hope springs eternal

Well, the glimmer turned out to be just a glimmer of hope that the bathroom would be done by the end of the week. Alas, that is not the case. Rocky and Daryl got the vanity moved into the bathroom Monday and lo and behold, while the plumbing for the sink got moved to the left, it did not get moved far enough to the left. Fortunately this was something Rocky could fix so no need to call in the plumbers again but he had to cut a 16” square hole in the sheetrock to do so.

So the water lines and drain pipe have been moved to where they need to be, the sheetrock repaired, the trim for the door and window has been stained, the painted window trim has been replaced with the stained window trim, the tile has been grouted, the paint touched up. 

Still need to put up the trim around the door and the water heater/clothes hamper door and paint the doors, still need to add the pencil tile to trim out the edges of the wall tile (we had originally planned to use a strip of stained wood for that but that involved several problems and a lot of labor which I needn't go into here so to that end I drove out to F&D yesterday afternoon to return all the extra tile and the other stuff we opted not to use and got 9 more pieces of the pencil tile), still need to mount the sink under the marble top and install the faucet and get the vanity in place and the water and drain hooked up, still need to get the wall cabinets and mirror back up. Seems like a lot still to do but Rocky's only been working here half days after he gets his crew going on his big job and he was committed elsewhere all day Friday. We didn't expect the remodel to take this long but then we didn't anticipate the two major plumbing woes not to mention the water heater crapping out.

The husband returns tomorrow from his week in the frozen snowy mountains of Colorado with my brother. My one week alone a year has been a little less than alone as Rocky has been here most days and showers were had by the kids and Sarah came by with upgrades for Gypsy's habitat.

She checked out all her new surroundings, testing everything with her tongue, climbing on her hammocks, stared at the scenery background.

Wednesday night it dipped down into the high 20˚s and the next night close to freezing so I had to cover a few things. I should have cut the amaryllis bloom and brought it in since it froze but the daffodils and pansies are fine. Back in the 70˚s yesterday and today. Thursday I managed to lock myself out of the house when I walked the dog but fortunately my sister has a key and she was home so she came and let me in. I rented two movies...Knives Out and Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil...and then realized I hadn't read a single word in my book all week so that's what I did last night. Today I'm shoveling dirt back into the hole from having the sewer pipe replaced and getting the camellia in the ground. At least that's the plan.

Oh, one more thing happened this week. Remember last February when I spent those weeks tracking down receipts and filling out the application and getting it submitted for the Texas Land Office's Homeowner Reimbursement Program for Harvey flood victims to pay people back that had to spend their own money for repairs? And then the subsequent meeting last June and inspections last August? Well, a little over a year later, Thursday morning I got a call to schedule my appointment for my signing event! I'm not getting the whole amount we spent but I am getting 65% which is more than I thought I would get.

It might just pay for the bathroom.

another day pretty much like the previous days

I've been filling molds. Three down and in the kiln, one done and two to go. I walked the perimeter of the house fluffing up the poor crushed ferns and picking up all the trash and debris left behind after Rocky and Manuel finished the exterior of the house on Thursday. It wasn't that much really, just bits and pieces of tar paper and old siding and some metal and the occasional nail, because they did a good job cleaning up after themselves. Next project is to knock out the brick planters, sheetrock the ceiling, and put up the birch bead board paneling in my studio room. He may not start on that til next week which is fine as it gives me time to finish these molds and put away my stuff. I'll have to move back out of the room while they're working on it.

Friday I went back to the Civic Center with my list of questions to meet with Katie the FEMA agent again. The rejection letter was issued on the 7^th, she says, and new supporting documents were shuttled to my file on the 11^th thus opening an appeal to my application and now I have to wait til the case agent reviews my file again. In the meantime maybe more of the supporting documents will make it into my file. Apparently, the agents in the field fax all the documents at the end of the day to central command but it may take a week or longer for them to migrate into the pertinent file. Be patient, she says, it will be resolved in your favor. OK, but I'm losing faith I told her. So I guess I'll not bother them again til at least next Monday.

Another puppy hanging around Sunday. 

Waited too late in the day to take a picture and contact SPOT. By the time they got back to me willing to take the pup, it was nowhere to be found.

Beautiful weather today though. Another cool front blew in and this one is supposed to last more than two days. Perfect for working outside but my priority is to get these last three now two molds filled.

my refusal to conform has come back to bite me in the ass

FEMA inspection was a week ago and no money in the bank. Went back to the Civic Center again, signed in, and sat across from another FEMA agent who told me that my claim had been rejected because they could not authenticate my identity.

I'm sorry, what?

They just mailed the letter today, shall I print it out for you?

Yes, fume fume fume.

The letter says that to authenticate my identity I must do one of the following:

Except that I've already given them that first dot and more. Well, the SS card was just the receipt in my name for ordering a new card. This agent didn't seem inclined to do anything besides give me the letter and send me on my way even though she saw all the documents I had already provided. So I fumed out and went back to the house to get my actual SS card, which fortunately had arrived in the mail a few days previous, and my birth certificate and last year's property tax statement and last years tax return and my marriage certificate though I was loathe to use my marriage certificate because, wouldn't you know, it has another completely different name on it. This isn't my first marriage and back when I divorced the guy after 3 1/2 years I didn't think to change my name back in the divorce decree. So my current marriage certificate says Ellen Abbott (name of the rat bastard). Because it's not already complicated enough.

