Parking lots. Necessary for those of us who drive cars everywhere. We've all thought about parking lots a few times. The lot is full. I can't find my car! How do I get out of this parking maze? Sound familiar? But how many of you have thought of the ongoing irritation of the parking lot which is: once you've parked your car and gotten out how are you supposed to get to your destination? In most lots there are no walkways, no pedestrian right of ways, and precious few crosswalks to protect the "motorist turned pedestrian".
Instead we walk down rows of cars in the middle of what is basically a street hoping we won't get run over by a car pulling out of it's space. We squeeze between cars to "cut" through the lot to our destination. Sometimes we have to push through decorative shrubs to cross the lot. Large dim parking structures are especially dangerous for pedestrians since we can't easily be seen and finding our cars can sometimes be difficult.
I know there is a science to creating a lot or structure that works. One must have spaces of the right width and angle, convenient entrances and exits, and an adequate number of spaces. But nowhere do the designers of parking lots allow for the pedestrians that leave the cars and have to walk in the lot. Why not? I don't know why not. I would think it's a no-brainer. Designated walkways in parking lots would be more efficient and most important safer for all concerned.
But wait! Safety and efficiency aren't the goal of parking structure builders. The real goal is fitting the most cars into the smallest space. Parking lots and structures are just storage for cars. The fact that people on foot must also navigate them is incidental to the builders' goal.
I knew that all along, but whenever I wind my way through a parking lot, pushing through bushes and crossing busy lanes to my car I always think that someone somewhere should design a parking lot for cars AND people.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Appreciation
I ran into an acquaintance at lunch the other day and we talked about what we did over the summer. I said that I had gone to Europe and she responded that she bet that made me really appreciate the U.S. I nodded and smiled while thinking, not exactly. The European countries in which I traveled are known for their clean cities and pristine lakes. Europe has been "green" far longer than we have and it shows.
I have not traveled all over the United States but I've driven enough miles to say with relative confidence that many of our highways are eyesores. One can't see the desert for the billboards or the forest for the litter. The beaches of the Pacific are scattered with plastics, syringes, and styrofoam. The water is especially dangerous after a storm when the run-off from the cities washes bacteria, oil and garbage into the sea.
Downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood, prime tourist spots, sport filthy sidewalks, graffiti, and gutters of trash. I understand the attraction of Hollywood, the well-publicized sunny weather, and Disneyland. But as far as spending time seeing the city attractions I am mystified.
I've been to Olvera Street which is dirty and unpleasant and to the Disney Concert Hall which is surrounded by ugly parking lots and weedy vacant lots. The downtown music center is lovely but don't travel too far from it. Other districts such as the garment and toy districts are seedy at best and filthy at worst. The Natural History Museum and the Science Museum are great attractions, but again the surrounding area is marginal. Nowhere does city government take a sustained interest in keeping Los Angeles clean and attractive.
Contrast that with the relatively trash free cities of Munich, Salzburg, and Vienna. Smaller towns and villages are even cleaner. Tourist sites are especially well maintained. Given the number of tourists from all over the world it must take a herculean effort on the part of the state to keep places clean.
I'll grant you that they have more rules and regulations and pay more taxes than we do but in exchange they get clean cities, fine beers and chocolates, and health care. Their lakes are not fouled by jet skis or used as garbage dumps. I didn't get to the ocean but the Ligurian Sea in Italy was lovely and clean when I was there a few years ago.
At this point, given the current political infighting and the effort to NOT provide health care for every citizen, I'm not sure I do appreciate living here. The attitude of the populace seems to be that of a spoiled, self-centered toddler. No one is willing to give up anything they like for the greater good. Not shark fin soup, not four wheeling in fragile habitats, not enormous houses, nothing. Most aren't even willing to pick up their own trash. We all want to blame someone else for the dirty world we live in but we are the culprits, tossing cigarette butts out of car windows, discarding fast food wrappers in parking lots, and even leaving dirty diapers in stores.
Given all of that, I'd like to try living somewhere else for a time. A place that's clean where people give a damn about society as a whole not just their own small piece of it.
I have not traveled all over the United States but I've driven enough miles to say with relative confidence that many of our highways are eyesores. One can't see the desert for the billboards or the forest for the litter. The beaches of the Pacific are scattered with plastics, syringes, and styrofoam. The water is especially dangerous after a storm when the run-off from the cities washes bacteria, oil and garbage into the sea.
Downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood, prime tourist spots, sport filthy sidewalks, graffiti, and gutters of trash. I understand the attraction of Hollywood, the well-publicized sunny weather, and Disneyland. But as far as spending time seeing the city attractions I am mystified.
I've been to Olvera Street which is dirty and unpleasant and to the Disney Concert Hall which is surrounded by ugly parking lots and weedy vacant lots. The downtown music center is lovely but don't travel too far from it. Other districts such as the garment and toy districts are seedy at best and filthy at worst. The Natural History Museum and the Science Museum are great attractions, but again the surrounding area is marginal. Nowhere does city government take a sustained interest in keeping Los Angeles clean and attractive.
Contrast that with the relatively trash free cities of Munich, Salzburg, and Vienna. Smaller towns and villages are even cleaner. Tourist sites are especially well maintained. Given the number of tourists from all over the world it must take a herculean effort on the part of the state to keep places clean.
I'll grant you that they have more rules and regulations and pay more taxes than we do but in exchange they get clean cities, fine beers and chocolates, and health care. Their lakes are not fouled by jet skis or used as garbage dumps. I didn't get to the ocean but the Ligurian Sea in Italy was lovely and clean when I was there a few years ago.
At this point, given the current political infighting and the effort to NOT provide health care for every citizen, I'm not sure I do appreciate living here. The attitude of the populace seems to be that of a spoiled, self-centered toddler. No one is willing to give up anything they like for the greater good. Not shark fin soup, not four wheeling in fragile habitats, not enormous houses, nothing. Most aren't even willing to pick up their own trash. We all want to blame someone else for the dirty world we live in but we are the culprits, tossing cigarette butts out of car windows, discarding fast food wrappers in parking lots, and even leaving dirty diapers in stores.
Given all of that, I'd like to try living somewhere else for a time. A place that's clean where people give a damn about society as a whole not just their own small piece of it.
Summer Shorts
Eyes. I've had my last cataract replaced with a bionic lens. Thank god I only have 2 eyes! At the surgery center I was the youngest person there. Everyone else was born in '30 something judging from the birth dates repeated to nurses checking I.D.'s. I had no idea that I didn't live in a smog filled city. That old song, "I can see clearly now the rain is gone..." must apply to cataract patients. Wow, what a lot of color in the world! I have some restrictions for a couple of weeks. No heavy lifting, that gets me out of the gym. No bending over, can't pick up stuff. No swimming, that's unfortunate since I was just getting in the habit of swimming every couple of days. No eye make-up for two weeks. Umm, a problem. My eyelashes and brows are blond which means unless I slather on some color, you can't see them. If no one wore makeup I'd look just fine but compared to other women I look a little, shall we say, washed out or even featureless. But since I don't have to look at myself all day I shan't worry.
Puppies. Everyone my age swears they won't get another dog when their current one expires. Apparently they have really good memories of what it means to have a puppy. I, on the other hand, can remember childbirth like it was yesterday but had forgotten the work required to raise a puppy. This little cutie spent too much time at the breeder's house and is not housebroken at six months. So every time she piddles I have to drag the small shop vac up or down the stairs and suck up the mess. Why a shop vac? The people who sold me the carpet said it was the best way to clean up liquids. Blotting can push the liquid into the carpet. Ok, fine! But dragging around the shop vac with it's long cord and bulky hose and cleaning it out....what a pain! Not to mention that I've spent more time in the last couple of weeks standing out on the grass in the backyard waiting for her to pee than you would believe. Morning, afternoon, at night in the dark. You name it I'm there, waiting, waiting, waiting.
Construction. We finally have the last price for our bathroom update. Hesitation. Now that I have to make the decision to spend the money I choke. I hate spending large amounts of money on house projects. I have no problem spending money on vacations and frequently spend more than I had planned and have never regretted it. But paying guys to make a mess in my house for weeks on end makes my stomach churn. Even though it's not a bathroom we use, updating it will disrupt the entire house and probably my yard as well. I have only enjoyed one house project. We retiled and re-plastered our pool, or rather some guys did. They arrived after I went to work and were gone when I got home. Literally, I never saw them. It was priceless.
