashion I might. And that's okay. We fuss, sometimes it's quick, sometimes it takes a day or so to smooth over ruffled feathers and come to an agreement, but we always resolve it.
Even when it is something I've said no to a hundred and one times and he attempts to steamroll over my no. Like his wanting to rent out the house and have us stay in the guesthouse during high season. No way will I ever agree to that, and he has to have my agreement and help for it to work. He'll never get it. I didn't move here to be an innkeeper and have to endlessly shuffle my possessions from building to building.
But that's the nature of marriage that many people miss. It is a give and take. You better have some bedrock love, kindness and friendship under laying it all or it's going to be horrid. Like the time I worked a few years for the drunken crazy lady that was constantly coming up with wild schemes. I got very tired of talking her down off some very weird ledges in the years I worked there. I wore out. But there was no real connection between us, or liking, or anything else more than a paycheck.
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