Dena & I were busy this weekend, we demo'd the West side of the guest house. The boards were all rotten and termite ridden. Now, we just have to put it all back
Monday, February 28, 2005
Sunday, February 27, 2005
The money pit
It's been an exciting few weeks in the remodel business of our house. The original remodel project is essentially finished with only a few little items on the hit list and a bid completion meeting remaining. The exterior painting job is continuing nicely, despite the setbacks because of the rain. Tomorrow I'll post a picture of our lovingly restored, green spanish bungalow.
The rains, ah how they have changed people's lives in sunny southern california. Economists talk about how the rain has cost the Los Angeles basin economy 500 million dollars. How in the world is that possible you ask? Well you take the .01 % of people that lost their homes, the 20% that had some sort of other major damage from water and then there is probably another 50% of people that have minor damage/leaks/etc. We are one of the 50%. The money we might have spent in our area now goes to repairs. We are getting a new tile roof (or at least the underlay for the roof and the old tile will be salvaged and put back) and we are getting new gutters. I suppose you could argue that the money we are spending is really going back into the California economy because we are paying So. Cal companies to do it. But its just not as much fun because I can't buy anything enjoyable......I'm buying a roof.
Another part of our exterior repairs/restoration is the guest house. Long neglected and the west side is severely water and sun damaged so this must be repaired. Pictures will be up on the blog of what Dena and I had fun doing Saturday afternoon.
The rains, ah how they have changed people's lives in sunny southern california. Economists talk about how the rain has cost the Los Angeles basin economy 500 million dollars. How in the world is that possible you ask? Well you take the .01 % of people that lost their homes, the 20% that had some sort of other major damage from water and then there is probably another 50% of people that have minor damage/leaks/etc. We are one of the 50%. The money we might have spent in our area now goes to repairs. We are getting a new tile roof (or at least the underlay for the roof and the old tile will be salvaged and put back) and we are getting new gutters. I suppose you could argue that the money we are spending is really going back into the California economy because we are paying So. Cal companies to do it. But its just not as much fun because I can't buy anything enjoyable......I'm buying a roof.
Another part of our exterior repairs/restoration is the guest house. Long neglected and the west side is severely water and sun damaged so this must be repaired. Pictures will be up on the blog of what Dena and I had fun doing Saturday afternoon.
Friday, February 25, 2005
What I learned in college
stupidity --- there are lots of stupid people in this world and some of them are even going to college! In my computer security class the other night, the fellow sitting beside me was dumb as a doornail. You would think, oh, these people are in computer security, they should have some basic knowledge of editing text files, booting off CD, installing software, hmmm even navigating with a mouse! But NO!!!!! I had to help him the whole way through. I know, you optimists our there are thinking, well at least he's going to class, that's what he's there for, to learn. Well, I got news for you bloody optimists, he should be in a BASIC computer class, not a class on computer security. I'm sure he has no clue what encryption is, why you would want it, what malware, spyware or anything else is let alone anything else.
There are some laws of human stupidity, were you aware of these?
The first basic law of human stupidity asserts without ambiguity that:
Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.
The second law of human stupidity is:
The probability that a certain person be stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person.
Well, I will let you ponder those 2 laws and we'll discuss some others at a later time. Oh, and to add to the stupidity factor, our street has a closed sign at one end (road construction) all day long for 2 days people drive down our street anyway, get to where the bloody street is actually closed, and in their little minds probably say, "oh, its really closed?" and make a U-turn.
I'm thinking of handing out signs on the street where they make the U-turn that says, "I'm stupid, stay away from me."
There are some laws of human stupidity, were you aware of these?
The first basic law of human stupidity asserts without ambiguity that:
Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.
The second law of human stupidity is:
The probability that a certain person be stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person.
Well, I will let you ponder those 2 laws and we'll discuss some others at a later time. Oh, and to add to the stupidity factor, our street has a closed sign at one end (road construction) all day long for 2 days people drive down our street anyway, get to where the bloody street is actually closed, and in their little minds probably say, "oh, its really closed?" and make a U-turn.
I'm thinking of handing out signs on the street where they make the U-turn that says, "I'm stupid, stay away from me."
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Monday, February 21, 2005
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Sad state of community colleges
I'm taking a Security course at the local community college, West LA community - and its sad. I took one last year and then a public speaking course a couple years before. You'd think that over these last few years, since fees have increased double that things would be better. They are not, they are worse.
