Friday we didn't really do too much except start watching some of the programs we had Tivo'd including the Full Tilt Poker.net Invitational Tournament which had broadcast all four hours the previous night. The insurance company also returned my call from Wednesday to say that after I spoke to someone around noon on Wed., the adjuster actually turned the claim back into the supervisor and that a check was going to be cut to us which we should receive by Monday. I was glad (and actually a bit surprised) he called back. After a bit Kelly got dressed and headed to Gulfport to get her haircut, braving some of the shopping traffic. I stayed home and watched a few of my anime programs and read a bit. I also watched a bit of the football and hockey games on, but got disgusted with the Colorado/Nebraska football game and left it on hockey. Kelly came home and we watched the Avalanche game. They had their first shutout win of the season in Columbus with a 5-0 win. Kelly left during the second period to go to a co-worker's house where they were having a party to celebrate one of our friend's batch of home-brewed beer being ready to drink. I rode my bike over after the game and we stayed there for awhile snacking and chatting. We drove home together and watched some more poker before falling asleep on the couch and heading for bed.
Saturday morning I had intended to go biking in Ocean Springs, but set my alarm to 'snooze' instead of 'on', but it's just as well since it had started to rain. We watched some more of the poker then our friend Neal called to see what we were up to. We told him we were going to see 'Walk the Line', the semi-biography of Johnny Cash meeting June Carter and the early years of his life. We asked him along and met him at the theatre for the 1.50pm showing. It was a really good film. Basically a love story, but not really a 'chick flick'. It had some great music of that era and the Sun Records label tours, with excellent performances by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. When they showed him at Folsom Prison playing it made me want to go listen to that record after we left the theatre. The three of us then went to eat a late lunch/early dinner at O'Charley's. We headed home and found a letter from USAA explaining what they were going to pay. It was kind of what I had been dreading all along after talking with friends and others who all over seem to have been screwed over by the insurance companies. The amount listed was a lot less than the average price for a re-roof job, but possibly enough. My greater concern was the amount listed for the interior work (replacing the ceilings in the living room, garage, and our bedroom). We haven't had any luck so far in finding a contractor to come out and give us and estimate for that yet, but the figures seemed a bit low. I didn't put too much thought into it at the time though because our friend Peter had left a message on the answering machine saying that they were getting up a last-minute game of poker. We put our folding chairs and chips in the car and drove back out to Gulfport. There ended up being 9 of us total. I played aggressive in the beginning, but then had some crap cards towards the end when the blinds got higher and ended up in fourth (just out of the money). Kelly came in sixth place. It was a pretty quick game, despite starting a little after 9pm the game was over by midnight. We had shortened the rounds from 30 to 20 minutes which sped up the pace of the game. It had been raining steadily throughout the day and came down strong during the evening while we were playing poker, but had let up by the time we got home. Unfortunately, it was strong enough to blow in some more rain and make the sections in the living room that already had been damaged by the hurricane get even worse. Water was still dripping in through the ceiling fan and onto the coffee table. We were able to move everything off of it and slide it out of the way, as well as move the couch further towards the back of the room. It pissed both of us off because if the pieces of shit at the insurance company hadn't dragged their asses for so long, we could have gotten the roof fixed earlier and wouldn't have the new problem. It's still a wonder that the water didn't make the sheetrock fall through in some spots.
We left a bowl to catch the water underneath the ceiling fan and shut the doors from the kitchen to the living room (so the cats wouldn't come in and drink the water). I also crawled up into the attic and set a bucket underneath the spot where water was leaking into the roof so it wouldn't pool anymore on the sheetrock (see photo on left). We then went to bed pretty irritated.
It had stopped raining and was only partly cloudy when we woke up. The rain wasn't coming through the ceiling fan anymore so I decided that tomorrow (Monday) I would call a couple of roofing contractors and see how soon they could come over to repair our roof. I also called the insurance company's local office in Mobile, but got their voicemail and left a message (which was never returned and it's now 10 hours later). My friend Gary was coming over so we could watch some anime and talk for a bit since I hadn't seen him in awhile. He arrived around 9.30am and we went to get coffee at the Jumping Bean before Kelly left with her friend Allison to check out the damage in the Waveland, Pearlington, and Lakeshore areas along the coast. They were also going to see 'Pride and Predjudice' which looked like a total 'chick flick' to me and I had no interest in seeing (I'm not a fan of period pieces). Allison arrived at 10am and they headed out. Gary and I watched disc two of Genshiken(this is a fan site), as well as a disc each for Stellvia and DNAngel. I also made curry and we discussed hating our jobs and his possible leaving for a job working for TVA in Tennessee under his brother. That would be a disappointment, but both of us are pretty tired of Medicaid right now, especially all the crap he's had to deal with lately as supervisor in Pascagoula. He also gave me the names/numbers for a roofer and general contractor who is doing the work on his mother's home, so maybe we'll be able to get some of our repairs done soon. It was a good afternoon. Kelly came home a little bit after Gary left and I was going to put a tarp up on the roof over the existing one to attempt to reinforce the damaged areas and prevent any more leakage before the repairs are completed and hopefully before any more rain comes. It was getting too dark though and the nails weren't working to hold the board in place I was putting on the edge, so Kelly and I are planning to take off some time tomorrow and get that job done as well as call the contractors and insurance company (again!).
Tonight though it's kick back and watch hockey. The Avs host Vancouver, which will be a tough match-up, especially after it was announced this afternoon that left winger, Steve Konowalchuk (one of the team's best players) will be out for the rest of the season because he has to have surgery to repair torn ligaments on his right wrist. Ouch! Bummer for the team, because he played very well offensively and defensively. He was also one of the assistant captains, and a team leader, so it looks like the rest of the team will have to step up even more now. We still have faith in our team though. Go Avs!
Oh, one more thing I almost forgot. My cousin Claire is spending her junior year of high school in China. She has a blog that she posts her adventures on (about the same frequency as we update our site). I think she is a great writer and has some really entertaining stories to tell, so go check it out.
