mistressofmuses (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mistressofmuses) wrote2025-09-03 09:16 pm
mistressofmuses) wrote2025-09-03 09:16 pm
Entry tags:
Misc life updates:
Kind of a bunch of stuff that happened in the last week or so...
Last week, we had a minor scare with Bella, where she ate a fairly large piece of a toy. She has swallowed similar bits before without us knowing, until usually after a day or so, she'll throw it up, which is very, very lucky. I wish I could count on that happening, rather than it making its way farther through the tubes and getting to blockage/obstruction or laceration territory, but it's also not a gamble we wanted to take. So we got to induce vomiting (using hydrogen peroxide) which she was emphatically not a fan of, but at least it did bring the chunk up right away. Better than an emergency vet bill.
Then on Sunday, while I was at work, my stepmom texted me that she was taking my dad to the ER for difficulty breathing and heart palpitations. The ER thought it was most likely a-fib, which is at least easily treatable, but they wanted to rule out anything else it could be, so transferred him to a cardiac hospital. I don't believe he actually had a heart attack (though getting complete information from him isn't always going to happen.) They did a bunch of tests on Monday, including sending in some scopes to look for blockages, plus delivering a shock to hopefully "reset" the heart rhythm. Apparently everything went well, and there weren't any complications or scary findings, and he got to go home yesterday. He's on medication now, which he said makes him feel "woobly."
The good thing for the week:
I spent the weekend (Sunday night through Tuesday morning) over at Taylor and my mom's house, since they had Monday off for the holiday. (It's always my day off.) We hung out and played a good chunk of Final Fantasy XIV. We did a couple of the job quests (Sage and Reaper) which were fun. Then we started part two of Endwalker. We got through the first bit, where we start to see the Final Days corruption start, and then we got to do some fun time travel back to Elpis, which really was pretty absurdly fun in terms of what they decided to do.
Yeah, go ahead and team up with Emet Selch (before he became Empires Georg), his coworker-bestie-husband (who you met as a ghost at the ghost DMV once), the guy who will become the most recent big bad you fought and killed (but like before he went very extremely destroy-all-life crazy), and their really cool previous coworker (before she becomes like... The Main Goddess Of Everything) and follow them around while Emet Selch really just wants to conduct a job interview.
Emet Selch, civil servant, and his worst day at work (so far.)
- I love finding out that, ah, Emet Selch was always just a bit of a bitch. Delightful as always.
- They made Hythlodeus just... absurdly pretty. Like. Why is he that pretty? He's also the best, and while I can't say I approve of Emet Selch wanting to burn down the universe to regain all the people he lost in the apocalypse and revive the glory days of his people... Look, one of those people was Hythlodaeus, so even if I don't approve, I kinda get it. He's just that pretty.
- Venat is very cool, and I'm so glad that we got to see who she was pre-Hydaelyn.
- Yes, the cutscene with her and the whole "No more shall man have wings to bear him to paradise. Henceforth he shall walk." bit was really badass.
We also finished reading Witch King, and had a really good Labor Day dinner.
On Monday, Alex texted me to tell me that our AC had died. He tried hard resetting the unit, but no luck. It wasn't quite hot enough to qualify as an emergency issue to be called in on a holiday, so he submitted a regular non-emergency request to management. It's relevant that in the request he included the information that a) the compressor does come on, and the unit blows air, but the air itself is not cooling at all, and the unit itself will not shut off; and b) that he turned off the unit and the thermostat, because it was blowing in warm air; however the only way to get the unit to shut off at all is to flip the breaker it's connected to, as turning off the thermostat does not do anything.
We are told that now our maintenance requests go through some third party company that "helps to diagnose and expedite service requests," even though the maintenance itself is still done by our on-site crew.
They say they'll send someone out on Tuesday. We went on a hike after Alex picked me up, so we weren't home when they came by, but they did leave us a note on the door saying they came and that everything is fixed!
... The note helpfully says that they found the problem: we had turned off the thermostat! Now that they turned it back on, the unit was again blowing air.
So yeah, it was about 82° in our apartment, despite the fact that they (not we) had set the thermostat on 68°, the lowest it goes.
So Alex submitted another request for service, saying that yeah, the problem isn't fixed. The problem is not that the unit does not blow any air, the issue is that it is not cooling the air which is the primary function that we want from an AC unit. It also will not stop blowing air, unless the unit is shut off via the electrical breaker, because none of the functions of the thermostat are being communicated to the unit.
The third party company responded by asking for a picture of the thermostat "to ensure that the settings are correct" and they ask again if the unit is blowing air.
Alex sends them a picture of the thermostat, as well as reiterating that yes, the unit moves air, but it is not cooling the air that the fan is blowing into the apartment.
