Last night I got a shipping confirmation for a ham radio antenna I ordered from Alpha Antenna. The only problem is that there were very clear notes on the order to call me before shipping to confirm the address to ship it to at that point — a call I never received. It took them two to three weeks to build it, which they were up front about, and was fine. I didn’t know where I’d be by then when I placed the order, so they told me to add the notes to call me before shipping. That didn’t happen, and now it’s halfway to my mail forwarding address in Texas.
Full credit to Steve, the owner, who simultaneously emailed and texted me about it very quickly after I emailed about the problem after hours. He’s having it redirected, which means another brief stop at Allyson’s to pick it up before leaving New England. The label was printed (incorrectly) on the 20th, but it wasn’t shipped until yesterday. Had they done it right, I would’ve had them ship it to Allyson’s and likely be picking it up today or tomorrow on my way out of New England. But no, it’ll likely be early next week before I get it. So I’m stuck orbiting again until that happens.
Granted, there are worse places to be stuck. Bob and Cheryl’s yard is great, and they’re taking great care of me. We got my bike reassembled last night with its new tires, as well as new front brake pads. I checked while the wheel was off and noticed they were just about gone. I just happened to have an extra set in the van. When I bought the bike two years ago it needed rear brakes, so I ordered both sets only to find the front was fine. Two years and 9,000 miles later, not so much, but it was an easy and cost-free repair to pop them on now.
Bob’s already invited me out for a ride along the coast after work. It’ll be nice to cool off, since temperatures are in the low 90s today. I’m working in the van with the side door open and both fans running. While I could take advantage of air conditioning in the house, I don’t want to get myself too used to it, or it will be harder to deal with not having it after I leave (except while I’m driving, of course).
I need to sit down and figure out where I want to visit on the way to IMS Outdoors. It depends somewhat on how much time I have, which is now less because of the shipping error, but I should still have about a week to get there. Maybe I’ll take a northerly route through Vermont to get to New York, then meander toward south central Pennsylvania. At least the shipping error hasn’t ruined my other plans. It’s just frustrating to get held back yet again. I’m more than ready to leave New England, but New England doesn’t want to let me go, it seems.
Still, mustn’t grumble.
Smokey Da Van 