Puppies. Everyone my age swears they won't get another dog when their current one expires. Apparently they have really good memories of what it means to have a puppy. I, on the other hand, can remember childbirth like it was yesterday but had forgotten the work required to raise a puppy. This little cutie spent too much time at the breeder's house and is not housebroken at six months. So every time she piddles I have to drag the small shop vac up or down the stairs and suck up the mess. Why a shop vac? The people who sold me the carpet said it was the best way to clean up liquids. Blotting can push the liquid into the carpet. Ok, fine! But dragging around the shop vac with it's long cord and bulky hose and cleaning it out....what a pain! Not to mention that I've spent more time in the last couple of weeks standing out on the grass in the backyard waiting for her to pee than you would believe. Morning, afternoon, at night in the dark. You name it I'm there, waiting, waiting, waiting.
Construction. We finally have the last price for our bathroom update. Hesitation. Now that I have to make the decision to spend the money I choke. I hate spending large amounts of money on house projects. I have no problem spending money on vacations and frequently spend more than I had planned and have never regretted it. But paying guys to make a mess in my house for weeks on end makes my stomach churn. Even though it's not a bathroom we use, updating it will disrupt the entire house and probably my yard as well. I have only enjoyed one house project. We retiled and re-plastered our pool, or rather some guys did. They arrived after I went to work and were gone when I got home. Literally, I never saw them. It was priceless.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Is it soup yet?
California is considering a ban on the sale of shark fins which is a delicacy and used in a traditional Chinese soup. Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii have already banned shark fin sales. Some ethnic Chinese see the ban as an attack on their culture in which shark fin soup is traditionally served at weddings costing as much as $100 a bowl to impress guests.
The problem is that centuries ago when shark fin soup became popular, sharks were not easy to catch. Presumably that's where the tradition came from. It was a delicacy because it wasn't readily available. Now however, sharks are being efficiently and easily hunted to extinction. Tens of millions of sharks (yes you read that correctly) are killed annually to feed the market for their fins. In this fishing business sharks are caught, their fins cut off, and their dead bodies thrown back into the ocean. Sharks face extinction due to overfishing. What then will replace shark fin soup?
At the top of the marine food chain sharks are essential to the health of our oceans. You can't say the same thing about shark fin soup. Not one soul will perish due to a shortage of shark fins. Yet, should sharks become extinct the whole ecology of our oceans could change dramatically. Just how is unknown.
I may be taken for a cultural Neanderthal but I think that protecting the oceans for the world profoundly overwhelms anyone's "need" for shark fin soup. Sharks typically bear only one or two pups a season which naturally keeps their numbers low and hampers their ability to rebound from overkill. The species as a whole cannot survive the Chinese taste for this soup.
Sadly, I can no longer eat some of my traditional meals. It may seem that my heritage and traditions aren't important or as widely followed. But you would be wrong. I grew up eating pot roast, gravy and mashed potatoes at one grandmother's house and traditional southern fried chicken and gravy and corn bread at my other grandmother's house (but no okra, too slimy). I can't eat like that anymore. My doctor hints that I might just drop dead one day eating such meals. So we have devised other traditional meals for health reasons. Our day to day eating habits have also changed to reflect current advances in nutritional knowledge. Of course that changes daily but we gamely try to eat a healthy diet without too much planetary destruction.
Really and truly no one will drop dead if traditional meals are changed and updated to reflect current realities. The whole world shouldn't have to pay the cost for one group's antiquated tradition. It's simply too high.
The problem is that centuries ago when shark fin soup became popular, sharks were not easy to catch. Presumably that's where the tradition came from. It was a delicacy because it wasn't readily available. Now however, sharks are being efficiently and easily hunted to extinction. Tens of millions of sharks (yes you read that correctly) are killed annually to feed the market for their fins. In this fishing business sharks are caught, their fins cut off, and their dead bodies thrown back into the ocean. Sharks face extinction due to overfishing. What then will replace shark fin soup?
At the top of the marine food chain sharks are essential to the health of our oceans. You can't say the same thing about shark fin soup. Not one soul will perish due to a shortage of shark fins. Yet, should sharks become extinct the whole ecology of our oceans could change dramatically. Just how is unknown.
I may be taken for a cultural Neanderthal but I think that protecting the oceans for the world profoundly overwhelms anyone's "need" for shark fin soup. Sharks typically bear only one or two pups a season which naturally keeps their numbers low and hampers their ability to rebound from overkill. The species as a whole cannot survive the Chinese taste for this soup.
