by 
Chris
I wrote. And I wrote. And I wrote some more. Then the addition on my house started, or rather didn’t start as advertised, and so I stopped writing. I was angry and frustrated and my writing would have reflected that, so I decided to stop for a while. You see, I consider myself a fun person. Not everyone might think so, but from my perspective it’s a lot of fun to be me. Writing about the trials and tribulations of dealing with Techwood Builders would have been one long rant. You all don’t deserve that.
So I’m back. I’ll post some pics this week and I’ll tell you all about my terrible experience with Techwood, their inability to get things done and how we dealt with it. By April, my relationship with the GC had deteriorated to such a degree that I hired an attorney to act on my behalf, and it still took months to get a few days worth of work completed. It was crazy.
The long and the short: 1) the writing begins anew, and 2) based on my experience, I strongly recommend that you NEVER hire Donald C. Page or Techwood Builders for any reason what so ever. I wouldn’t even hire him to mow my lawn.
I’m back, baby.
Tags: addition, I'm back, trials, tribulations
Posted in: General
by Chris
I have issues, lots of ‘em. One of them is the proposed Islamic center and mosque proposed to go up near ground zero in New York. I am a tolerant person, a live and let live kind of guy. My ethos can be summed up as, “Do what you want but don’t hurt anyone else.”
A mosque at ground zero is the definition of hurting someone else. While 99.999% of Muslims are just like 99.999% of Christians or Buddhists or Zoroastrians in that they just want to do the right thing for the right reason and be left to live their lives, the small group that insists that they have the right to build a mosque in that particular spot is looking for trouble. They have the right to build one three blocks down the road, too.
A mosque at ground zero is offensive in its brazenness. It is asking to be harassed. It is picking a fight in a passive aggressive manner, squeezing lemon juice in a paper cut. This center will require that the citizens of New York provide it with security because there will ALWAYS be some idiot standing outside the door to cause problems. Americans are still angry and ground zero is a focal point for that. We visit and we remember. The site of the World Trade Center is a place of pain for victims and their families.
It seems to me that those advocating for the center at that particular spot are callous to the world around them. The group has the right, surely. But grace, good manners and dignity plus a modicum of caution dictate that a more appropriate site be located. Build the prayer center, but build it down the road a ways.
Muslims would be appalled if a small band of Christians advocated for a cathedral just about anywhere in the Middle East. “We just want a place to pray!” the group would say. And then they would be turned down flat.
Tags: ground zero, Mosque, tolerance
Posted in: General
by Chris
Hi. It’s Chris. I’ve been away. Any messages?
Tags: back in the saddle
Posted in: General
by Chris
I fear that I am witnessing the death spiral of my GC.
Tags: addition, contractor, mortal coil
Posted in: General
by Chris
7:45 this morning: *knocking on the front door* Thump, thump, thump.
Him: “Good morning, sir.”
Me: “Good morning. How can I help you?”
Him (with a crew of 3 behind him): “We’re here for the drywall.”
Me: “OK. Just load it into the driveway.”
Him: “No – we’re here to hang drywall.”
Me:
Him: “Where is it? The drywall?”
Me: “Beats me. Let me make a call.”
Lovely Bride (on the phone, leaving a message): ” Hi. It’s Susan. The crew is here to hang drywall, but no drywall has been delivered. Call me.”
Me (to drywall crew): “I don’t know what to tell you. If they call back I’ll let you know.”
Him: “OK, sir. We’ll hang around for a while.”
8:05 this morning. Lovely Bride and I are leaving the house to drop kids off at school and go to work.
Me: “I don’t know what to tell you. I haven’t heard back from anyone.”
Him (sitting in the back of his truck drinking coffee and messing around with his fishing rod): “OK, sir. We’ll wait for a few more minutes.”
++++++++
I have no idea what happened after that. I’ll let you know after I get home.
Tags: addition, drywall, typical
Posted in: General
by Chris
Death threats? Really? Come on, people. We conduct our revolutions at the ballot box. We do not make death threats to our elected officials. For that matter, we do not call them rude names in public.
