Heat.....not in my job description!

So I am not sure this week has been any better than last! Busy and of course the typical issues for ARC girl...she goes into the lovely ARC office on Monday and finds by the door a pile of trash from the weekend class..she immediately walks it outside to the dumpster....which is GONE!
Yup GONE! OK, so she goes inside the inner office and immediately she knows....its that crisp chill and extreme silence of the furnace and fans...NO HEAT! OK...no heat no dumpster! She calls the building manager, a flighty type who says "oh you can use my dumpster"...up at the next building! And she will call about the heat...well then before I can take my coat off...and quite frankly who wants to take their coat off the phone rings....

Yep, someone calling from a Hospital in Lincoln about a guy (patient) who escaped his burning home last night and needs ARC assistance. So a half hour later, and trying to work this scenario long distance, I get him somewhat squared away and call the building manager back...no answer.
So I call the oil/heating co. did she call and report our furnace trouble? Why yes she did but you need to call her....hmmmm, I tried I tell them..when are you coming....You need to talk to her they say...TRANSLATION: we are not coming!!

ARC girl is very unhappy by now and just a little cold...its 20 degrees at the end of March! Its 19 degrees in my office...so she forwards the phones and takes the trash into her car and drives up to the next building to put trash in "her dumpster" and find the woman!!! No luck, and my rear hatch all of a sudden wouldnt open and I got covered with salt and sand and had to go into the back of the van and drag the trash out thru the side doors. OK we are really unhappy now..so we go looking for "Nancy" building manager..no where....so just to make myself feel better we drive the van thru the car wash...at least my coat wont look bad! Then back to the ARtiC office.

Turned on all the little electric heaters I bought when we had the last little incident and tried to work....luckily a friend took me out to lunch to warm up! Nancy finnally calls back and says "was I supposed to call you?" HELLO! I say...well Hancock Oil said I needed to speak with you ..whats going on? Oh well the owner hadn't paid the last repair bill and until they got some money...no furnace repair! So I tell her, I will be in the Bangor office (thank god!) the next two days, but hopefully it will be fixed by then......

Tuesday morning...18 degrees, I call her on my way to Bangor...Nancy maybe you ought to go check the pipes in the office..."oh you think so?" Hmmmm! Tuesday afternoon, I have to go to office to pick up and drop off stuff to go back to Bangor on Wednesday...no heat.

Wednesday morning..snowing! I don't bother to call, I really don't want to know, besides I have to go to the office in the late afternoon before going to EHS for a concert. Yep you guessed it...no heat..its really cold in there by now. But I notice someone has at least been by to check the pipes. I call Nancy and leave her a message that I will be in by 9:30 am and I expect a phone call and there is still no heat!

Thursday morning...25 degrees its really warming up! (yeah right) I drive in, and think, this is just going to be an awful day..no heat and negotiating with this woman..so I decide I need a latte.
Then I decide maybe I need a hot breakfast sandwich too! So I arrive at the office drag my stuff and self up the ramp and open the main door...front hall way is warm from the sun, I am thinking maybe I can move a desk out here...I put the key in the inner door and then I hear it...the loud and obnoxious sound of heat!! HEAT, I open the door and it blasts me in the face.
My day is made.. nothing can ruin it now ....I have HEAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So for all you non ARC people who have your cushy offices and take your heat and hot water for granted (and electricity for that m atter) just remember us non profits who "suffer for the sake of saving humanity" from famine flood and fire!! I really do need that cape!

And tommorows Friday....ARC girls favorite day!