Yearly Archives: 2004

In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins – not through strength but by perseverance.

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I rode 30 miles yesterday, give or take a couple. I took the southern Johnson County trail from 135th and Neiman up to 119th and Quivira, and then over to 435 and Stateline for about 25 miles round trip. That was actually my second ride of the day. Just before that one, I rode about 5 miles with a friend. It was her first time on a bike in about 20 years (!), and so we took it easy. She was a trooper though, she didn’t start cussing me until the 2nd or 3rd mile.

As for myself, I didn’t take it so easy on my own. It took just under two hours to go the distance. That’s about double my normal ride, and by the time I was done, I was done. The "Stick a fork in me" kinda done. That last mile was a killer too… I was fine up until then. Heading south on Quivira between 119th and 127th is all uphill (and yesterday it was against the wind). I was praying to gods I don’t even believe in to give me the strength to keep going. I was NOT going to get off and walk it… that would be humiliating and defeatist. It hurt, but I’m damn glad I did it. Funny thing is, I’m not even sore today. Yesterday it was hard to stand up for the first hour or so, but today… though I can feel a little something in my thighs and gluts, it’s not pain… just a slight weariness.

Now, if I could just apply the same determination and courage to asking out that waitress… ;)

Time For a Little Break

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It’s been quiet around here lately. I’ve moved the server to my new house, and haven’t set up all the access rules in the new firewall yet to allow for easy updates. I’m set for August 6th to have my shoulder looked at by an orthopedic surgeon. The quote to get the single-pane windows replaced in my house with double-pane windows was way too high. My new car is phenomenal, and the tinting looks great. Bills are piling up as I wait for new checks to arrive. I need to set up automatic payments on those that allow it.

It has been one hell of a year so far. Between looking for and then buying a house, moving into the new house, dealing with many little and big things that accompany a new house, the personal stresses that led to the new house, re-injuring my shoulder, wrecking my car and the 3 weeks of dealing with an insurance company that charges too much and helps out too little, missing out on a greatly desired trip to APA Nationals in Las Vegas for both 9-ball (not my fault) and 8-ball (mostly my fault), I think I’m due a weekend away. So, I’m going to take it. At noonish today I leave for the deeps of Missouri to enjoy a day of drinking and floating down a creek on a raft. I might row some.

New Car

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It’s finally over. It was an "interesting" 3 weeks, but it’s finally over. I dropped off the rental on Friday, and two hours later, drove off the Saturn lot in Olathe, thus instantly dropping thousands of dollars off the value of my brand new Saturn ION 3 Quad Coupe.

I’m really a lot happier about it than this short ‘n sweet post indicates. I’m just drained from an afternoon in the sun and at the gym.

I’m going to get my tags transferred next week, and take it in to get the windows tinted, and then the saga of totalling out and replacing the old car can be considered all over.

Finally… water and ice in the door…

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I got the copper piping laid today to provide the refrigerator with water for the ice maker, and ice/water in the door. It only took 3 hours and two trips to Home Depot… one for the pipe, and another for a reciprocating saw.

See, when they installed the original (heavy gauge, by the way) pipe, they installed it with permanency in mind. That’s all well and good, but the pipe was crimped and waaaay to short. In order to replace it, I had to start in early on taking the ceiling tiles in the basement out, as well as cut into a cabinet near the floor so I could reach in and feed the pipe through. That’s why the saw. I would have patched the pipe and just lengthened it, but… well, I didn’t think about it until later. I don’t even know if it’s realistic and/or possible. It was crimped pretty near the cabinet, so I’d have had to cut a hole anyway, just to get enough room to attach and extend.

All in all, an interesting Saturday. I’m looking forward to having ready-made ice and cold water. I’m also looking forward to tearing out the rest of the ceiling to see what’s up there. I’m thinking, at least at this point, that I’ll just leave the bare wood and support beams, and paint them black. Later I may go back with some tiles or a ceiling, but that’s a few projects down the road.

Car Juggling, Over-eager children, and dumber than dumb home improvement

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Finally heard some solid numbers regarding my car. After bouncing it around town for a week and a half, spending about 6 hours in total on the phone with a dozen different people, I find that the estimated repair, according to the body shop, is $5,200. That’s damn near the trade-in value… we’ll see what the insurance adjuster says. I should hear back on Monday what the verdict is.

Last week, during all this, my lawn needed mowing… badly. I just didn’t feel up for it, though. With timing that almost speaks to the supernatural, two neighborhood kids come by and offer to mow the lawn for $10. What wonderful fortune! I agree, at which point they ask if they can use my mower. Heh. Go figure. No matter, I let them at it, and pay them $20 for their trouble.