Sadly, I can no longer eat some of my traditional meals. It may seem that my heritage and traditions aren't important or as widely followed. But you would be wrong. I grew up eating pot roast, gravy and mashed potatoes at one grandmother's house and traditional southern fried chicken and gravy and corn bread at my other grandmother's house (but no okra, too slimy). I can't eat like that anymore. My doctor hints that I might just drop dead one day eating such meals. So we have devised other traditional meals for health reasons. Our day to day eating habits have also changed to reflect current advances in nutritional knowledge. Of course that changes daily but we gamely try to eat a healthy diet without too much planetary destruction.
Really and truly no one will drop dead if traditional meals are changed and updated to reflect current realities. The whole world shouldn't have to pay the cost for one group's antiquated tradition. It's simply too high.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Going to the Dogs
As many times as I've written about dogs you'd think I'm a real dog person. Not really. But in the summer I am here with animals a lot. For example, I don't take my dog to dog beach or to the dog park. He doesn't go on vacation with us and I don't expect other people to like him. He sleeps outside and there are parts of the house, like the kitchen where he is not allowed. He sheds unmercifully and I dislike dog hair in my food. My living room is also a dog-free zone so there is little dog hair there either. I'm not a big fan of other people's dogs either. It's kind of like kids. I like my own but not other people's.
If you remember, I tried out a rescue dog a few weeks ago that didn't work out. I wanted a small lap dog. Now I know it's not cool to want a lap dog, what The Boy calls "an almost dog", but in their defense I must say they don't destroy the house or yard, chew up your shoes, or take 2 years to become an adult dog. The yard is also a small clean up job.
You can see where this is leading. I got another dog. This time I went to a breeder. Before you scream, "Oh god, you should have rescued a shelter dog!", let me just say that the shelters here are filled with chihuahuas and pit bulls, neither of which appeals to me. Or other people either to judge the numbers of them in shelters.
The breeder had 2 week old puppies that looked suspiciously like little kidney beans curled up in their basket. I would have to wait an additional 8 weeks if I wanted one and I'm not too good at delayed gratification. I'd have to just pick out one out regardless of temperament. Frankly in my experience, kidney beans don't have that much personality. Racing around the house was a 6 month old that had just been returned to the breeder after less than a week at her first home. The owner claimed the dog was totally bonded to the husband and as she was a gift for the wife, this was unacceptable. Watching her at the breeder's house she was energetic, playful, and friendly. So, after much agonizing and bouncing between "Yes I should and no I shouldn't" ("If you want a dog, mom, get a dog. It's just a dog, not a kid!" advised the The Boy) I purchased the puppy.
Once home the puppy became as skittish as a feral cat. And she was so small and agile that catching her to put her outside required herding her into corner with no escape routes. It was a couple of days of hand feeding her wet dog food (yuck) before she would let me touch her. On the flip side, the little bitch bonded to hubby right away. I'd let her inside after he'd gone to work and she'd race around the house, up and down the stairs, looking for him. When satisfied that she'd explored every room and hadn't found him she deigned to let me touch her.
She also bonded with my other dog and now imitates whatever he does. He gets a drink, she pushes in beside him and has a few sips. he lays down and sleeps on the floor she lays right beside him and sleeps. I put him in the garage when the gardener arrived and she went nuts trying to get in the garage with him. So I locked her in there too. Can't say I'm not accommodating!
I'm sort of looking forward to the meeting of the Big Dog and the X-small dog in a kind of sick way. Should be funny, at least for me. The Big Dog will be here while The Boy goes on another short vacation. The XS dog isn't afraid of too much. I can tell because she's unfazed by the sound of the small shop vac we use to clean up "accidents".
Unfortunately, she's not a cuddler yet. She spent 6 months at the breeder's house and wasn't petted very often. But I'm not discouraged. Like every other dog I know she loves peanut butter so I'm sticking with food to win over the little bitch. Some for her, some for me, some for her, some for me. Gastronomic dog training at it's finest.
If you remember, I tried out a rescue dog a few weeks ago that didn't work out. I wanted a small lap dog. Now I know it's not cool to want a lap dog, what The Boy calls "an almost dog", but in their defense I must say they don't destroy the house or yard, chew up your shoes, or take 2 years to become an adult dog. The yard is also a small clean up job.
