Day 10: Relentless

After having such a great Saturday my Sunday morning started out with frozen pipes again in my kitchen. I was up pretty late last night so I didn’t wake up until after 10 and I came downstairs and found the hot water in the kitchen was not working. When the temperatures dip into the teens or single digits I always check the water first thing. I called the plumbers who did the work and emailed Paul Davis. After about 2 hours with no reply I texted the gent from Paul Davis who was here on Tuesday. I waiting another 2.5 hours and finally called the emergency number for Paul Davis. They came out within an hour, told me to stop apologizing and discovered the hot water pipe, which is galvanized, was either leaking and then froze or it froze then split due to a gap in the foundation they missed when they insulated on Tuesday. The good news is it only affects the kitchen sink. The pipe is encased in ice right now so that's why there was no detectable leak in the basement. Considering it's 14 now and the low for tonight is 4 degrees that ice isn't going anywhere. I'm not going to name the plumbing contractor, because I love the folks at Paul Davis of Northern NY and they have been nothing short of wonderful throughout. My house was built in 1890 and the basement foundation is stone and mortar so over time gaps have opened up. Until my heat system was changed out the basement was always warm because of the monstrosity that provided my heat, so I didn't have this problem. I am sure they will get it resolved once and for all tomorrow. Much of the work in the house presented unique challenges and anyone who's seen the photos knows what an amazing job they did. My mind went into shutdown mode today and I sat here on the couch all day trying to avoid a complete meltdown.

On the Nutrisystem front, I had a 150 calorie cinnamon raisin baked bar for breakfast with some black coffee. I enjoyed the bar, it was soft and really good. For lunch I had a 170 calorie cup of beans and ham soup. I do like the soup and with a sprinkle of romano cheese it had a nice flavor. My morning snack is always a Nutrisystem shake. One of these days I need to try the vanilla shake mix, I’ve been having chocolate every day. I haven’t had my afternoon snack or dinner yet but I think I’m going to try a frozen chicken parmesan entree for dinner with some veggies. Review to come !

Last night (actually early this morning) I had an epiphany. No matter what happens with my job I will be alright. I hope and pray I am retained and if I’m not I hope to find another job within the company. But if I don’t, I don’t. I’m not going to let this drag me down. AT&T has given me nearly 34 years of continuous employment. They paid out a fortune when I had leukemia and they paid my full salary for the entire 6 months I was ill. They paid for my late husband’s many hospital stays and for 8 years of numerous prescription drugs. The way I see it, if they let me go it is THEIR loss and someone else’s gain. I’ve been a great employee. The industry is changing and AT&T is turning away from the services that built the company into the giant it is today. The focus today is the Entertainment Group and they have blinders on. I personally see this as a mistake because the cord cutters are not going to stop and the competition for streaming services will only intensify. We’ve spent most of my career chasing Verizon and never caught up to them. They’ve turned their focus back to wireless while we are chasing a dream. People are tired of paying for hundreds of channels they don’t watch and that is not going to change. DirecTV, Dish and Fios are all bleeding subscribers. I personally believe the new focus will be the end of the company as we know it today. I’m no expert and I hope I’m wrong about that, but the writing on the wall seems to be pretty clear.

So I’m going to hold my head high, do my job, comfort those in my office who are struggling and pray we all find new opportunities and happiness.