How "Not" to Make me Happy!

Sorry for the delay in posting, but it's been a miserable week around our house. The problems started last Friday when we noticed our air conditioner was blowing warm air. We called a repair guy, who came out on Saturday and pumped in 4lbs of freon into the unit. Everything was fine until we noticed on Monday night that it was becoming warm again. We called the guy back out on Tuesday, and this time he said "you've got a REALLY big leak. Luckily, we've renewed our home warranty each year for this very reason. The people who built the house managed to use the cheapest materials available on the face on the earth, and now we're paying the price of repairing and/or replacing the big ticket items. We've lived in the house 3 years, and have replaced lateral lines, well pump and now a new condenser unit. The warranty is nice, but a real pain in the butt. As soon as you discover a problem, you must notify the warranty company, who then dispatches a work order to a local contractor. The local contractor has 24 hours to contact you to schedule an appointment. I reported the problem on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. and waited until 2:00 p.m. before I called the contractor directly to ask when they thought they might get around to calling me. I was told that it would be Wednesday, anywhere between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm (translation: another day of vacation). Did I mention that this is the hottest week so far this year? MissDub bailed out and went to stay with Nana and Papa, but SgtDub and I are staying put -- mainly because of all the animals. If it weren't for them, we'd be staying with Nana and Papa too. Back to warranty story, the contractor arrived a little before 10:00 am on Wednesday and confirmed that we had a very big leak and would need a new condenser (translation: get ready to sweat). Contractor notifies warranty company, who either approves work or asks for second opinion. Once approved by warranty company, they call to say "are you aware that you have certain out-of-pocket expenses that are NOT covered by your warranty?" Well, no, I'm not because the small print on the warranty is so tiny that it can't be read even with a magnifying glass. $620 dollars later, I'm jumping up and down saying "yes I agree to pay the $620 - just get it done!". Mr. Contractor calls back to say they've ordered the part, but it may be Monday before they can install it. Like a dummy, I said "what about Saturday?" and he laughed and said "the warranty company doesn't pay us overtime!" By this point, I asked "what's your overtime rate? I'll pay it!!" Yikes, $250 big ones! Oh well, it's just money, and besides I'M HOT!!!!! It's now 3:00 pm on Friday, and I've had no contact from Mr. Contractor, so I decide to call him. Guess what? The part just arrived and they would like to schedule an install tomorrow morning (Saturday), and by the way, you agreed to pay us overtime -- is that correct? Gee, I was hoping you'd forget I said that and just do it out of the goodness of your heart (yeah right!) SgtDub is working this week, so he's had the added burden of sweating to death in his uniform and coming home to a sweltering house. Poor guy! I've tried to convince him to go stay with the in-laws, but he refuses to go. So, if you're out there reading this, and you're sitting in the comfort of your air conditioner, take a minute to realize what a luxury it is . . . and think of all the poor people who live everyday without heat or air. I'll never take it for granted again -- at least not until mine is back on! Have a good weekend and stay cool!