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January 24 "Our Long national nightmare is over...."Or.... how i finally got my house back.
Yes, folks, the remodel finally has finished. it took awhile... and then awhile after that... and like any project, after we finished the first 80%, all that was left is the SECOND 80%.
Some lessons learned...
1) I don't care how good your contractor is (and ours was very good), they aren't going to be done on time. They estimate construction the way we estimate software, and that leaves little room for error. Ask what kid of contingency time they have in their schedule.
2) Don't set up your builing project to end at the end of december. We did... and the problem was, once we went over a day, it was basically adding a couple of weeks, between everyone's vacations, etc.
Both of those things having been said, we are done now, and pretty happy with it. We're having a little party to 're-warm' the house on saturday, so feel free to stop by.
-denny November 07 Remodel Pictures....Okay okay okay. I'm being told that I'm a fool, and that I should add pictures up about the remodel. So for those of you looking for such a thing, here they are courtesy of my wife, who actually takes care of this kind of stuff. Turns out I'm not a detail oriented guy ;)
And no Larry, there is no longer a toilet on the main floor. so its basement to penthouse if you want to use the facilities.... So first take a look at the before pictures.
Next up is the first couple of days...
An a couple of days later, the actual new state of the house is starting to shape up
And lastly... we are also adding on about 10 feet all the way down one side of our house. So last thursday they broke ground (yes, we talked them out of digging up our yard on Halloween and waiting til the next day). I'll post those
October 28 Long silence ends. film at 11Wow.... its been like 11 months since I posted anything here. sadly, not that much has changed :) pretty much the same story.
One big thing. We decided to remodel our house. what started as a small project to re-do the kitchen has grown now to include ripping out all the walls on the main floor of the house, adding 500 square feet to the existing house, and actually changing the entire layout of the main floor.
Its not the end of the world, but it means that right now, we are living in the basement and the bedrooms upstairs. Basement is finished, and has surround sound, tv, couches and (importantly) our bar... so its not like we are suffering terribly, but it is a little weird that we now spend like 1/2 our time underground. we don't have a daylight basement, so in the basement is basically completely underground.
That's all for now.. if you're curious let me know, i'll put up some pictures... January 15 Decisions made, and others postponedSo.... this weekend I was faced with an interesting (and flattering) decision from a career standpoint. I got a call on friday from someone who wanted to talk to me about going to work for another software company that shall remain nameless (for the sake of everyone). It was very flattering, and probably financially very appealing.
I'll never know. I didn't get that far. I'm not saying I wasn't curious, but in my experience, unless you are at the point where a $ amount could move your decision, then allowing someone to give you numbers is just like saying "you want to go out? what will you be wearing? oh, I'm busy." its much more personal.
It was very weird to think of not considering it, but.... it is what it is. I'm not in a hurry to move right now, and I think despite the positioning, the reality is that I would end up having to relocate to where this particular company has most of its technical staff.
Oh well... its done now. Back to the grindstone.
December 17 I am kinda tired today...Last night we stayed out to play, which was fun. Hung out up at Carbone's for awhile, as we seem to do a lot more than is probably wise for us. We've now moved way past regulars to being nearly deputized staff... ;) its a good thing, but a little bit odd. Its nice there though, very comfortable for us, we know most of the people who are there.
Is it so much to ask, though, that people not be gigantic idiots? I mean, hit on girls at the bar if you want to. I understand, I was once single, and it has to be done. Its biology. But can't you take a hint? Its like watching that really stupid A Night at the Roxbury SNL skit over and over again. If the girl acts like you are stupid, then it really doesn't matter if you really are stupid or not. She's not buying...just gracefully move on.
An example of not doing that is choosing to throw food, and (seriously, I could not make this up) stick french fries up your nose. Yeah, man, that's totally gonna turn around her thoughts of you.
But then, you somehow manage to drag ME into your web of stupidity by hitting me with your pathetic, fifth-grade attempts to tease the girls into liking you. It isn't cute, its really just kind of sad.
In other unrelated news, I managed to be turned into the stalker of one young woman's dreams. I guess, better to be a stalker in her dreams than not in them at all.
