She really stretched this birthday thing out. I think there were at least three parties or events or celebrations associated with it. How does she do it?
First, of course, she had to go out to sushi with her boyfriend. Then she had to go out with some of her other friends. Then she had the birthday party here at the house with her family. Not sure why she wanted to separate the family from the friends. Oh, wait -- yes, now I remember.
Teenagers.
Still, she's doing rather well. She's got a job, a car, a boyfriend, and a plan. She's already taking college classes, she's been accepted at GVSU. So when she starts next year, she'll already be ahead of the game by 18 credits or so. Good ol' AP classes!
We did have a lovely birthday party here. I was quite proud of her for deciding to have a kind of "game night", too, since she knows her brother loves that kind of interaction. And we did have a great time. We ate some good food, took a break to play some games, then had cake and presents. She got exactly what she wanted -- money! Isn't that what every teenager needs these days? Especially those with plans to go to college.
My focus, sadly, has been on the new car she got. Not "new", of course; it's a 2000 Toyota Camry LE (Luxury Edition). She did all the research and found it on craigslist for a really good price, and I took care of the actual picking up and paying for it. She provided the funds.
The car has a few issues. Broken windshield. Broken passenger-side mirror (which she seems to think is a required-to-drive item). Broken driver door handle (manufacturing defect, per our research). Broken driver-side tail light (with accompanying bumper damage). Parking brake is non-functional. Slight hole in one of the exhaust pipes. Also, the radio works, but the speakers are intermittent.
But it has very low mileage for its age, only 135k. And the engine runs great. Just needs a few little things fixed here and there. The windshield is $200. The mirror and handle and tail light together are all less than $100. The parking brake appears to be a broken cable. The exhaust hole is a relatively simple fix. The radio -- well, that's going to be a pain to fix.
Overall, a pretty good deal for the money. And the best part is, once she starts driving it (when she finally gets that required-to-drive passenger side mirror), I get my Ruby back! And I can pull the engine and replace the main seals and the transmission seal so it stops leaking! And fix the rust spots!
Well, OK, but first, there's that basement thing...
We got the electrical rough-in inspection completed last Friday. I was nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs, as I always am right before a test. Thinking through all the possible scenarios. What did I miss? What will the inspector want to see? And then he didn't show up til after lunch, just about the time Cheryl had to go back to school. And he didn't call ahead like I was hoping he would. Well, technically, he did call ahead - but only a few minutes ahead. Because he got lost in our development. Which isn't a surprise.
But he showed up, and I showed him around, and he looked at everything. Didn't find anything of note. Liked the way I kept the wiring simple. The only worrisome comment he made was when he walked into the smaller bedroom and asked, "Is this supposed to be a bedroom?" I had thought it was obvious due to the egress window. But he said that they expect all bedrooms to have closets nowadays, and this one didn't have a closet framed in. I told him I was hoping to use a wardrobe rather than a closet; he was dubious about that bit of logic. Said the framing inspector might want to talk about that.
After he had left -- leaving me with a nice PASSED sticker on my building permit in the window! -- I did some research and discovered that it is not a legal requirement to have a closet in every bedroom. BUT if you advertise your house for sale, realtors (and most buyers) won't count it as a bedroom unless it has a closet. Without a closet, it is only a "bonus" room. Which isn't as valuable.
Whatever. It kind of annoys me because I think a wardrobe is classier. Plus there's always the possibility you'll find the one that goes to Narnia. And then there's the fact that, in my perception, it limits the room's use. What if I want to use it as an office instead? I don't want part of the room being used up for closet storage. But if someone comes over to stay for awhile, I'd like the option to bring in a portable closet (wardrobe) for their use.
That said, I went ahead and drew up some plans for a closet that stretches across the length of the room. It actually constitutes two four-foot closets along with the circuit breaker panel enclosure (to ensure that the thirty-six inches in front of the circuit breaker panel remain clear of obstructions). That didn't take long. And it was kind of fun.
But I have to hurry things along now. We're already past the year mark and we haven't even started drywalling yet!!
Part of the problem is that there are so many other things going on in life these days, and they are constantly distracting. Last week, I got a call from one of the Band directors because he needed some stands made for some instruments they're taking along on the Florida trip, and I've been the go-to guy for those kinds of things for the past couple of years as the Marching Band Pit Crew chief. So I put my thinking cap on and created a rolling stand for their "thunder-maker" (a 2x3 sheet of galvanized steel) and drilled holes in a set of mixing bowls they're going to mount on cymbal stands. That was all of a Sunday afternoon.
The other major distraction is the job search. The current job isn't going to last much longer, maybe another month, and I need to have something set up in the next couple of weeks. The contracting gig is not really my style, but working for The Man isn't either. I'm not sure what to do about it. Meanwhile, I've got some fantastic friends who have been sending me leads for engineering jobs which I have to look into. Which means updated resumes and cover letters. Which means more time not spent on Facebook and blog sites. I apologize in advance for my sporadic updates, but that's going to be the way it is for awhile.
::
Post script
Mary is being inundated with mail from colleges who all want her attention. James is still planning on flying back to Germany in the middle of February. Adam is getting ready to start up school again. And Cheryl started her new job!
