Steve and I both have had a pretty rough work week. Sometimes planning to go on a vacation feels like more work than it is worth. That is not to say that vacations aren't necessary.
It just seems like this week has been full of things that take longer than you thought and no real time for planning - throw in less sleep than normal and you have 2 cranky, frantic people.
Will shift a little blame to the dog who this week decided might not need the huge comforter in his cage to keep him warm in our un-air conditioned house. He is really found of all blankets and will bury his head under the throw on the couch just to cover his eyes from the light. It clearly made sense to us that he must be getting warm under the comforter. In hindsight he may not really mind the heat. Our little black pup will find the one inch of sunlight on the porch and bake himself until he is panting and we take him inside. He's not like some other dogs we know in Champaign who have taken to bask in the shade. In any event, pretty much every night this week he has woken us up during the middle of the night barking and refusing to go back into his bed. At least once in our drunken sleepiness we have ended up letting him sleep in our bed just to make the barking stop. So apparently we need to give him back his blanket so he will sleep through the night.
I know this is nothing compared to the sleepless nights that parents had but it just added to a crazy week. Today, we got a call from the contractor (who has yet to do more than draw circles on my walls were light switched and outlets will go) - to say that the city is making us upgrade the waterline....a $12-$15k expense we weren't really planning on...
Did I mention we are leaving on vacation in a few days? woo hoo...we should make sure to pack those bags and bags of money we have laying around....
So it's time to re-look at our plans...because the budget is the budget. The good news is that the electrical work will get started next week when we are gone - which will be nice. We have to narrow down where we can cut corners, delay things or what we can do on our own.
Gosh...was my last post some kind of foreshadowing???
Friday, June 15, 2007
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Not complaining....just documenting
I am used to operating under such things as a "schedule" or what one might call a "plan". I have even caused Steve to arrive 45 minutes early for his own birthday party in order to satisfy my need to be "on time". Furthermore, I am used to getting what I want, when I want it.
Needless to say this attitude and need for timeliness of actions does not bode well for someone entering into a large house project, which requires the help of people who are not maritally bound to meet my demands of getting things done when I expect them to be done.
We are leaving shortly to go on a cruise with some friends, so the plan was to have things underway so that work on the house could get done in our absence. This was in compliance with "my plan".
I bought things and ordered things to comply with said plan.
Friday we were scheduled to "start" with the electrical box upgrade to 200 amps. This has now gotten pushed back until late Monday. This means that actual work can't start until Tuesday. No problem....just getting to be 2 weeks later than we originally thought. So I can see how this quickly turns into a slippery slope with these kinds of projects.
Yesterday we got a call that the bathroom tile was in. Yeah! We decided to go get it on Sunday since Saturday was jam packed with activities. Steve and I headed in the direction of the tile store in separate cars since there was a chance that 130 sq ft of tile would be too much for one car. On the way, we stopped at Kohls to exchange swim trunks I had bought Steve for our trip. He picked out new ones and I got in the returns/exchange line for a bit. I sent Steve on to the tile store so that he could get his half.
After 25 mins in line, I was pleasantly suprised to learn that Steve was able to get all the tile in his car. So I headed over to my parents to pick up a suitcase to borrow. We chatted for a bit. My dad went in to the ER last night for kidney stones- so there was a bit to talk about. So far no sightings of the "golden nuggets" (as my mom is calling them).
By the time I got home, Steve had already taken all 20 boxes upstairs. I was happy to have gotten out of manual labor - but a little disappointed when I realized 7 of the boxes were the wrong tile....
We loaded up the tile and I called the store. "Oh Chip must have put the order in wrong".
Admittedly the order was slightly confusing since 130 sq ft was of 2 in all white hexagon tile with a white square and 72 sq ft was of 1 in hexagons with an ebony center hexagon . Sounds like the same thing - it's not.
I conjured about my best Grandma Rose* impression and was off to give them a piece of my mind. By the time I got there I wasn't willing to start making a scene until I gave them the chance to make things right. They claim to be ordering the right tile and it should be in Thursday. God help them if it's not.