Then, a couple hours later, responding to the text that included the picture of the thermostat, they asked him to please send a picture of the thermostat.
That was the last we heard today. Tomorrow is supposed to be back into the 90s, which IS supposed to be "emergency" territory for an AC unit. We'll fucking see.
My annoyance is compounded, because we had this issue before. Maintenance came out (pre "third-party"), and they were the ones who told us to try switching it off via the breaker as a hard reset. That did fix it that time! But both of the members of the maintenance team who came out told us they'd seen this issue before with the specific unit we have in our apartment; that almost all of that type have had to be replaced, because once the internal electronics go bad and don't communicate with the thermostat, it's not really repairable. So if this is a familiar, known issue (or so we were led to believe), I don't understand why "aw, you stupid little shits, you just switched the thermostat off the way you said you had, I'm sure in the SEVEN FUCKING YEARS you've lived in this apartment you just never figured out how that worked so la-di-da, we fucking fixed it by turning on the thermostat and not checking to see if it was actually performing its function at all" was the response this time.
A couple months ago, they also introduced a "new employee" who manages rent reminders via text. I suspect that "Ryan" is actually an AI bot, despite all the claims being that "he" works for our rental company, hence the dismissive scare quotes. This is the helpful third party that last month sent us reminders a week after we paid rent that we still owed rent. A few days later, "he" acknowledged that our rent had been paid.
This month we got our paper bill, and our reminder from "Ryan", but "Ryan's" listed amount owed was $100 less than the paper bill we received. Alex asked for clarification, and "Ryan" confirmed the lower amount. We plan to pay the lower amount, and see what they say if we show documentation that we were told that was the amount owed.
The hike on Tuesday was nice though.
Last week, we had a minor scare with Bella, where she ate a fairly large piece of a toy. She has swallowed similar bits before without us knowing, until usually after a day or so, she'll throw it up, which is very, very lucky. I wish I could count on that happening, rather than it making its way farther through the tubes and getting to blockage/obstruction or laceration territory, but it's also not a gamble we wanted to take. So we got to induce vomiting (using hydrogen peroxide) which she was emphatically not a fan of, but at least it did bring the chunk up right away. Better than an emergency vet bill.
Then on Sunday, while I was at work, my stepmom texted me that she was taking my dad to the ER for difficulty breathing and heart palpitations. The ER thought it was most likely a-fib, which is at least easily treatable, but they wanted to rule out anything else it could be, so transferred him to a cardiac hospital. I don't believe he actually had a heart attack (though getting complete information from him isn't always going to happen.) They did a bunch of tests on Monday, including sending in some scopes to look for blockages, plus delivering a shock to hopefully "reset" the heart rhythm. Apparently everything went well, and there weren't any complications or scary findings, and he got to go home yesterday. He's on medication now, which he said makes him feel "woobly."
The good thing for the week:
I spent the weekend (Sunday night through Tuesday morning) over at Taylor and my mom's house, since they had Monday off for the holiday. (It's always my day off.) We hung out and played a good chunk of Final Fantasy XIV. We did a couple of the job quests (Sage and Reaper) which were fun. Then we started part two of Endwalker. We got through the first bit, where we start to see the Final Days corruption start, and then we got to do some fun time travel back to Elpis, which really was pretty absurdly fun in terms of what they decided to do.
Spoilers for part two of Endwalker:
Yeah, go ahead and team up with Emet Selch (before he became Empires Georg), his coworker-bestie-husband (who you met as a ghost at the ghost DMV once), the guy who will become the most recent big bad you fought and killed (but like before he went very extremely destroy-all-life crazy), and their really cool previous coworker (before she becomes like... The Main Goddess Of Everything) and follow them around while Emet Selch really just wants to conduct a job interview.
Emet Selch, civil servant, and his worst day at work (so far.)
- I love finding out that, ah, Emet Selch was always just a bit of a bitch. Delightful as always.
- They made Hythlodeus just... absurdly pretty. Like. Why is he that pretty? He's also the best, and while I can't say I approve of Emet Selch wanting to burn down the universe to regain all the people he lost in the apocalypse and revive the glory days of his people... Look, one of those people was Hythlodaeus, so even if I don't approve, I kinda get it. He's just that pretty.
- Venat is very cool, and I'm so glad that we got to see who she was pre-Hydaelyn.
- Yes, the cutscene with her and the whole "No more shall man have wings to bear him to paradise. Henceforth he shall walk." bit was really badass.
We also finished reading Witch King, and had a really good Labor Day dinner.
