I wrote these paragraphs on March 2, 2024 as the carpenter was working at the place we have rented in Coimbatore. The way my outlook changes with every passing hour is fascinating … I recorded these feelings as they happened otherwise it would have been difficult to remember them in the same sequence.
1.06 pm – the carpenter is trying to put in new hinges on all the cupboards in our bedroom. I have cleared up two of the cupboards but one has all my sarees and Krishnan’s clothes … they are working on it right now and one of them is coughing intermittently.
I am uncomfortable and totally dislike the fact that some third party is seeing our clothes :(.
Added to my woes is the fact that I don’t like this carpenter. Of all the people who came to fix different things in the house this guy just put me off. I told Krishnan that he is a smart alec and unfortunately I was proven right when the owner told us that he has already collected 2/3rds of the total money required for the repairs as advance 🤦♀️.
Ideally I would have wanted all this work to be completed before we got into the house. But my stars are aligned differently on this particular point 🤣. First it was the renovation of our place in Gurgaon – and we went through the hell of dust, noise and grime for 45 days. The end result is a beautiful home that we love to live in. So it was worth all the pain.
Now here it’s a temporary short term rental. But here too we had to get things fixed to suit our needs and have spent overall three days on repairs.
The one thing that our stars have helped with is a nice bunch of people coming to do the work. Whether it was Jyoti’s team in Gurgaon or individual plumber, electrician or water heater installation guy in Coimbatore – all of them have been really sweet with one odd exception like the carpenter who is working today.
Am trying hard to ignore my irritation and just relax … let’s see how far I succeed.
3.12 pm – we had to eat an early lunch because the carpenter and his assistant went out for their lunch.
Now the work has resumed in the kitchen … am telling myself that all these are just “things” and everything can be replaced. My health and mental well being is more important. Actually I can speak eloquently on this topic for hours, but when it comes to application of my own “gyan” I tend to struggle with it.
I hope the assistant doesn’t cough in the kitchen 😞. While I know that nothing is infectious it’s just not a nice feeling to have someone cough without a mask while in your kitchen.
Let me handover a mask to him – the problem is solved. The one good thing that came out of the Chinese created pandemic is that everyone carries a bunch of masks with them. I do too. If people also become more mindful of how they behave in public places it might help.
I walked over and handed over the mask which he gladly wore. But hey, he is no longer coughing ! Guess it was the dust that made him cough.
7.15 pm – The carpenter and his helper just left. The good thing in Coimbatore is the carpenter, plumber and electrician all clean up behind them. In Gurgaon we struggle with these folk because they just throw everything on the floor and you need to get someone to clean up. The fine dust from drilling a hole in the wall will just settle everywhere and it’s your problem.
Here thank goodness, all these folks are really nice to deal with and the best part is they clean up. Am back to feeling normal….
We are clear that we don’t want any more repairs in the house while we live in it…. it’s truly not a happy situation. It’s also a whole day that gets wasted because we aren’t able to focus on other work.
I got a call from our the plumber at our condominium in Gurgaon today asking when we are getting back because apparently there is some seepage in the bathroom of the flat on the floor below us. Praying fervently that all the pipes don’t have to be changed in our bathrooms. That would mean two weeks of pain :(.
Anyway I am learning not to suffer for imagined situations. Que sera, sera !! ‘whatever will be, will be‘ and that’s that.