Back at the Civic Center in front of another agent. He's pulled up my file, he sees all the documents and statements already submitted, he doesn't understand why they are being so stubborn. He takes my Official ID card (DL) and my SS card and my birth certificate, my property tax statement, a house document that shows us as the buyers and makes copies and adds them to the stack of documents to be faxed to FEMA central. He will make sure the documents get faxed, he will confer with the wonderful Katie tomorrow, who is the most knowledgeable and connected and has the day off today, and send an email to ? someone to see about resolving this situation and he says he will call me tomorrow with an update. In the meantime, he suggested getting my DL name changed over to match my SS card (don't want to do that) and he sent me over to the legal aid table. So I'm going to be appointed a pro bono lawyer to see what advice and/or help they can provide towards getting this straightened out.  But I'm wondering if maybe they are never going to accept it, so many disasters happening at one time, stretched, who can we kick off this runaway train kind of thing and time is running out for people to be able to apply.  Perhaps it might be better, easier to just withdraw my application and have Marc apply.

So, of course because the day wasn't going badly enough already...I stormed out of there after my first visit this morning. Got in the car and zoomed off about two blocks to the stop sign and zoomed off from the stop sign about 2 or 3 blocks when I got behind someone going soooo slow, fuming in the car when I finally looked in my rear view mirror to see those red and blue lights. Well, fuck. Apparently I zoomed right past that cop car.

I'm fishing out my insurance card and DL and tap tap tap on the window and the conversation that followed went something like this...

yes yes as I roll down the window

How are you today, ma'am, he asks me.

Not that great, it's been rather frustrating.

Why is that?

FEMA is refusing to accept that I am who I say I am even though I have submitted several documents and now I have to get more.

What seems to be the problem?

It involves this name and that name and this other name and how I use them and that's the short version of a very long story.

He wanted to know if that's where I was going and where I had met with FEMA and...

Do you know why I stopped you today? he asked.

Yes, hanging my head in shame, I was speeding. I'm sorry.

You passed me going 45 in a 35.

Yes, sorry, I know.

Well, he says, standing there holding my ID and insurance certificate looking down the road, you go on but don't speed. We want you to get there and not cause any accidents. Hands me my stuff and says again, don't speed.

No sir, I won't, I know, I'm sorry.

And he lets me go.

no, really, it is me

I've spent the last two days mostly dealing with FEMA, all of whose personnel I will say have been very pleasant and helpful. Last Wednesday it was two weeks since I went to the Civic Center and checked on my application when they told me an inspector had been appointed and would call within a week to set up an appointment for the inspection. So I went back last Wednesday since it had been two weeks and no call to learn that they couldn't verify my identity and so no progress had been made and they sent me to another table where I was told that specifically, they couldn't verify my ownership of the property. The name on the title besides Marc's is 'Ellen Abbott', my most common use of my name and signature. My application to FEMA is in the name 'Edith Leva', 'Edith' being my first name that I have never in my life used or been addressed as except by teachers on the first day of school that didn't know me and assumed every kid was called by their first name. 'Leva' is my married name and although that is the one on my driver's license and SS card and is my legal last name, it's one I only use under certain circumstances. So legally, my first name is Edith and my last name is Leva and that is how the application to FEMA was made out even though I told the agent on the phone who was helping me, that I didn't use it. No matter. That was the one they wanted. I suppose I could have just reversed it like I often do on forms, or depending on the form, drop it altogether using Abbott as the middle name or initial but this was an agency I wanted money from, hence...Edith Leva.

So, after I explained all this, Katie, the very nice and helpful agent on the other side of the table, said, “no problem, this can be easily fixed”. Did I have my SS card? No, lost long ago. I have utility bills in my name. I have my driver's license. I'm on SS. Did I have a payment stub? No, direct deposit. Property tax bill? In my husband's name 'and wife'. No legal document with the name Edith on it? Nope. “Well”, she says, “the best thing is to get a replacement SS card, they won't charge you a fee if you lost it in a disaster, and they will give you a receipt and we can use that. What we can do now is have you write a statement explaining the name thing and signing it with picture ID, but really best is to get another SS card.”

On the way home, I remembered my tax return which I still file in my maiden name so Thursday morning I went back with last year's copy and this time sat across from Sue, also nice and helpful, who copied that and added it to my file to be faxed to the central command, and who also urged me to get a new SS card. So I left there and drove the hour to Victoria, waited until my number was called, and requested a new card to replace the one I lost back in my 20s when my house flooded and “please make sure all four of my names are on it”, and drove the hour back to Wharton and back to the Civic Center and back across the table from Katie again.

“So I was here yesterday”, I started. “I remember”, she says, “the name thing.” “Well, I drove to Victoria and back today and here is the receipt for a new card with all four of my names on it”. “Perfect”, she says.

So now I am waiting to have my identity verified and a call from the inspector...again.

Since they didn't bother to inform me that there had been a problem the first time, I plan on going back early next week just to make sure.

“Any questions?”, she asked as we were about done. “How difficult would it be to change the application from my name to my husband's name, you know, just in case?”

“Very.”