On Monday, Alex texted me to tell me that our AC had died. He tried hard resetting the unit, but no luck. It wasn't quite hot enough to qualify as an emergency issue to be called in on a holiday, so he submitted a regular non-emergency request to management. It's relevant that in the request he included the information that a) the compressor does come on, and the unit blows air, but the air itself is not cooling at all, and the unit itself will not shut off; and b) that he turned off the unit and the thermostat, because it was blowing in warm air; however the only way to get the unit to shut off at all is to flip the breaker it's connected to, as turning off the thermostat does not do anything.
We are told that now our maintenance requests go through some third party company that "helps to diagnose and expedite service requests," even though the maintenance itself is still done by our on-site crew.
They say they'll send someone out on Tuesday. We went on a hike after Alex picked me up, so we weren't home when they came by, but they did leave us a note on the door saying they came and that everything is fixed!
... The note helpfully says that they found the problem: we had turned off the thermostat! Now that they turned it back on, the unit was again blowing air.
So yeah, it was about 82° in our apartment, despite the fact that they (not we) had set the thermostat on 68°, the lowest it goes.
So Alex submitted another request for service, saying that yeah, the problem isn't fixed. The problem is not that the unit does not blow any air, the issue is that it is not cooling the air which is the primary function that we want from an AC unit. It also will not stop blowing air, unless the unit is shut off via the electrical breaker, because none of the functions of the thermostat are being communicated to the unit.
The third party company responded by asking for a picture of the thermostat "to ensure that the settings are correct" and they ask again if the unit is blowing air.
Alex sends them a picture of the thermostat, as well as reiterating that yes, the unit moves air, but it is not cooling the air that the fan is blowing into the apartment.
Then, a couple hours later, responding to the text that included the picture of the thermostat, they asked him to please send a picture of the thermostat.
That was the last we heard today. Tomorrow is supposed to be back into the 90s, which IS supposed to be "emergency" territory for an AC unit. We'll fucking see.
My annoyance is compounded, because we had this issue before. Maintenance came out (pre "third-party"), and they were the ones who told us to try switching it off via the breaker as a hard reset. That did fix it that time! But both of the members of the maintenance team who came out told us they'd seen this issue before with the specific unit we have in our apartment; that almost all of that type have had to be replaced, because once the internal electronics go bad and don't communicate with the thermostat, it's not really repairable. So if this is a familiar, known issue (or so we were led to believe), I don't understand why "aw, you stupid little shits, you just switched the thermostat off the way you said you had, I'm sure in the SEVEN FUCKING YEARS you've lived in this apartment you just never figured out how that worked so la-di-da, we fucking fixed it by turning on the thermostat and not checking to see if it was actually performing its function at all" was the response this time.
A couple months ago, they also introduced a "new employee" who manages rent reminders via text. I suspect that "Ryan" is actually an AI bot, despite all the claims being that "he" works for our rental company, hence the dismissive scare quotes. This is the helpful third party that last month sent us reminders a week after we paid rent that we still owed rent. A few days later, "he" acknowledged that our rent had been paid.
This month we got our paper bill, and our reminder from "Ryan", but "Ryan's" listed amount owed was $100 less than the paper bill we received. Alex asked for clarification, and "Ryan" confirmed the lower amount. We plan to pay the lower amount, and see what they say if we show documentation that we were told that was the amount owed.
The hike on Tuesday was nice though.
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And that your dad seems to be okay!
OMG on the AC service. Or non-service.
I would love to see the looks on management's face if "Ryan" has told everyone the wrong amount!
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Also glad for my dad. He says he's still having shortness of breath that they haven't figured out, but that his heart rate and rhythm have been fine.
The AC thing was SO frustrating. Still in progress, but probably going to be fixed by next week.
Right? I want to know if their bot is handing out discounts to everyone!
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It'll be fixed just when you don't need it anymore. o_O
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Right? I guess we're in for another fairly warm week, so if they CAN get it replaced tomorrow, that'll be good. I'm relieved it made it through most of the heat of summer before crapping out, though!
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Jeez the maintenance ordeal!!! I hope your AC is fixed ASAP. I swear all of these things that are meant to "streamline" never really do. It's just a longer stupider game of telephone, now.
And good job harfing, Bella! That sounded awful, but yeah, better than the alternative! Dogs!!!!
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Now that we actually got to talk to maintenance instead of the AI bot, they'll probably get the AC replaced next week. Sounds like they weren't able to fix the current one, so we just have to prep for that slightly more major undertaking.
I was so glad Bella harfed. I'm sure she was very confused by us forcing her to swallow something gross, then throwing up, then being roundly praised for her puking, hahaha. Dogs!!!
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So if this is a familiar, known issue (or so we were led to believe), I don't understand why "aw, you stupid little shits, you just switched the thermostat off the way you said you had, I'm sure in the SEVEN FUCKING YEARS you've lived in this apartment you just never figured out how that worked so la-di-da, we fucking fixed it by turning on the thermostat and not checking to see if it was actually performing its function at all" was the response this time.
