It’s pretty hard to find an electrician in Potsdam. Our old guy stopped answering the phone and responding to messages, so we had to search elsewhere when our dryer outlet needed to be replaced. My friend Mike had a hot tip and I called the guy up. Dude was very nice even if, at the height of the pandemic, it was clear that he didn’t understand how facemasks work. He also gave us a loaf of cinnamon bread since he’s got a side hustle delivering bread. Cinnamon bread is now a staple in our house.

When it came time to replace the breaker box (a necessity we’d been putting off for too long) we figured we’d call the same dude. This is where the fun begins. The first time he said he’d come do it, it turned out he was just delivering the estimate and collecting half the fee. The next time he came, he was five hours late. He apologized by giving us a couple loaves of bread. (Not fancy bread. The Great Value Walmart bread you see pictured above.)

He couldn’t actually get anything done the second time, it turned out, because they were just there to take some measurements. On the third visit, only his journeyman/apprentice guy came. He got the job started but couldn’t finish without the main guy who arrived, of course, laden with apology bread and a couple hours late.

They needed another part and had to come back the next week. Assuring us the jury-rigged mess in the basement was safe, the unaccompanied journeyman took off. I called him back a few minutes later when the lights started flickering and my computer kept restarting. “I must not have tightened something…” Indeed.

By the time the job was finally finished, we were up eight loaves.