Yes I realize it's not the end of the world - since the likelihood of the contractor laying tile while we are gone is slim. I still feel like it is my natural born right to be a pissed off customer when I don't get what I want.
*Grandma Rose was a former inhabitant of the house, who chose to speak her mind when given bad customer service and well to be honest sometimes they deserved it and sometimes they didn't. She wasn't a public cusser - though she did own a necklace that said "Oh Shit" - but had she waited in that Kohls line - they would have heard how ridiculous it was. And she would have been right. Nothing is more infuriating as a customer than to see 1 person at a customer service desk and other workers nearby not coming over to help. I know perfectly well that the person I am seeing is probably not trained for customer service and is probably tasked with putting away returned stock...it just doesn't make my wait any shorter.
Needless to say this attitude and need for timeliness of actions does not bode well for someone entering into a large house project, which requires the help of people who are not maritally bound to meet my demands of getting things done when I expect them to be done.
We are leaving shortly to go on a cruise with some friends, so the plan was to have things underway so that work on the house could get done in our absence. This was in compliance with "my plan".
I bought things and ordered things to comply with said plan.
Friday we were scheduled to "start" with the electrical box upgrade to 200 amps. This has now gotten pushed back until late Monday. This means that actual work can't start until Tuesday. No problem....just getting to be 2 weeks later than we originally thought. So I can see how this quickly turns into a slippery slope with these kinds of projects.
Yesterday we got a call that the bathroom tile was in. Yeah! We decided to go get it on Sunday since Saturday was jam packed with activities. Steve and I headed in the direction of the tile store in separate cars since there was a chance that 130 sq ft of tile would be too much for one car. On the way, we stopped at Kohls to exchange swim trunks I had bought Steve for our trip. He picked out new ones and I got in the returns/exchange line for a bit. I sent Steve on to the tile store so that he could get his half.
After 25 mins in line, I was pleasantly suprised to learn that Steve was able to get all the tile in his car. So I headed over to my parents to pick up a suitcase to borrow. We chatted for a bit. My dad went in to the ER last night for kidney stones- so there was a bit to talk about. So far no sightings of the "golden nuggets" (as my mom is calling them).
By the time I got home, Steve had already taken all 20 boxes upstairs. I was happy to have gotten out of manual labor - but a little disappointed when I realized 7 of the boxes were the wrong tile....
We loaded up the tile and I called the store. "Oh Chip must have put the order in wrong".
Admittedly the order was slightly confusing since 130 sq ft was of 2 in all white hexagon tile with a white square and 72 sq ft was of 1 in hexagons with an ebony center hexagon . Sounds like the same thing - it's not.
I conjured about my best Grandma Rose* impression and was off to give them a piece of my mind. By the time I got there I wasn't willing to start making a scene until I gave them the chance to make things right. They claim to be ordering the right tile and it should be in Thursday. God help them if it's not.
Yes I realize it's not the end of the world - since the likelihood of the contractor laying tile while we are gone is slim. I still feel like it is my natural born right to be a pissed off customer when I don't get what I want.
*Grandma Rose was a former inhabitant of the house, who chose to speak her mind when given bad customer service and well to be honest sometimes they deserved it and sometimes they didn't. She wasn't a public cusser - though she did own a necklace that said "Oh Shit" - but had she waited in that Kohls line - they would have heard how ridiculous it was. And she would have been right. Nothing is more infuriating as a customer than to see 1 person at a customer service desk and other workers nearby not coming over to help. I know perfectly well that the person I am seeing is probably not trained for customer service and is probably tasked with putting away returned stock...it just doesn't make my wait any shorter.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
The little woman will do it
I only wish I had a picture of this, but last weekend Katie and I worked together cutting the lawn. (I am alternating using the push mower and the gas mower hoping to get to a point were I am using the push 2 times for every time I use the gas - to save some oil. The reality is that the push mower doesn't cut as well as the gas mower.) So it was time to cut using the gas, but Katie wanted to try using the push. She cut a good sized portion of the lawn just pushing and I did the rest with the gas. A passer-by even gave Katie the thumbs up for plugging away. Needless to say, I was impressed by her not just trying but doing. Now on to the renovation's - starting as early as Friday. We got our first permit to start work!
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