*rage-shrieks* I hope there's been some (good) movement on that front!
We plan to pay the lower amount, and see what they say if we show documentation that we were told that was the amount owed.
May it work out painlessly in your favor!
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The AC thing has definitely been frustrating. Fortunately they did come back yesterday (finally) and agree that it isn't functioning. They came today and were unable to fix the current unit, so plan to replace it next week. (But that means we have to clear out a bunch of stuff from along that same wall, bleh.)
Thank you! If they want us to rely on this crappy AI tool that was forced on us, then I feel like they should trust the amount it tells us!
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All the apartment stuff sounds insane and overly complicated. Doing multiple visits rather than actually dealing with the problem, stuck in limbo, that is all nuts.
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Thank you. Definitely hoping my dad stays all right. He said he's still got some shortness of breath, and will be following up with his doctor to investigate.
The apartment stuff just feels... so stupid. Multiple visits, stuck in limbo, conflicting information... I really don't see how these multiple AI companies are making anything easier for anyone.
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I've had to deal with third-party maintenance repairs in a house we rented, and it was miserable. Aside from not doing it correctly the first time, they also dragged their feet, and I had to escalate our issue to the CEO and on social media. It was eventually fixed, but it took a month! Good luck to you getting the AC fixed.
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Oh god, I remember that whole saga, and you needing to reach out directly to the CEO! UGH. This at least hasn't been THAT bad! Allegedly they will come replace the AC unit next week. Took two more visits to decide that, so this will have been a minimum of four (the first "we turned it on" appointment; a second to acknowledge that it really wasn't working; a third to determine they couldn't repair the current unit; the fourth and hopefully final to get a new unit installed.)
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I'm incredibly glad Bella's okay from her forbidden toy snack ordeal! X_X Honestly, your approach was absolutely the best method for dealing with it given how awful and painful an open abdominal surgery recovery could be alternatively. Obstructions are downright scary.
I'm also incredibly glad to hear that your dad seems to be okay though I do hope they've gotten his medication dialed in a bit better/he's feeling less lightheaded on it now? Are they planning on any additional followup or has there been any updates on what may have been going on? Is he feeling better overall?
Oh. My. Word... I SINCERELY hope that by this commenting your AC has long since been fixed (or outright replaced given this units history apparently) but good God Almighty that's infuriating and in so, so many ways.
...Seriously? Like, I'm not surprised given how much shitty AI has permeated everything as of late, but, for real? A text/SMS AI is in charge of billing? What in the actual freaking fuck?
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Super glad Bella's forbidden chunk of toy did not end poorly for anyone. (Except her being a bit baffled with the induced vomiting, ha. Poor thing.) I'd really rather avoid any emergency vet trips!
And yes, glad my dad seems to be doing all right. He said he's still recovering, and seems frustrated it's taking as long as it is. Lamenting age, ha. No real updates, though it's hard to get much of an answer. It's like the reverse of a parent trying to get more than a one-word answer from their teenager, haha.
The AC was finally replaced and fixed. The initial replacement also immediately crapped out, because they'd left it hooked to the old thermostat, which was part of the problem. It works now, though honestly I think the old one worked better before it died... but working at all is better than not at all, ha.
The AI billing thing is just ridiculous. If it was just an automated reminder it'd be fine, but it's annoying as hell to have it A) pretending to be a person in the office of our building, and B) get stuck in an infinite loop where it's incapable of answering a question that would be extremely easy for an actual person to answer. Ugh.
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I can only imagine what went through her mind haha. Forbidden fun, then, barf! Again, I'm just glad you caught it before it had the chance to become a truly awful situation.
Ugh. I'm now envisioning you grilling your dad about his health, true reversed parental style, with, "we're not done discussing this until you use at least two adjectives to describe your feelings and are forthright about how this medication is working. THEN you can go to your room" haha. Though in all seriousness, I'm glad it sounds like things are improving, if not slowly?
Good grief. I'm glad it sounds like the saga of the AC units is finally over, but good lord that whole situation was excessive.
I'm still blown away by how utterly retarded that is, much less to even think that using AI for such a role was a good idea...
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Bella seemed very confused by the whole thing. Including us praising her for puking, haha.
That is literally what it feels like, haha. Apparently the next thing is to get fitted for a c-pap, which will hopefully improve his sleep, and then maybe some more of the energy will come back. But slow and steady recovery, at least.
The AC thing was so dumb. I'm just very glad it finally got sorted. The AI shit is just... not helpful for anyone. It's not doing anything for them beyond delaying the process, it's not doing anything for us beyond adding frustration... They're probably paying actual money for it, and WHY?