They’ve come by three times since wanting to mow it. Seems they figure me and my lawn an easy source of money, and want to milk it for all they can. I really can’t blame them for it… they’re young, and I remember doing exactly the same thing when I was their age… didn’t work for me any better than it’ll work for them, though.

The previous owner of my house, in keeping their promise to repaint the interior, did so. But they did an absolutely abhorred job. It’s terrible. They didn’t trim in the ceilings except for a couple of places, and splashed paint on fixtures here and there. The best part though (note the sarcasm) is how they dumped their excess paint down the kitchen and bathroom sinks! Isn’t that grand? The brand new, gorgeous deep stainless steel sink in the kitchen had white paint drops all over it, and the drains are stained. The sink in the bathroom is nigh unusable, due to the fact that it takes over an hour for it to drain.

I’m sure it’s entirely possible to carry more stupidity around on one’s shoulders, but the previous owner is already carrying around quite a load. I’ve called him and requested he send a plumber out to take stock of the situation. I’ve the name of my own which I’ll call if (when) I don’t hear from the previous owner for an estimate.

Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.

On the Road (or off it, as the case may be)

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Yesterday, I spent about 3 hours on the phone in the afternoon trying to track down someone at my insurance company who could tell me about my car. The name I was originally given as the insurance adjuster handling the case was on vacation. Apparently, his assistant is too. His supervisor was out, as was *his* supervisor. Voice mail in all cases. I called my agent in Wichita, and over the course of several phone calls got several names and a couple redirections… all leading to voicemail. No fault of hers, either… she was eager to help, but there just wasn’t much she could do aside from try to get me in touch with someone who could do something.

I was told by one of the first live humans I talked to that the scheduled pickup from the body shop by the IC on Monday was cancelled. So I called the body shop and the car wasn’t there. Several phone calls later, I find out that the pickup had been cancelled, but then re-scheduled for the same day. Huh.

In addition, my rental car agreement was originally for three days, and was going to run out in a matter of hours. The adjuster was supposed to call to renew it upon looking at the car. The adjuster not only hadn’t looked at the car, but didn’t even know he was supposed to call the rental agency! I could have picked the car up on Friday. It’s a good thing I didn’t pick the car up until Sunday… Hertz would have been calling me wondering what the hell was going on, and I wouldn’t have had a clue. He did call after I told him about it, and told me about another adjuster would actually be looking at the car, taking photos, and sending them to him.

In summary, the name of the adjuster in charge of the case is not the name I was given last week. The name of the adjuster in charge of looking at the car is not the name I was given last week. I was told last week that it would be taken care of last week, and now it’s this week. It might not be until next week that I know what the final verdict is… is it totalled or not? If not, what’s the damage and schedule? Why have I not been kept in the loop regarding the progress? Why was I given names of people who aren’t involved, and left to track down the names of those who are? Why did *I* have to spend 3 hours on the phone yesterday… I pay nearly two grand a year on insurance, shouldn’t that be their job?

Bah. This has gone from the normal unpleasant one expects in such a situation, to damned frustrating.

Just got off the phone with the woman inspecting the car. She thinks it might not be totalled, but it’ll need a deeper inspection to tell. I’ll know by early next week. That’s the good news. The bad news is that, although unconfirmed by me, the face-plate on the stereo may be stolen. If the car is totalled, I don’t give a shit. If it’s not, then GODDAMNIT, WHAT THE FUCK IS NEXT?!

The stereo face plate was in the glove box. The license plate is in my hand. I’m done with this for the next few days… I hope.

All Moved In

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I’m pretty much all moved in now. Everything I need for daily living is over, and a good part of it is unpacked… if not finally organized. I still have some small things (records, files, a couple tools, a few knick-knacks) at the other house, but I can pick those up over the course of the next few weeks.

Right now I’m just very tired. I think the mad rush of the last three months is catching up with me… and with so much left to do on the house to get it where I want it.

Looking Past the Major Projects

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I’ve got a huge list of projects for my new house, from remodeling the kitchen to replacing all the windows. Most of the things I’ve thought about up to this point are major, requiring major cash. Hell, the windows were estimated at $4,800 last week (9 top of the line windows, with full life-long warranty and installation included – including any frame repairs required to install – but still $4,800), and I’ve got a ceiling in the basement to finish taking down. The sheer cost and scope of what’s on the project list so far is a bit daunting, so I think it’s time to start thinking about some smaller, more easily accomplished things… which mainly center around decor.