You can see where this is leading. I got another dog. This time I went to a breeder. Before you scream, "Oh god, you should have rescued a shelter dog!", let me just say that the shelters here are filled with chihuahuas and pit bulls, neither of which appeals to me. Or other people either to judge the numbers of them in shelters.
The breeder had 2 week old puppies that looked suspiciously like little kidney beans curled up in their basket. I would have to wait an additional 8 weeks if I wanted one and I'm not too good at delayed gratification. I'd have to just pick out one out regardless of temperament. Frankly in my experience, kidney beans don't have that much personality. Racing around the house was a 6 month old that had just been returned to the breeder after less than a week at her first home. The owner claimed the dog was totally bonded to the husband and as she was a gift for the wife, this was unacceptable. Watching her at the breeder's house she was energetic, playful, and friendly. So, after much agonizing and bouncing between "Yes I should and no I shouldn't" ("If you want a dog, mom, get a dog. It's just a dog, not a kid!" advised the The Boy) I purchased the puppy.
Once home the puppy became as skittish as a feral cat. And she was so small and agile that catching her to put her outside required herding her into corner with no escape routes. It was a couple of days of hand feeding her wet dog food (yuck) before she would let me touch her. On the flip side, the little bitch bonded to hubby right away. I'd let her inside after he'd gone to work and she'd race around the house, up and down the stairs, looking for him. When satisfied that she'd explored every room and hadn't found him she deigned to let me touch her.
She also bonded with my other dog and now imitates whatever he does. He gets a drink, she pushes in beside him and has a few sips. he lays down and sleeps on the floor she lays right beside him and sleeps. I put him in the garage when the gardener arrived and she went nuts trying to get in the garage with him. So I locked her in there too. Can't say I'm not accommodating!
I'm sort of looking forward to the meeting of the Big Dog and the X-small dog in a kind of sick way. Should be funny, at least for me. The Big Dog will be here while The Boy goes on another short vacation. The XS dog isn't afraid of too much. I can tell because she's unfazed by the sound of the small shop vac we use to clean up "accidents".
Unfortunately, she's not a cuddler yet. She spent 6 months at the breeder's house and wasn't petted very often. But I'm not discouraged. Like every other dog I know she loves peanut butter so I'm sticking with food to win over the little bitch. Some for her, some for me, some for her, some for me. Gastronomic dog training at it's finest.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Those Who Can't, Tell Others How To
Although I swore I wouldn't write about my work, I am forced to comment. I dreamed this morning that funding to education was cut so much that my school collapsed and everyone in my building died. I don't know if that was wishful thinking (the school collapsing, not dying) or an opinion about education today.
I am continually amazed, although I don't know why after all these years, that every podunk Representative and Senator and gubernatorial appointee thinks they have the "answer" to the education "crisis" in this country. I wonder if there really is a crisis or if it's a political creation. Students from all over the world flock to this country to attend our universities. These same universities admit students from our own "terrible" public schools and go on to graduate with advanced degrees. In fact there are more qualified students than spaces available here in California.
The problem is that everyone who WENT to school thinks they know how to educate children. If that were the case then no one would need a teaching credential. Students could just step seamlessly from the college classroom to their own classroom, no credentialing required. They wouldn't need special training to teach English Language Learners or classroom management techniques to keep order. They wouldn't need to be trained in different teaching strategies to meet the needs of diverse learners. It must be easy to teach. After all, every person in charge of educational policy went to school, so they know what it's like.
I hate to burst their bubble but that's like saying because I drive a car, I am qualified to drive in the Indy 500. Or maybe that I'm qualified to pilot a plane because I know how to fly in one. Or hey, I've watched surgery on TV and had one or two so I think I'll be a surgeon. I know how to ski so I think I'll join the Olympic ski team. Maybe anyone who's taken a drug is qualified to work for the FDA and decide which drugs should be approved. Does any of this make sense? Not to me.
But still, our representatives and government appointees make educational policy decisions that affect millions of children and teachers without having any educational background aside from having been a child in school once and looking at some test scores. This doesn't work very well. In Los Angeles the mayor's schools and the charter schools did worse overall on the standardized tests administered last spring than did LAUSD's regular schools proving that a politician and some businesses do not know much about educating children.
