I would like to thank the Veterans of the US military who give their lives so that I may have a day at home which allows me to excercise my right as an American to be an absolute sloth today.

It is noon and I am still not dressed. So far I have chatted on the phone, done two loads of laundry, updated the Forwards page of my Website and researched getting my furnace serviced (nothing wrong, I just learned I should have it looked at each year) and the duct work cleaned.

I am learning some really frightening things about being a homeowner. Folks who have companies for maintaining appliances really don't give a good goddamn about much of anything.

Take Maytag for example - the folks who made my washer and dryer. The washer leaks during the spin cycle. I had no idea who to call about these things, so I just called the manufacturer, who set me up with some service. Like the utilities, Maytag service makes you have whole-day appointments when you need something. I was set up for service between 9 am and 3 pm on a Saturday. Needless to say, the bastards never showed up. At around 4, I went to run my errands and wouldn't you know it, they show up while I'm out.

Annoyed, I went and tried to fix the damned thing myself. I suceeded for a few weeks - the thing quit leaking. I was very happy with myself indeed. However, today the machine started to spout water again while I was doing laundry. I called Maytag back, who by the way, have been calling me and sending me postcards to reschedule for weeks, and tore them a new one for blowing me off.

The customer service clone could not have been more disinterested. He kept interrupting me and asking me if I "want(ed) to schedule service or not." Now, of course I want the damned thing serviced. I called around to some places listed in the yellow pages, and they either charge way more than Maytag or don't speak enough English to understand what I need. I am totally going with Maytag, but of course, they have to first kiss my ass.

I had to remind the agent over and over again what happend and had to get him to admit that the bad service reflects badly on their brand. I told him that I'd filed complaint with the Better Business Bureau and that I'd be further slandering their name if they messed with me again. The agent seemed somewhat humbled, so I allowed him to schedule the call.

I'm still working on finding someone to do the checkup on my furnace. This ain't as easy as it may sound. I started by calling a company who sent me a coupon in the mail. I asked them some questions, and found that they don't really clean the furnace. I realized during the call that I didn't even know what I was talking about, so I surfed the web and found this great Website from the EPA that tells you all you need to know about what to look for in a furnace and duct cleaner.

Armed with this knowledge, I contacted the first company out of the phonebook. The lady who answered the phone was really professional and answered all the questions I'd learned to ask from the EPA. However, they don't do the duct work. Company #2's phone was answered by a guy with a very strong Russian sounding accent.

"Yeah?'' he said.
"I'm calling about getting a yearly checkup on my furnace. Do you do that?"
"Yeah, we can do that I guess'" he responded with a sigh.
"You can do that? Is that part of the work you do all the time, or just something you think might be fun to do?"
"Uh, what?" said he.
"How long have you been servicing furnaces?" I asked "You don't sound very confident".
"How long? Call somebody else".

So I hung up on him.

I'm back online now, trying to find a reputable company in Chicago who does this sort of work on a regular basis and is SURE of what they do.