April 3, 2008

Yesterday, I drove Linda and Kris to the airport. They have gone back to Canada, and my life turns 180 again. Lot’s of work to do on the new yard before the rainy season, but the big news is, I have my new transformer! ICE came on Tuesday, installed it on the pole, and put the meter in the monolith, as I call it. They hooked up the service, and told me the knife switch on the old house was damaged and cheap, and should be replaced. They told me I could get one at the local hardware, and that they would install it for me. Linda gave them juice while I was gone, and I offered them money for beer when they were done, but they wouldn’t take it. What a pleasant ending to a patience-testing experience.
For instance, last Friday, when I was trying to get instructions on how and when to sign the contract in Barranca because, as it turns out, Carlos didn’t have to, a man from ICE showed up to inspect the service. Now remember, a five man team, including at least one engineer, came and approved the service, and were the first to say we needed a transformer. Carlos and I particularly wanted that approval while he was here, and could make any necessary changes. That was the beginning of January. Two more engineers came to approve the pole for the transformer, and write the specifications for the transformer necessary. Now this fellow shows up, a very nice fellow I had talked to at the office in Judas. In fact, he was the one who finally explained what the transformer would do for me. He was also the one who said I needed Carlos’ signature on the contract for the transformer. Now, last Friday, he tells me the service isn’t good. I need to chisel out more concrete from around the meter connection in my monolith. And, the tube that houses the ground rod is not secure. And maybe the concrete monolith that Carlos built, instead of the steel pole and fibreglass box recommended because it was more elegant, might not pass at all. Whenever I feel I might say something wrong in anger, I go get Jose. On the way back, I explained the story. When we got back here, he had phoned his supervisor, and the monolith had passed, but I would need to fix the other two problems. Then he phoned and set it up for me to go to Barranca to sign the contract for the transformer.
When he left, Jose and I had our conversation. “ Tranquilo Bob! But I had a reason to be mad. Yes, but it doesn’t help. Yes it does, I felt better.” He sees the good side of everything, and sees a problem as something to be fixed. It is a pretty good Tico philosophy, and one day it may actually sink in. So I chiseled out around the meter base, and dug out around the monolith, made a form, set rebar in surrounding the tube for the ground rod, and Jose mixed up some concrete and poured it in.
Now, I am trying to get in touch with Carlos to return for a day or two, to check out the 220v wiring and make sure we didn’t wreck anything when we plugged in the air conditioner. There is still a bit of other work to do as well, but, a day or two will do it. The house might actually be finished soon.
When Kris was here, she got an excellent photo of a baby monkey eating jacotes from the tree in my backyard. Kris was fascinated by the monkeys. The troop of about 25-30 came around every day. Many of them come to eat the jacotes and cashew fruits in my yard. I also have a picture of one walking across a clothesline to get to the cashews. They are amazing to watch.