What a looooooong weekend.
Started Friday by closing on the house. Sign this, and this, and this, and this, and this......
Got the keys and started installing blinds. Just as I figured, the blinds needed to be cut. Took a trip to Home Depot to get a saw - sweet, one for $89. Crap, they only have blades for cutting aluminum in 12" - ok, $200 saw it is.
Go back, install blinds. Now, either there was metal lining the studs, or I was going through nails, but whatever it was, it made drilling difficult and wore out my shoulders. (It was only a 7V drill) Cut the blinds to length - feeling really good about myself - and then I found out the wrong way to cut blinds. Only ruined 1 set. The others went fine, but took until 8pm to finish - had to wait 3 hours for the drill to recharge.
More.......
Cable and phone went in alright - but they didn't bury the cables. Now I'll have to bug them until they get that done. Got my recycle and trash bins. Also brought the kitties to meet their new home. As usual, they figure getting into the car meant going to the vet, so they were very upset.
Saturday - move day. The movers got in late. Found out one of the pair was lazy and dragged his ass. I think I only saw him make maybe 5 trips - leaving the other guy to do most of the work. He even took the TV by himself, and sliced his finger on a staple carry the couch. After a little break trying to sterilize and patch up his finger, he kept on going. Movers moved the stuff, and left, and then I finished up. I made so many trips up and down the stairs that I couldn't walk after it was finished. The new bath tub came in very handy.
Sunday - I slept in. Ate, watched Harry Potter (I get free HBO and Showtime for 2 months), then did some grocery shopping, as I had no food - and needed to get T-day stuff. Rembered (again) why I don't do my shopping at Kroger. By the time I got home, it was already after 6, which killed any thoughts of going to the old place and clean up. Guess that'll have to wait for Friday and Saturday.
Now, I've got boxes everywhere, and my stuff nowhere. I don't know where the majority of my stuff is, which made getting ready for work interesting - trying to find where my toothpaste is, then where's that stupid toothbrush??! Man, where did I put my shirts? Where's my ID???!?!?!
I hope to have at least the kitchen (somewhat) organized in the next few days, so I can do T-day.
Oh, and got pix and avi - had a really really hard time getting avi's, so I only took the two, and took pictures the rest. Since the sun made things difficult, had to take the pictures such that they didn't turn out washed out.
Well, the house is finished, and the city has signed off on it. It's looking rather nice. Tomorrow morning I'll close - I think I owe something like $2.63 - and then I'll take pictures and install blinds while I wait for the phone and cable to be installed.
Saturday is the big move day.
Looks like things will be finishing up rather soon. Took a look, and the house is almost complete. The installed the kitchen sink; I have a suspicion that it is not the sink I ordered, although I could not verify that. I ordered the 'cheap' upgrade, which was an acrylic sink. This sink had a more metallic feel when I tapped it. This could either be they gave me a cast iron sink in order to complete the house and close by the end of their fiscal year (11/30), or the acrylic sinks are supposed to be like that and my memory is off. So, the kitchen is complete almost complete - everything is in place. They just need to paint the psuedo wall in the island, and stain the wood edge on the counters.
All the interior trimming is finished. The kitchen window no longer has markings on it, and appears to be square now. They installed the thermostat. I was supposed to get the generic, mercury-abled, lever switched type. They wanted something like $150-$200 to install a digital one, but I already have one of those, and figured I install it myself. Well, they installed a digital one.
Also of note, I looked at the cost of my added selections and realized something. The amount my loan officer stated to me that was being added is not entirely correct. He has the amount before the non-accoustic ceilings were added. This amount was added a few days after my final selection process, as they didn't have the cost. So, it looks like I got the upgraded ceilings for free as well.
All that appeared to be left was the stairs to the attic, the stuff in the kitchen already mentioned, and the exterior trim. THe builder said that the house will be complete tomorrow. Which means that I'll have my walkthru on Monday, and the final walkthru on Thursday, and closing on Friday. My sales person called me to say that my closing was on the 20th at 3pm, but I told her that I didn't think that would fit in with the builder's plan, as I figured he'd want more than 1 day to get any loose ends out of the way after the walkthru on Monday. She called the builder, and this was confirmed, so she's going to try to get me an appointment on Friday morning.
Looks like I am pretty set to move next weekend. I plan on getting a final batch of pictures over the weekend.
New pix and avi's are up. The sun wasn't very cooperative and much is washed out. Even the good one of the master bed doesn't properly show the true carpet color. This will pretty much be it for pictures. When the kitchen is finished, I'll take some pix of it, and maybe try to get the living room to see if I can capture the true color of the carpet. I'll then take pix of the what I can of the exterior when that's all finished.
As always, use Quicktime for the avi's
Random thoughts:
It was rather nice this weekend. Sat was sunny and 86, although quite a bit windy. Yesterday was nice - 75 I think.
