Even though the challenges of my daily life pale in comparison to what Lulu is potentially facing, I am nonetheless going to share my recent adventures with you. Just on accounta you need to know what's going on.
I have finally moved into my house! I spent the first two months here in temporary living quarters so that I could have a clean place to live (and work) while my house was undergoing various renovation projects like sanding and refinishing the floors, ripping apart bathrooms, rewiring, plumbing, painting and that sort of thing.
These things always take twice as long as you expect, so of course it's not all done yet. Poor George and I decided that "we" would do the painting ourselves to save money. Big mistake. Not only does "we" mean "CP" since George doesn't live here yet; this house is over 1600 square feet with 9 separate rooms/hallways to deal with, all with wood trim and moulding. Not a mansion by any means, but that's a LOT of painting, especially for a mildly retarded and uncoordinated Punchman.
So the long and short of it is, I'm not done. Most of the house is covered in contractor paper and currently only two rooms are completely move-in ready. I don't even have a bathroom yet because the one I intend to use is filthy and needs to be painted. (I hope to have most of that done today.)
Yet, I decided I didn't really need to pay a third month's rent on the temporary apartment, so I decided to move in "sometime" this weekend. I was stressing about it because it was a smallish job, and really the only thing I could absolutely not do myself was carry a sofa down a flight of steps.
So I didn't want to pay a load of money to "movers" for a job like this, but I did need to find someone to help me at least. (Which is difficult when you're in a new city and the only people you know well enough to ask are physically unable to accomplish such tasks.)
Craigslist to the rescue! Craigslist is the greatest thing ever. I clicked into the "labor and services" section and immediately found a "college kid with a pickup" who was available to help people move stuff.
I really wanted to move in Sunday (today) so that I could have the bathroom ready first - but when I called this kid, he #1 only wanted 40 bucks, and #2 was only available that day (Friday). So I jumped on it, although to set the record straight early on, I gave the kid $100. I couldn't take advantage of his naivete.
As an aside on the money issue, one guy I had talked to was going to make me do half the work and still charge me $250. Ha.
So....it was the fastest packing job I've ever done in my life. I had everything boxed up or otherwise ready to move in 90 minutes. That has to be some kind of world record for moving.
Within the space of three hours from my phone call to the college kid with the pickup, all my stuff was moved into the house.
It was so awesome to wake up the first morning in my very own house. Let's just pray the economy doesn't completely collapse and force me to lose it as is happening to so many Americans. Luckily, PG and I have saved up enough of a reserve for our protection in the event of such a calamity, but I'm still nervous.
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This is my second morning in the house. It's still a wreck and I have no idea where anything is, and don't really have anyplace to put most of it since most of the house is still unusable.
But I decided to make my own coffee this morning rather than go up the street to Starbucks. Here is my time-line on that project:
1. Locate coffee, mug, spoon, sugar, filters, saucepan for boiling water, and my smart little one-cup coffee dripper thing: 45 minutes
2. Clean stovetop after becoming aware that it was crusted over with soot from when the wood floors were sanded: 20 minutes
3. Adjust shelving in refrigerator so that water dispenser could stand upright properly (you don't drink unfiltered tap water here, it's disgusting): 10 minutes
4. Boil water and make coffee: 5 minutes
Total time spent: 80 minutes, or about 3 times as long as it would have taken to go up to Starbucks. But at least I'll be ready for tomorrow morning.
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I just got done enjoying my coffee with knaackebrod and creamed fish eggs with dill that you squeeze out of a toothpaste tube. (Yes, I went to Ikea last night.) And one month from tomorrow, my cats will be here with me.
Yay.
17 comments:
Knaackebrod? Creamed fish eggs? I don't know whether to be intrigued or disgusted.
Wow, so it was almost faster to pack than make coffee? That's something! Congratulations on your brain thinking of Craigslist and your ready rooms with more to come! Things are looking up!
Seeing those tubes reminds me, I need to brush my teeth.
Having just moved, I feel for ya brother. Have fun.
So glad you're settling in nicely. Sure, you could have gone to Starbucks, but you wouldn't have nearly the same sense of accomplishment. Well done!
Two rooms? That means there's one for me!
Honestly, blow the twelve dollars and by a cheap coffee maker. You've freed up some money by not paying rent so there shouldn't be any hardship there.
As far as the painting goes, 96% of the job is in the prep work. Use lots of tape and paper to keep the paint off of what you don't want painted and take your time trimming the edges. Leave the wide open spaces for Poor George to finish. He will thank you for your thoughtfulness.
And while you might knock yourself for being a mildly retarded and uncoordinated Punchman, reassure yourself that you are kind and generous. Just ask the college kid who helped you move and got more than twice his asking price! Keep his number on speed dial for future projects.
I glad to hear that things are working out for you, and you are surrounded by four walls you own. Welcome Home! I know a month is a long time to wait for your beloveds, but seeing them will make it all seem worthwhile and it give you more time alone to sit through movies that you might be ashamed to be caught watching. I'd love to see a list of these if you are stuck for post ideas.
Take care old friend, and if you need some painting tips, I would be more than happy to oblige.
Cheers,
Doc
Ah, the joys of home repair and remodeling. We got lucky and found a painter who does good work, cheap, and the last couple of painting projects have gone WAY easier. Like Doc said, so much of the pain is in the prep work, and it's great to watch a professional take one day to do a project that would've taken me a week.
Anyway, glad you're home.
Call the professional to do the prep work only!! Then have fun painting.
Does that college kid know anything about painting?
Congratulations!
You know, the upshot of living here is that I never ever have to clean anything, or paint, or really lift a finger. The downside is well....
Speaking of Craigs list...I too found a couple of guys with trucks, in fact that was the name of their little company, "two guys and a truck". These guys worked their butts off and moved me in to my house in 3 hours. I also was able to get rid of a lot of crap they seemed interested in. I also found some guys on Craigs list to do "odd jobs" VERY cheaply I might add, including painting. It might be worth your while to see if you can get yourself some help with the painting, times is tough and I bet there's two guys with paint brushes on Craigs list as well!
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Congrats, CP! And no wonder I've been getting so many cavities. I THOUGHT that stuff tasted fishy.
It's a shame you newlyweds have to spend so much time apart. At least you've got Ikea, that place can be very comforting.
"We" also decided it would be cheaper for "us" to paint one of the floors of the office building we just bought at work.
45 gallons of paint, 11 rolls of tape, and other fun stuff later, it wasn't worth the $$$ it saved us.
But glad you got in and are now having the fun of getting it all set up!
I moved 22 times in 25 years. I've been in my present residence for 6 years, the longest place I've ever lived.
Congratulations.
As I read your trials and tribulations, I am reminded that no matter what you have to go through - the simple fact that your mother-in-law is not looking in your window has to count for something huge!!!
Now go to Starbucks and celebrate!!!
So what was your first night like...
1. Locate the toilet paper!
I need to pick up a college kid with a pickup on Craigslist one of these days.
I wonder if we could find Secret Dubai on missed connections, too.
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