If It Weren't For Bad Luck...

...I'd have no luck at all.

Three weeks ago was the last time my wife and I had gone to the northern castle. During that weekend, the furnace started to act up. It would kick off prematurely, and wouldn't restart. With the help of the diagnostic tool built into the furnace and some advice from the heating company, I was able to get it started again. The problem apparently was a pile of dead Asian Lady Beetles, which were blocking the air gauge and not letting it open and close properly.

The very next day, the heating company sent up a technician would went over everything. He called me when he was done and said that he took the whole furnace apart, cleaned everything out real good and made sure all the contacts were in good shape. He also told me that he had run the furnace through three cycles and that it was all in good working order.

We had not been up there since then, because of deer hunting season. My wife and I were both anxious to get up there. I was so anxious that I even burned a half day of time off to get home early so we could get up there all the faster.

I shouldn't have bothered.

After fighting are way through that miserable storm last night, we finally got to the castle. It was good to be home. Or so I thought.

As soon as we walked in the door, I knew something was terribly wrong. It was very cold in the house. I looked at the thermostat, and it was pegged at forty degrees, but that is as low as it goes. It was much colder than that. We could see our breaths. I futzed with the thermostat for a few seconds, and went to the furnace. I took the covers off and sure enough, the diagnostic tool was showing that the air gauge wasn't functioning again. I tried to clean that out, and got it running for a few minutes before it conked out again.

Then a scary thought occurred to me. I raced into the bathroom and tried the faucet.

Nothing.

I looked at the shower. The shower head had been broken off and an icicle was hanging down where the shower head used to be.

I looked in the toilet. It was a solid block of ice.

I felt myself throw up in my mouth a little.

I called the furnace company and told their answering service to have someone to call me ASAP.

I got a call back in ten minutes from the same technician who had serviced the furnace three weeks ago. I told him that the furnace died and that the pipes were frozen. It sounded like he threw up in his mouth a little. He apologized profusely and expressed personal and professional shame. I told him that I would be expecting his company to get someone up there, along with a plumber, to take care of the mess. I also added that they would be paying the bill.

We then turned the hot water heater down, but high enough to keep that from freezing. I also turned of the pump, but left the heat lamps on so that that won't freeze on me. The back into the snow storm and another 30 minute ride to find a hotel for the night.

We went back to the land this morning to take out the things that shouldn't be frozen, blow out the snow and feed all the critters. I was definitely abjectly miserable. I was at home, but couldn't stay. It was breaking my heart.

I received a voicemail from the technician today. In it, he said that the office would call me first thing Monday morning to make arrangements to get things fixed. Then he suggested I make a claim with my insurance company. If they think they will get off for not paying for this, they're crazy.

The way I see it, they told me that they fixed the problem, but didn't. Plus the furnace is still under warranty. Whether the furnace failed due to a problem with the furnace itself, or due to his failure to resolve the original problem (but telling me he had), they are responsible for that any damage ensuing from the furnace not working.

And if they don't want to pay, then I will just have to decide if I want to sue them, or file a claim and let the insurance company sue them.

But I have to tell you, gentle reader, this has been a crappy year. First, my garage collapses, on my truck nonetheless. I've lost to friends this year to the grim reaper. My wife has been laid off twice, and it looks like she will be laid off for at least a month after next week. Now this.

I am so ready for 2008 to be over with.