Mountain time vs Hawaiian time......

When I lived in Hawaii there was a standing joke ( and I assume its still standing ) about how things got done on Hawaiian time. Meaning if someone providing a service was scheduled to arrive at 9am you could pretty much add an hour or two to that scheduled time before actually expecting someone to show up.

I have come to find that Mountain time lags behind Hawaiian time by days and weeks, not hours. Who knew. We are still in the process of enclosing the area under the master bath, an area that was built on columns, allowing winter winds to blow through and making it impossible to heat (this is the same bathroom that the shower froze solid for a few weeks ) and very uncomfortable to use. The contractor who put up the walls to enclose it was very timely....here at the house by 7:30am and working till daylight waned. This was done before winter arrived last year and although ugly, it did wonders in keeping out the wind and we were able to use the shower and toilet without risking frostbite. Once spring arrived said contractor recommended a drywall company to stucco and finish the walls...okey-dokey.

Little did we know that the work ethic of the contractor was a rare and unusual thing. The drywall crew set up scaffolding, if thats what it can be called, that would give an OSHA inspector heart failure. Although they did cover the ground with plastic it appears to have served little purpose as there is so much spilled stucco on the ground I dont know if it can be cleaned up. And this scaffolding and plastic has been down there for weeks. They showed up today ( they have been saying they would be here " tomorrow" for days) and told John it would only take them a few hours this morning to put the finish coat on. Seriously?

In the meantime, the Village of Angel Fire officials noticed, at least 6 months after it started, that work was being done and decided to fine us for not asking nice and getting a permit. Apparently you cant do anything here without a permit and we didnt know this. It is my fault....I want a fence in the back so the mutts can go out unattended and ask at the Village offices about building one. Gotta have a permit. Got the permit and it was the same week some high and mighty Village official took the road less traveled ( that would be ours ), saw the scaffolding and plastic and sent a letter saying we were in deep kim-chee. A $500 permit and $300 fine. Sigh.

Here we are, in a place where elk and deer and bears roam freely, what some would consider wilderness, and we are controlled by bureaucrats. It's almost funny....we couldnt get the drywall guys up here to finish the stupid job quickly but the officials are johnny on the spot. Usually bureaucrats are slower than molasses but there is money involved and that tends to speed them up a bit. Almost funny but not quite.

I would never in a million years have believed Hawaiian time was quicker but its true....Mountain time is manana....maybe, if you are lucky.