First, of course, she had to go out to sushi with her boyfriend. Then she had to go out with some of her other friends. Then she had the birthday party here at the house with her family. Not sure why she wanted to separate the family from the friends. Oh, wait -- yes, now I remember.
Teenagers.
Still, she's doing rather well. She's got a job, a car, a boyfriend, and a plan. She's already taking college classes, she's been accepted at GVSU. So when she starts next year, she'll already be ahead of the game by 18 credits or so. Good ol' AP classes!
We did have a lovely birthday party here. I was quite proud of her for deciding to have a kind of "game night", too, since she knows her brother loves that kind of interaction. And we did have a great time. We ate some good food, took a break to play some games, then had cake and presents. She got exactly what she wanted -- money! Isn't that what every teenager needs these days? Especially those with plans to go to college.
My focus, sadly, has been on the new car she got. Not "new", of course; it's a 2000 Toyota Camry LE (Luxury Edition). She did all the research and found it on craigslist for a really good price, and I took care of the actual picking up and paying for it. She provided the funds.
The car has a few issues. Broken windshield. Broken passenger-side mirror (which she seems to think is a required-to-drive item). Broken driver door handle (manufacturing defect, per our research). Broken driver-side tail light (with accompanying bumper damage). Parking brake is non-functional. Slight hole in one of the exhaust pipes. Also, the radio works, but the speakers are intermittent.
But it has very low mileage for its age, only 135k. And the engine runs great. Just needs a few little things fixed here and there. The windshield is $200. The mirror and handle and tail light together are all less than $100. The parking brake appears to be a broken cable. The exhaust hole is a relatively simple fix. The radio -- well, that's going to be a pain to fix.
Overall, a pretty good deal for the money. And the best part is, once she starts driving it (when she finally gets that required-to-drive passenger side mirror), I get my Ruby back! And I can pull the engine and replace the main seals and the transmission seal so it stops leaking! And fix the rust spots!
Well, OK, but first, there's that basement thing...
We got the electrical rough-in inspection completed last Friday. I was nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs, as I always am right before a test. Thinking through all the possible scenarios. What did I miss? What will the inspector want to see? And then he didn't show up til after lunch, just about the time Cheryl had to go back to school. And he didn't call ahead like I was hoping he would. Well, technically, he did call ahead - but only a few minutes ahead. Because he got lost in our development. Which isn't a surprise.
But he showed up, and I showed him around, and he looked at everything. Didn't find anything of note. Liked the way I kept the wiring simple. The only worrisome comment he made was when he walked into the smaller bedroom and asked, "Is this supposed to be a bedroom?" I had thought it was obvious due to the egress window. But he said that they expect all bedrooms to have closets nowadays, and this one didn't have a closet framed in. I told him I was hoping to use a wardrobe rather than a closet; he was dubious about that bit of logic. Said the framing inspector might want to talk about that.
After he had left -- leaving me with a nice PASSED sticker on my building permit in the window! -- I did some research and discovered that it is not a legal requirement to have a closet in every bedroom. BUT if you advertise your house for sale, realtors (and most buyers) won't count it as a bedroom unless it has a closet. Without a closet, it is only a "bonus" room. Which isn't as valuable.
Whatever. It kind of annoys me because I think a wardrobe is classier. Plus there's always the possibility you'll find the one that goes to Narnia. And then there's the fact that, in my perception, it limits the room's use. What if I want to use it as an office instead? I don't want part of the room being used up for closet storage. But if someone comes over to stay for awhile, I'd like the option to bring in a portable closet (wardrobe) for their use.
That said, I went ahead and drew up some plans for a closet that stretches across the length of the room. It actually constitutes two four-foot closets along with the circuit breaker panel enclosure (to ensure that the thirty-six inches in front of the circuit breaker panel remain clear of obstructions). That didn't take long. And it was kind of fun.
But I have to hurry things along now. We're already past the year mark and we haven't even started drywalling yet!!
Part of the problem is that there are so many other things going on in life these days, and they are constantly distracting. Last week, I got a call from one of the Band directors because he needed some stands made for some instruments they're taking along on the Florida trip, and I've been the go-to guy for those kinds of things for the past couple of years as the Marching Band Pit Crew chief. So I put my thinking cap on and created a rolling stand for their "thunder-maker" (a 2x3 sheet of galvanized steel) and drilled holes in a set of mixing bowls they're going to mount on cymbal stands. That was all of a Sunday afternoon.
The other major distraction is the job search. The current job isn't going to last much longer, maybe another month, and I need to have something set up in the next couple of weeks. The contracting gig is not really my style, but working for The Man isn't either. I'm not sure what to do about it. Meanwhile, I've got some fantastic friends who have been sending me leads for engineering jobs which I have to look into. Which means updated resumes and cover letters. Which means more time not spent on Facebook and blog sites. I apologize in advance for my sporadic updates, but that's going to be the way it is for awhile.
::
Post script
Mary is being inundated with mail from colleges who all want her attention. James is still planning on flying back to Germany in the middle of February. Adam is getting ready to start up school again. And Cheryl started her new job!
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