The working machine.
We now have 18 workers on site. They are still not at full capacity for the job. A couple more men will be added after the floors are laid. This working machine, as you know, normally does everything by hand. This week, though, they did rent one jack hammer. Being used with the help of a rented generator this jack hammer is breaking the rock for casita numero uno. Breaking rock for casita numero dos, are two men with pick axes. Of course there are others still cutting and tying re-bar. In fact the first re-bar that was laid around the perimeter has already been cemented in. There is a solid wall of cement covering these. Now they are working on the second level of these re-bars which will also be cemented in. Jose laughed and said the house will still be there in 1000 years. He could be right. There are also the legs of the machine. These are the workers who carry, by hand the needed materials to the top of the cliff. Yesterday they needed gravel. The gravel had already been taken up to the parking area and dumped there. Senor Backhoe Retro (machine number two) was not there -SHOCK- so wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow they pushed the gravel to the top of the cliff. This took three men. One on each handle of the wheelbarrow and a third pushing the two guys. Maurice was upset. Upset for the guys. Upset for the time being used to do this. Upset for the lack of organization that left the material in the parking lot, instead of on the cliff. Still the machine worked. Each cog in the wheel, just as important at the next. Each cog, on the uneven wheel, supporting it in its movement forward.
The retro machine.
Our Senor, who I even hate to tell you his name, but I will…..Alberto…..is such an important part of our job. He even bought a pick up of his own so he can try to help us more and not have union issues. Yesterday we lent him $2000. NOW…..Don’t get upset with us yet. We already owed him over $1000 for some work and materials he got for us and so he asked if he could get an advance. He needed to make a payment on that licensing issue. He will be back today for another 8 hours as he has to haul material and water for us. This will pay off at least half of what he would still owe us. The charge to rent a retro is $50 an hour. That $1000 gets paid back pretty quickly at those rates. BTW that is standard. That is why Maurice wanted to buy one…but they are still $20,000!! By next week we will be even again. We trust him. He does things for us without pay. He is an honest guy. This was a small risk to take, in the scheme of things, and we could help him. He is trying to start his own business, instead of using other people’s machines. His truck was the first step. Without Senor Backhoe Retro our building time would double and we would have some physically broken men; which we may have anyway.
The insurance machine.
Can I tell you I am falling in love with our insurance man??!! :) After that ridiculous e-mail I got from Senor Hernadez in Vera Cruz, I contacted the company in Canada for help. A man by the name of Mike Krunic - from Coast Underwriters - has jumped in with two feet and totally taken control of our mess. He has Debbie, in the Toronto office, helping coordinate what he needs from the four companies involved in this mess. World Class Transport, Crown Relocation, the actual shipping company, ZIM, and customs. He has me sending him documentation supporting Crown Relocation’s knowledge of Maurice’s tools etc. Thank heavens Maurice saved the e-mails. Back and forth we have sent no less than 4 e-mails with him asking numerous questions about who did what; me supplying the answers. His goal is to try and figure out who will have to reimburse them for our loss. He compiled forms for me to easily fill out. An itemized listing of what we moved, than columns indicating whether it arrived, was it damaged, was it lost. He also did letters of intent for me to e-mail to the other players. These letters let them know we are investigating their role in our move, and the damages and losses we suffered. Debbie is contacting customs and attempting to gather all the paperwork they have. Not sure if she will have any luck, but at least they are doing all this stuff for us. I would be totally lost as no one here seems to want to help us. The insurance company at least has lawyers, which they will not hesitate to use. This company is so impressive!! I am not sure what will happen with our settlement. And I am sure it will not come as easily as we are hoping. But Mike is on our side. He has filtered through the lies and the “passing of the buck” and I think he is genuinely sorry for us. On a good note, the damages are less than we expected. Yes, there is still way too much, but every time we open one of those smashed boxes we expect there to be lots more breakage than there is. In many boxes everything was wrapped so well that there is no damage at all. It appears they are even going to compensate Maurice for his things that are missing. It may only be a small percentage, but that adds up.
So between our Senor, our workers, and Mike the insurance guy, this week our life is moving forward like clockwork; in a smooth, methodical way.
AND JUST FOR FUN!!!!
Things are looking up Shelby :):):)...Vicki
ReplyDeleteThat they are!! :)
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