Not the result I was looking for

14 hours. 14 hours is what I spent away from home today. We were told to be out of the apartment by 8:30 this morning, so we left at 8. I spent most of the morning bored out my mind with nothing to do. So much so, that I finally broke down and went into work at noon, 2 hours before I had to be there, and I stayed there until 9:45 p.m. The whole time I was thinking, "Gosh, I feel like total crap. I didn't get any sleep last night. I've got a hard-core cold brewing. And the entire right side of my face is throbbing* like I've been hit by a 2x4. I'm so glad that this stair thing only takes one day."

Of course, I'm a total sucker.

I drove up at 10 o'clock tonight find the exact same stairs that I had left this morning. The bikes underneath hadn't even been moved. Nobody did anything to make it look like anyone had been near the stairs all day. Nor did anyone bother to tell us that no work would be done so that I could return home. Nor did anyone leave us any kind of notice saying when the stairs really will be replaced. The likelihood of them just showing up some morning and expecting me to leave immediately is high. That would just make me totally freak out. So, I'll set the alarm for 8 a.m. and I'll call the condo guy and ask what the "H" happened to my new stairs.

If that doesn't work, Brad and I were already planning to attend Thursday night's condo board meeting regarding our fee increase — we'll discuss it there.

* Incredibly long story somewhat shortened: In 1996, I was diagnosed with TMJ in my right jaw. The fam spent oodles of money on surgery, specialists and customized mouth guards, but eventually, the best treatment was to learn to live with it. The bothersomeness comes and goes, but when I'm under a lot of stress (which I am right now and its not just the stairs), I grind my teeth, which puts stress on the joint, which enflames the muscles around it, which causes the right side of face to feel like it has been run over by a car. It is also a likely explanation for the plugged ear.