baby steps
I'm making progress in the right direction these days, mostly at least. Today, I got 2 dump trucks full of sand delivered to my front yard. It's to replace the stuff under the house that got washed away. Most of it supports the front door and porch. People are supposed to come either tomorrow or Friday to start filling it in by hand. The sand was only $260, but the labor totals $3K for that portion of the work. I guess it'll be a time consuming task.
I finally got the second estimate yesterday for a new A/C system. I decided to go ahead an authorize that work since it's local instead of some contractor through Home Depot. Someone down the street recommended the A/C person, and since he works in maintenance himself, I figure the guy is trust-worthy enough. Thankfully, my new system doesn't need to be raised 3 feet off the ground, so I don't need to find someone to build a deck to support the dang thing. New A/C , gas heater combo, and all new duct work throughout the entire house (the stuff below the house was flooded, and they are going to fix the mess that is upstairs) runs roughly $12k. I'm sure glad that my flood insurance is covering all of the work and has authorized me to get started on it. The A/C people are coming a week from today, and should be done on my b-day. My house nearly back to normal (landscaping is still shot, and I"m guessing the dumpster will still be in the back yard) will be a nice b-day present.
In bummer news, I somehow managed to get a flat tire on my car yesterday. Sadly, there is no place open on the island to take it to get it patched, so I'm gonna have to venture to unknown streets in Texas City sometime soon to get it fixed. It also means I'm gonna learn how to change a tire on this car. I've done it before on my previous vehicle, just never this one. I did have someone offer to change it for me earlier this afternoon, but it's a task I want to do by myself. I don't know, I actually get satisfaction from being able to do such tasks by myself. I really hate it when a guy comes and just does that sort of thing for me. I feel helpless (even though I'm not), and I just generally don't like it. I need to learn to just accept the help gracefully, but that apparently isn't an easy thing for me to do. I'm hoping the same guy that tried to help me earlier today isn't around when I actually do try (maybe I'll do it after he goes to work tomorrow?). I feel bad enough about him already. He asked me out last week, and when I turned him down, he apologized for having even asked me to dinner. I felt bad for that, but don't like going out to dinner with people I don't know anything about (oh, except that he works in the engine room on the Bolivar Ferry).
I finally got the second estimate yesterday for a new A/C system. I decided to go ahead an authorize that work since it's local instead of some contractor through Home Depot. Someone down the street recommended the A/C person, and since he works in maintenance himself, I figure the guy is trust-worthy enough. Thankfully, my new system doesn't need to be raised 3 feet off the ground, so I don't need to find someone to build a deck to support the dang thing. New A/C , gas heater combo, and all new duct work throughout the entire house (the stuff below the house was flooded, and they are going to fix the mess that is upstairs) runs roughly $12k. I'm sure glad that my flood insurance is covering all of the work and has authorized me to get started on it. The A/C people are coming a week from today, and should be done on my b-day. My house nearly back to normal (landscaping is still shot, and I"m guessing the dumpster will still be in the back yard) will be a nice b-day present.
In bummer news, I somehow managed to get a flat tire on my car yesterday. Sadly, there is no place open on the island to take it to get it patched, so I'm gonna have to venture to unknown streets in Texas City sometime soon to get it fixed. It also means I'm gonna learn how to change a tire on this car. I've done it before on my previous vehicle, just never this one. I did have someone offer to change it for me earlier this afternoon, but it's a task I want to do by myself. I don't know, I actually get satisfaction from being able to do such tasks by myself. I really hate it when a guy comes and just does that sort of thing for me. I feel helpless (even though I'm not), and I just generally don't like it. I need to learn to just accept the help gracefully, but that apparently isn't an easy thing for me to do. I'm hoping the same guy that tried to help me earlier today isn't around when I actually do try (maybe I'll do it after he goes to work tomorrow?). I feel bad enough about him already. He asked me out last week, and when I turned him down, he apologized for having even asked me to dinner. I felt bad for that, but don't like going out to dinner with people I don't know anything about (oh, except that he works in the engine room on the Bolivar Ferry).