The big question now is to go with blinds, curtains, or both. I want simple, clean design on the interior, and I’m afraid that, though definitely adding a "Homey" quality, the curtains might also add a "Busier than I want" quality. Curtains are nice, though… If I go with curtains (with or w/o blinds), I probably won’t go with any of the more expensive setups with hardware to draw the curtains back. It’ll all be manual pull and tie back… less to pay for, and less to break and go wrong. If I go with blinds (with or w/o curtains), I’ll go considerably nicer than Target or Walmart. Something (again) clean and simple.

Basically, I’m looking for an interior look with a definite Japanese flair. I don’t want to go full-on Japanese b/c… well… I’m not, and this isn’t. But I do so love the look.

Along with this is another change that is, in many ways, far more drastic. Those of you that know me will understand why I say this. I’ve been wanting to upgrade my in-home server for some time, but with the house, the projects, the car, and all the expenses that go along with all that, I just don’t have the capital. Thus, I’m seriously considering sacrificing my desktop to the new server. Besides increasing the power of the production server, giving me a development box again, this has the added benefit of keeping me off the computer for browsing and gaming while at home. That will free up time to get the house in shape for the inevitable house warming party. As it is, I apparently don’t have the willpower to keep myself off it, so I have to take the privilege away from myself. With a fully capable laptop courtesy work, if I really need to be online while at home, I can just take it home with me until such time as I can afford a personal laptop. I’ll let you know when/how that works out.

First Night in the New House

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Last night I stayed in my new house for the first time. I slept on my new bed, under my own roof, between my own walls. This morning I took a shower in my own shower.

I’d like to say it was a great night’s sleep, but I really can’t. It always takes me a while to acclimate to a new place, be it a friend’s I’m staying over at for the first time, or a new house. I don’t imagine it’ll take long.

In addition to the "New Place" factor, it stormed quite loudly last night, waking me up around 5:00am with the lightening and the thunder and the rain slapping the windows (I really need to replace the storm windows in the bedroom… right now their just screens. That == rot).

The final element contributing to my relatively restless night was the fact that the AC thermostat broke off in my hand yesterday. That was the second time I adjusted it. Didn’t take long, did it? I going to replace it with one of those programmable ones from Home Depot. That way, the house won’t be freezing when I wake up.

All in all, however… It was extremely cool!

Then there’s the issue of the car. I don’t know for sure what the damage is, but it’s likely that it’s totalled. I rear-ended someone in the rain two days ago. One half-second of having the eyes off the road and it’s a world of inconvenience. No one was hurt, including the other guy’s freakin’ Ford Focus, but my front end is crushed beyond recognition. I’ll find out today what the story is, and if it is totalled, I think I’m going to look at a new Saturn ION-3 Quad Coupe, and use the insurance payout for down payment.

On the home front, there’s cold, heat, and soft.

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I haven’t written in a while, so I thought I’d bring you up to speed on the house front.

Last week I was presented with a new Kenmore Elite refrigerator and a new Kenmore radiant glass top stove. I got them cheap from the Sears Outlet Store here in KC, and saved about 43% off retail. The only thing I was worried about was being able to get a warranty on new-but-slightly-damaged goods. The stove has a dent in the side, and the fridge has a scuff on one of the plastic pieces. There was no cause to worry though, b/c a full warranty was available for both of them, which I promptly bought. They’re in the kitchen right now, waiting to be put to use. I did try out the stove, and was absolutely amazed at how quickly the coils lit up. Compared to all other electric stoves I’ve seen, this bastard is quick. Boo Ya.

Yesterday my bed and mattress were delivered. The mattress came ok, but the bed had a broken piece… what came of it, that is. One piece was broken, and two other critical pieces were missing entirely. I placed a few calls to Benchmark, where I bought it, and they assured me they were working on it as fast and thoroughly as they could. Today they delivered the rest and set it all up for me. Can I get another Boo Ya?

Then there’s the whole issue of getting copper piping to the refrigerator to supply the ice maker with water. Turns out it’s a good thing I intended to rip out all the ceiling tile in the basement anyway, b/c that’s what I’m going to have to do in order to get to the point of origin on that pipe. Well, not the entire ceiling, but enough of it to justify (to my mind) just ripping it out and starting over. I don’t like the tile, and I don’t like the faux wood paneling on the walls. It’s got to go. And so it will. It’ll be my first true Home Improvement Project… and it’s got me a bit excited. I should be taking pictures, but since I don’t have a camera, and don’t want to bother with scanning non-digital photos, I probably won’t. You’ll just have to rely on my mad descriptive skillz, yo.