In my public speaking course, you basically got up and spoke, no projector for a laptop to do powerpoint, you could use an old overhead transparency projector though. How archaic. For one speech I wanted to use a powerpoint slide show because that is how most presentations are done in business. I had to go get the projector and it was so old and the lens so damaged that it was useless. This was one of 2 projectors the entire school had for transient use. Totally sad.
The computer courses are popular but they are in small classrooms that are crammed with computer gear (very old stuff) and very old, uncomfortable, gross chairs. About 6 or more classes share a hard drive and with 20 gig drives, each class gets about 3 gig. That is insane since Server 2003 takes about that.
Its just such horseshit what the US government (both state and federal) does to our education system. Educated should be a very high priority, This ensures that tomorrow's workers are prepared for the job markets of the future. If you are charging the lower and middle classes more and more money for their secondary education you will eventually price them out. This is the beginning of the extinction of the middle class. Thanks President Bush. Oh and by the way, that 40 million $ that he spent on his second inauguration could have been used for something of more value.
In my public speaking course, you basically got up and spoke, no projector for a laptop to do powerpoint, you could use an old overhead transparency projector though. How archaic. For one speech I wanted to use a powerpoint slide show because that is how most presentations are done in business. I had to go get the projector and it was so old and the lens so damaged that it was useless. This was one of 2 projectors the entire school had for transient use. Totally sad.
The computer courses are popular but they are in small classrooms that are crammed with computer gear (very old stuff) and very old, uncomfortable, gross chairs. About 6 or more classes share a hard drive and with 20 gig drives, each class gets about 3 gig. That is insane since Server 2003 takes about that.
Its just such horseshit what the US government (both state and federal) does to our education system. Educated should be a very high priority, This ensures that tomorrow's workers are prepared for the job markets of the future. If you are charging the lower and middle classes more and more money for their secondary education you will eventually price them out. This is the beginning of the extinction of the middle class. Thanks President Bush. Oh and by the way, that 40 million $ that he spent on his second inauguration could have been used for something of more value.
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Aren't we lucky?
In my short lifetime I have seen many things. The world has changed so dramatically and at such an exponential rate its hard to imagine the future. When I was a baby a man was walking on the moon and now there's a space station orbiting earth. We don't even really think about that anymore its so commonplace. The other day a spacecraft dropped a CD of some band (I can't remember who) on one of Saturn's moons. Who would have ever imagined. The Berlin wall has come down, china is fast become a world power, America is the world's police and the other day there were free elections in Iraq. Who would have ever thought.
I'm 41 years old and am bombarded by information 24 x 7. Somedays its just overwhelming. Can you imagine being 7 years old in this new world? What will it be like 10 years from now? 20? The kids of today have to cope with so much information/knowledge and stress that I'm not surprised that they are put on drugs to control their behavior problems.
Do I really need to know minute by minute what Michael Jackson is wearing to the jury selection hearings? Please, don't tell me! Don't tell me what time he got out of the limo and what he did when he got out.
Are we lucky? Or, as Dena would say, luck has nothing to do with it. You make your own luck. I know I am lucky. I am lucky to have Dena, my family, a roof over my head and enough disposable income to be totally lazy and eat out 3-5 times a week. Can I be a better person? I'm sure I could be. Could I go farther in life? I'm sure I could. What is life all about anyways? There was a joke on the internet a while back that happiness would be sliding into the St. Peter's gates with a martini in one hand and chocolate in the other. I think life is about happiness. You must find your place in life and be happy in it, no matter what that is.
Well, that's deep enough for now.......
I'm 41 years old and am bombarded by information 24 x 7. Somedays its just overwhelming. Can you imagine being 7 years old in this new world? What will it be like 10 years from now? 20? The kids of today have to cope with so much information/knowledge and stress that I'm not surprised that they are put on drugs to control their behavior problems.
Do I really need to know minute by minute what Michael Jackson is wearing to the jury selection hearings? Please, don't tell me! Don't tell me what time he got out of the limo and what he did when he got out.
Are we lucky? Or, as Dena would say, luck has nothing to do with it. You make your own luck. I know I am lucky. I am lucky to have Dena, my family, a roof over my head and enough disposable income to be totally lazy and eat out 3-5 times a week. Can I be a better person? I'm sure I could be. Could I go farther in life? I'm sure I could. What is life all about anyways? There was a joke on the internet a while back that happiness would be sliding into the St. Peter's gates with a martini in one hand and chocolate in the other. I think life is about happiness. You must find your place in life and be happy in it, no matter what that is.
Well, that's deep enough for now.......