What the hell’s the matter with you? Were you raised in a barn? Surely your momma raised you better than that.
The debate over the health care bill that was recently passed has brought out the worst in us. If you disagree with how your elected official voted, throw the bum out. If you are unhappy because the majority of other elected officials did not agree with your perspective, well that’s just life. There are winners and there are losers. Sometimes you’re the pigeon and sometimes you’re the statue.
Simple civility, people. I’m so disappointed in you. Wait ’til your father hears about this.
Tags: boorish behavior, democracy, democrats, idiots, republicans, revolultion, tea party
Posted in: General
by Chris
I think something had to be done about health insurance. Something was. I hope history shows that this was a step in the right direction.
Unfortunately, I’m not smart enough to understand what we just accomplished. The only thing I’m certain of is that no matter how this plays out in the media, inside the beltway, and across the nation, my insurance will cost more.
Tags: health insurance, Politics
Posted in: General
by Chris
Dominion Fertility is running a commercial on the radio I hear every morning as I slog through the traffic on the DC beltway on the way to work. Every morning. It goes something like this:
“I know the economy is hard. But I need a doctor who understands my needs. I still want to have a baby.”
Then they launch into their spiel about how Natural Cycle IVF is the affordable option. The woman’s voice on the commercial is maddening, a whiny plea. I’m sure it was intended to be perceived as sypmathetic or maternal, but it comes off as plaintive and entitled.
I am amazed by the fact that a company is making a profit on this. Has it occurred to people that maybe, just maybe, if they are unable to conceive it is because they are not welcome in the gene pool?
And what about your needs? The commercial sounds to me as though its intended audience are the people for whom children are an accessory. The progression is thus:
- Complete college
- Complete grad school
- Enter work force
- Claw way up to middle management
- Realize that you are now middle aged, probably over 40
- Hear biological clock ticking. Tick tock, tick tock…
- Freak out
- Throw money at the problem
Seems to me that the species has managed to propagate without the benefit of IVF, Natural Cycle or otherwise. Natural selection seems to have worked so far. My recommendation is to do it the old fashioned way. Back to basics. Now, get to it.
Tags: accessory, IVF, Natural Cycle IVF, radio
Posted in: General
by Chris
The snow fell. And fell and fell and fell. Feet of it. I live in the South. This amount of snow is not supposed to fall here. Our local municipalities are doing their very best to manage the snow and snow removal crews have been working for days on end. School has been out for over a week.
The main roads are now clear and have been for a few days, but the neighborhoods are still a mess. The road crews have been focusing on clearing school bus routes. There is simply nowhere to put all the snow that they are scooping up. Giant dump trucks line up behind frontloaders and haul it away. I have no idea where it goes but somewhere out there is a mountain of grey slush with more coming all the time.
We are simply not equipped to handle this amount of snow. I was driving home last night after dark on a Sunday evening and saw a Bobcat clearing a street in my neighborhood, one of the streets that school busses come down.
To all of my brethren in Northern Virginia: please remember how very bad it is on your street today when, in late June, you realize that our kids will still be in school on the first of July (Heck, maybe the 4th of July!).
Our regularly scheduled programming will continue soon, but keep in mind that we will all have to be flexible in order to get our kids through the rest of the school year with the requisite number of hours. Dance classes might have to be rescheduled. Sports practices might have to be moved around. The downstream effects of this snow will be far-reaching and pervasive.
Every one of us is going to be inconvenienced and none of us is special. We, all of us, will need to be patient and as flexible as possible for months to come. So close your eyes, take a deep breath and visualize a peaceful place. For me that place is sandy, and warm – next to a warm ocean. You will need to go there often in the coming months.
Tags: patience, school year, snow, snowmageddon, snowpocalypse
Posted in: General
by Chris
Here’s a movie documenting the addition going up. This is exterior only. Enjoy.
The Addition
Tags: addition, movie
Posted in: General