VH-1 Classic is a very interesting channel. It plays some really cool videos, as well as videos I've never seen before. I heard/saw my first KraftWerk song - although I know there are people who dig it, I was less than impressed. I also saw the video "Welcome to the Machine" by Pink Floyd. It was interesting in that it was very "The Wall" -ish, however the song was released on the "Wish You Were Here" album. I beleive that was released in '75, which would put it 5-6 years before "The Wall". It was intriguing to see the way things progress.
I'm beginning to think this page needs some updating. The colors and layout are starting to get to me. Maybe if I get some motivation, I'll make some changes...
Took a visit to the house, and things are looking pretty good. The carpeting looks really nice, and the tones in the kitchen match nicely. All the appliances are in as well. They also installed the backyard fence. Looks like all that's left is:
the kitchen sink - currently on backorder
stairs to the attic need to be installed
some more trimming needs to be done - baseboards and window sills
coax cable needs to be terminated
they have marking on the kitchen window saying it's out of plumb
paint the partial wall they created for part of the kitchen island
paint the shelves
touch up painting
thermostat installation
installation of false shutters and exterior trim painting
and I think it'll be finished. I'd figure all that can be accomplished this coming week; so it'll be the backordered sink that holds things up.
I tried taking some pictures, but the confines of the rooms don't always allow for that. I've got a few AVI's to cover the rest. I didn't bother with the 2 bedrooms.
Here, I gave cleaning the fireplace walls another go. After two hours today, I'm giving up. It's not exactly clean, but at least it's no longer black. And, I spackled and painted the two holes I made from telling neighbors how I feel about their noise levels.
Ok, what the hell. Why wasn't this shit available when I was in college????!!!!
From MSNBC:
It’s dinnertime at the University of Chicago, and that means Jerome Van Der Ghinst has a decision to make. Red-pepper risotto tossed with salmon? Grilled flank steak done to perfection? Or maybe just some Froot Loops.
The only passing for edible was the cereal when I was in college. Cereal came straight from the box, so you knew exactly what it was, and knew it had a grade above E - as opposed to the other foods available. The salad fixings were passable, but when you start finding pork chops and other foodstuff within, you tend to avoid the buffet style foodstuffs. Hell, I'd use the money that went into pizza to buy the food that's available to campuses now. Red-pepper risotto tossed with salmon is far far far more appetizing than country captain's stew!
OK - the new/old (he was my former former loan officer) called me. I'll be at 6.5% and, for now, I'll be coming to the closing owing $1.55. My monthly payments are going to be a little higher than I expected, but still below the rent+car payments in the past, so it'll be manageable. I'll just not be having as much of a postive income flow (or maybe none) as I had thought. But, at least I won't have any more urgings to execute my neighbors.
Oh wait, I've got to look into changing my W-4 deductions... which will bring in more monthly income... hmmm, more work to do...
Now I'm really confused and don't know what's going on. I tried calling my loan officer today to find out what is up with the mortgage and closing - since I've been told it's in two weeks, and I haven't a clue as to what the amount is or what the rate of the loan is. I was supposed to lock in an interest rate about 4 weeks ago or so - which would have been sweet as that week the rates were at 5.94%.
So I call, and am told that she is no longer with them. I'm transfered to the guy she worked under, and he wasn't in. Talked to, what seemed to be, his secretary. From the lack of information I've gotten in the last 4 weeks, the lack of information that was contained in my file, and a comment made by this person about my former loan officer, I am concluding that the loss of employment was not voluntary.
Hopefully in the next day or so, this guy will call me and start to clear some things up. What's got me really confused is that the secretary was giving me info and telling me what I needed to do which is pretty much the opposite of what I was previously told.
Ah, it's finally getting back into the 60's and the sun is coming out. Not quite back to normal temps, but the weather is nicer than the previous few weeks - no more gloom and rain and cold, at least for this week.
I was told today that the carpeting will be in on Thursday, and the appliances either Friday or Monday. I've got a walk through meeting on the 18th, to go over what/where/why of everything in the house, and to note what needs attention before I take ownership. So, it's looking like I'll be closing on the 21st or 22nd. Already have the movers scheduled for the 23rd - went with the firefighters, and already gave my 30 day notice to move out. If all goes well, I'll be moved in before Thanksgiving.
I'm going to hold off on pictures until things are finished.
For a certain somebody who feels United can do no wrong:
On a United flight, our lab found aquatic insect eggs that, after a few days, hatched into maggots. “I’ve never seen it in all the 26 years I have been testing water,” Dr. Hendrickson says.
...and United confirm that they serve tap when water bottles run out, primarily on full flights.
“It’s absolutely drinkable,” says a United spokesman.
From: http://msnbc.com/news/829189.asp?0dm=C1BMH
Also, not to mention the E. Coli, Pasteurella pneumotropica, pseudomonas, staphylococcus, and salmonella found in various flights and carriers...