Monday, February 07, 2005
The quest for architectural integrity
Keeping the integrity of a 1924 house can be challenging and daunting, especially financially. We felt strongly about keeping that 1924 imported from England pink tile in tact throughout the bathroom. It cost us more money than I care to admit and more time than was anywhere near reasonable and caused me to wish on many an occasion that I had a prescription with unlimited refills for xanax. All of this I rationalize, has been worth it. We are so close to finishing I can taste it. We're down to the nitty gritty now, but I draw the line at $68 double hung window thumb latches. This price was courtesy of Liz's Hardware on La Brea. These $68 window locks are antique of course, I've found a picture of them here. They are East Lake Victorian latches. They are obviously much cheaper on Ebay than @ Liz's. Although, Liz's is great for looking at stuff. Come to think of it, so is eBay.
We also are thinking of replacing our 1950's style drawer pulls in the infamous pink bathroom with something more "period". We were thinking glass, similar to these. These are $18 each @ Liz's. I suppose there is something to be said for patience and shopping to find a bargain. If you want something NOW, you're just going to have to pay for it.
Oh goody gumdrops, maybe eBay will come thru. I'll let you all know....
We also are thinking of replacing our 1950's style drawer pulls in the infamous pink bathroom with something more "period". We were thinking glass, similar to these. These are $18 each @ Liz's. I suppose there is something to be said for patience and shopping to find a bargain. If you want something NOW, you're just going to have to pay for it.
Oh goody gumdrops, maybe eBay will come thru. I'll let you all know....
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Monday, January 31, 2005
Someday........
- - there won't be dirt in the house right after its cleaned.
- - I might be able to sleep in without fear of some workman walking in on me
- - I'll be able to pee in peace
- - I can close the windows and doors all day long
- - there won't be bugs flying around constantly cause all the doors and windows were off
- - I won't have a hit list
- - I can put away all the cartons of stuff we've moved from room to room
- - I can put away my "contractors book of spanish"
- - I can actually put things in my brand new medicine chests
- - I'll be able to find my hairbrush, electric toothbrush & all the other things that have been misplaced over the last 8 months
- - I won't have to make 10 design/color decisions a day
- - there won't be some snafu to write about
- - over the rainbow.......
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Friday, January 28, 2005
A major milestone reached!
I cannot tell you how excited I am to report that as of 1/27/2005 we are showering in our own home again! I honestly thought this day would never come. I began this blog 6 months ago to vent my frustration at the seemingly insane litany of mishaps, screw-ups and SNAFUs at our home remodel. Many of you and your friends have written to tell me that this is par for the course. While my faith in humanity is shaken that still cannot lessen the joy I feel at finally showering in the comfort of my own home.
Now, if I could only get the painters out of the bathroom.......
Now, if I could only get the painters out of the bathroom.......
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Can anything else go wrong?
I suppose you are not supposed to ask that kind of question. I may anger the Gods. There seem to be many Gods conspiring against me, the weather god is one of them. Today was just another day at the insane house I call home. Let's see, there were 4 painters, 1 gardener, 3 plumbers (yes, again) and well, almost an ambulance.
So, this morning the anal painter, Brian says that the toilet in the guest house is backed up. If you'll recall the painters have pretty much moved in. The guest house now contains their coffee maker, water and soda stash, their toilet and wash facilities, snacks and pastries for coffee breaks. Its also their changing area. Well, to minimize the interruptions to my work day (boy is that a laugh) I call a roto rooter type service, but not Roto Rooter. After all, they were here last week working on the other drain, the "area" drain its called. For those of you uneducated in these matters, an area drain drains the backyard or what have you. Its for outside stuff. That was a $500 adventure to learn that the area drain (terra cotta, very old) is broken not 15' from where it starts.
Back to where I was, the new plumbing/rooter company arrives. I'm on a very important and expensive conference call with my life coach, and the timing couldn't be worse. It's $500 (1) to hydro flush the drain, another $250 (2) or something to put a camera down it and (3) another $600 or something to put in a proper clean out, bringing it to code and preventing future need for items 1) and 2). I was in shock after 1). I opted for 1) So on the nextel he goes calling in reinforcements. What arrives but the biggest bloody plumbers truck I've ever seen. This thing was huge. It pumps some huge volume of water and more importantly major pressure thru the pipe and cleans it out. This works almost instantly. It was a soft matter clog. (yuck, I told the painters no more tamales) Sal (plumber #1) then spots my new red pipe locator tool. This is just a large red T shaped metal rod with a pointy end an ergonomic handles used to push into the ground to hopefully hit a pipe. I suppose besides dowsing this would be how to locate pipe sans modern technology.