I'm a little tired, we finally got to bed this morning about 6 AM.... its very scary to look at a clock and realize in 24 hours you are getting up to go to work, and have two nights sleep you are hoping to get in that time.
Merry christmas everyone December 16 Sometimes it isn't the worst thing ever to do nice stuffI like the fact I work for a company that, despite their reputation on some thing in IT, actually encourages me to do nice things.
"Don't be evil". hah... give me "do good, and here's some backup" anyday.
That's about it. i like this time of year, but don't mention that to anyone. I have an image to think about here.
at any rate... go give something you just bought for someone to toys for tots. you'll feel better, and someone who will almost certainly appreciate it more will have something for chrsitmas. December 14 Well its allegedly christmastimeIt's the 14th of december. I'm pretty sure its supposed to be winter right now. but its 9:30 AM, and its 41. this is rediculous.
oh well. in other news i'm working too much and I want to go on vacation. but that's a waise off.
still no idea what i'm getting nik for christmas... if anyone has any ideas.... send it to me. i'm desperate now ;)
May 18 The house is closed onSo now even if we want to go back, we can't now Saw Bob Guy out here this week. he wass around because he went to work for Avanade as a lead in their .NET practice they are building. If you happen to be interested in a consulting gig in the cities, he's a good guy to get ahold of. Other than that, lots of working. Going to go see Star Wars this week with people from work. that should be cool... My childhood comes home to roost May 14 T+1 MonthSo.... In answer to Derek's question... Yeah, we got a relo, that's why we are living in this little townhouse without paying rent/house payment. So we're in temp housing til we close on our new house in Bothell. Its starting to make both of us a little stir crazy, because we are used to having a lot more room than we do here. In other news, Nikki seems to be on the tria lof some good job leads, so hopefully that'll work out for her. I'm sure its a little boring sitting in this townhouse all day with not too much to do anymore. The first few weeks, with the house looking, and house selling, and scheduling stuff, I am just as happy she wasn't working, but now its getting to the point where I think she wants to get out. Otherwise, the experiment continues. :) April 30 T+ 2 weeksWell, we bought a house in Seattle... well technically in Bothell, for those who know that area. Its about 12-15 minutes from work without traffic, and that means it'll be...um.... i'll tell you later how long it is to get there in traffic. In the meantime, Nikki and I are living in a townhouse/apartment type of thing here in Redmond. Not bad really, but nothing that says "hey make this go on longer" :) Just like it is supposed to be. homey enough to make it livable, but not so homey that it is an incentive to not go somewhere else. Also sold our house in Apple Valley this week. Which is a huge relief, since I was bracing our checkbook to support two house payments. Now we should actually end up with a month or two with NO house payments. that'll be a nice deal. Here's a picture of the house. We had a lot of help selling our house, they paid for most of the costs, realtor fees, etc.
April 22 T + 6 daysSo, I'm around here now. Been a long week. We bought a house, pending the inspection of course. It's been great fun living here in Seattle. I have to tell you, though, that in the long run, I still see myself heading back to the 'flyover country' that I'm from. Can't really see myself spending the rest of my life in Seattle. I like the midwest, and I'll probably end up there again before that long. In other news, Nikki has a 'final interview day' for a pretty decent job, plus if she gets it we can carpool. :) This would be cool considering gas is like 2.50 - 2.75 a gallon out here. April 08 Leaving homeKinda sucks. Not a fan of it. I know we are doing the right thing, but I am overly attached to living where I do. Hopefully this will all work out. The process for moving is just incredible when its all done for you in a cross-country move. They are showing up to pack up our whole house in a few hours, then the next day they take all our cars and stuff and load them into trucks. April 07 Packing like its going out of styleWell, we're down to our last week in Minnesota. A week from today they show up to pack the house, the next day they load it up and the cars, and the day after we're off to Seattle for good. Its been insanely fast. It seemed like a lot of time when it started, but lately its seemed way too fast. It will be interesting, and challenging to head out there. But I don't think I'm totally sold yet on leaving. |
That's what I call commitment...
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