I could tell Sal wanted my newly acquired metal pointy thing. You see, the Roto Rooter fellows left it. I was quite happy to have a new tool so I squirreled it away. Sal wanted it. I traded him camera/video surveillance on my pipe & pipe locating for the rod. I believe they are expensive rods. He was salivating as was I. Isnt' it odd what makes two people happy? I now know where the guest house sewer drain goes and at what depth. hehe and $500 poorer, not $1,000.
As for the painters, the forecast is rain and the house is done up like a huge cocoon. Its so bizarre its almost funny. If the windows get wet the painter cannot work for a week. Self preservation I guess. Oh, right, the ambulance. Well Brian wanted to cut these 3 little stub outs from the side of the house. On these old 1920's houses there can be several of these as the power is fed from poles. These get moved along the years and old metal stubs on the side of a house remain. He's anal remember so it looks bad. They have to go. So Brian goes up the ladder with his cordless reciprocating saw and starts cutting close to the stucco. One down, two down and ZAAAAPPPPPP!!! One was hot. He got quite a jolt and the curse words were flying. There was no way to tell that there was even wires in there. I've called an electrician...........
So, this morning the anal painter, Brian says that the toilet in the guest house is backed up. If you'll recall the painters have pretty much moved in. The guest house now contains their coffee maker, water and soda stash, their toilet and wash facilities, snacks and pastries for coffee breaks. Its also their changing area. Well, to minimize the interruptions to my work day (boy is that a laugh) I call a roto rooter type service, but not Roto Rooter. After all, they were here last week working on the other drain, the "area" drain its called. For those of you uneducated in these matters, an area drain drains the backyard or what have you. Its for outside stuff. That was a $500 adventure to learn that the area drain (terra cotta, very old) is broken not 15' from where it starts.
Back to where I was, the new plumbing/rooter company arrives. I'm on a very important and expensive conference call with my life coach, and the timing couldn't be worse. It's $500 (1) to hydro flush the drain, another $250 (2) or something to put a camera down it and (3) another $600 or something to put in a proper clean out, bringing it to code and preventing future need for items 1) and 2). I was in shock after 1). I opted for 1) So on the nextel he goes calling in reinforcements. What arrives but the biggest bloody plumbers truck I've ever seen. This thing was huge. It pumps some huge volume of water and more importantly major pressure thru the pipe and cleans it out. This works almost instantly. It was a soft matter clog. (yuck, I told the painters no more tamales) Sal (plumber #1) then spots my new red pipe locator tool. This is just a large red T shaped metal rod with a pointy end an ergonomic handles used to push into the ground to hopefully hit a pipe. I suppose besides dowsing this would be how to locate pipe sans modern technology.
I could tell Sal wanted my newly acquired metal pointy thing. You see, the Roto Rooter fellows left it. I was quite happy to have a new tool so I squirreled it away. Sal wanted it. I traded him camera/video surveillance on my pipe & pipe locating for the rod. I believe they are expensive rods. He was salivating as was I. Isnt' it odd what makes two people happy? I now know where the guest house sewer drain goes and at what depth. hehe and $500 poorer, not $1,000.
As for the painters, the forecast is rain and the house is done up like a huge cocoon. Its so bizarre its almost funny. If the windows get wet the painter cannot work for a week. Self preservation I guess. Oh, right, the ambulance. Well Brian wanted to cut these 3 little stub outs from the side of the house. On these old 1920's houses there can be several of these as the power is fed from poles. These get moved along the years and old metal stubs on the side of a house remain. He's anal remember so it looks bad. They have to go. So Brian goes up the ladder with his cordless reciprocating saw and starts cutting close to the stucco. One down, two down and ZAAAAPPPPPP!!! One was hot. He got quite a jolt and the curse words were flying. There was no way to tell that there was even wires in there. I've called an electrician...........
Monday, January 24, 2005
Friday, January 21, 2005
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Anticipation....
Today is grout day people. Yes, Eric got paid for the ceiling yesterday and has enough money to buy grout. A small part of me is saying, well if I gave him $200 yesterday will he even show up today? How the hell was he going to buy grout if I hadn't given him the $ anyways?? OMG we could be doing grout today!!! There's that hope thing again. Will Dawn's hopes be dashed today or will the Gods of favor shine upon her? The shower is completely tiled and looks awesome. Each time I enter the bathroom I shiver with anticipation that soon I could shower in my own house again. Since July 6th we have not showered in our house. We've bathed mind you but not showered. Oh how I long for a home based shower. I'm so excited.
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