Finally, if I may be so bold, many of the countries with whom we are compared are culturally and linguistically homogenous. So of course they look better than we who educate an incredibly diverse population do. In my first year of teaching 7 languages were represented in my classroom and I was the only one in the room who spoke English. Not only that but it was a combination kindergarten/first grade. Combination classes are unheard of in many states. I would say that we here in California at least, do a damn good job of educating all of our children regardless of language, culture, or socio-economic status and with a shocking lack of materials and funding.
There! I feel better now! No more dead teacher dreams I hope.
I am continually amazed, although I don't know why after all these years, that every podunk Representative and Senator and gubernatorial appointee thinks they have the "answer" to the education "crisis" in this country. I wonder if there really is a crisis or if it's a political creation. Students from all over the world flock to this country to attend our universities. These same universities admit students from our own "terrible" public schools and go on to graduate with advanced degrees. In fact there are more qualified students than spaces available here in California.
The problem is that everyone who WENT to school thinks they know how to educate children. If that were the case then no one would need a teaching credential. Students could just step seamlessly from the college classroom to their own classroom, no credentialing required. They wouldn't need special training to teach English Language Learners or classroom management techniques to keep order. They wouldn't need to be trained in different teaching strategies to meet the needs of diverse learners. It must be easy to teach. After all, every person in charge of educational policy went to school, so they know what it's like.
I hate to burst their bubble but that's like saying because I drive a car, I am qualified to drive in the Indy 500. Or maybe that I'm qualified to pilot a plane because I know how to fly in one. Or hey, I've watched surgery on TV and had one or two so I think I'll be a surgeon. I know how to ski so I think I'll join the Olympic ski team. Maybe anyone who's taken a drug is qualified to work for the FDA and decide which drugs should be approved. Does any of this make sense? Not to me.
But still, our representatives and government appointees make educational policy decisions that affect millions of children and teachers without having any educational background aside from having been a child in school once and looking at some test scores. This doesn't work very well. In Los Angeles the mayor's schools and the charter schools did worse overall on the standardized tests administered last spring than did LAUSD's regular schools proving that a politician and some businesses do not know much about educating children.
Finally, if I may be so bold, many of the countries with whom we are compared are culturally and linguistically homogenous. So of course they look better than we who educate an incredibly diverse population do. In my first year of teaching 7 languages were represented in my classroom and I was the only one in the room who spoke English. Not only that but it was a combination kindergarten/first grade. Combination classes are unheard of in many states. I would say that we here in California at least, do a damn good job of educating all of our children regardless of language, culture, or socio-economic status and with a shocking lack of materials and funding.
There! I feel better now! No more dead teacher dreams I hope.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Wanted: Construction Guys
I have done a lot of remodeling and updating of houses since I bought my first one in 1981. That beauty was only 19 feet wide inside and had all the space upstairs in the 4 bedrooms. We updated the kitchen and built a deck. The kitchen wasn't the greatest job but we were learning. Our next house was built in 1956. It was solid, with plaster walls and hardwood floors. In 1959 someone cut a hallway through a bedroom to create a den so the kids' bedrooms were especially small. In that house we updated the kitchen, completely remodeled a bathroom and pushed out the back of the house 7 feet. That's a lot in 6 years. Most of the work we did ourselves or hired subcontractors to do things like drywall and electrical.
Now we are getting ready to remodel the third and last bathroom in our current house. We hired "guys" to do the previous two bathrooms and they are really beautiful. Simple, clean, and relaxing. Those "guys" are no longer available so I have to find new guys.
In my first two houses my plumber, tile guy, demo expert, and painter lived on site so he was very reliable. Always arrived when he said he would, did a great job, and kept the place clean. All I had to do was take care of the kids, feed him lunch, and help out with jobs requiring no great skill. Things like painting base boards and calling out, "Yes, the lights are out" so he wouldn't get electrocuted. Now my "guy" isn't interested in doing plumbing and such so I have to look around for others. In the past finding guys has been difficult. You call and call and they never call you back. Then once they've deigned to take the job, they start and stop and start and stop until you just want to fire them and call someone else. Of course "someone else" won't be any better, so you just smile through your gritted your teeth and try to be friendly so they will finish and GET OUT!
New experience this time around. I called three tile setters and all three called me back the SAME DAY! I can't believe it. In four days I've gotten 3 tile estimates and am expecting a plumbing estimate by email any time! Wow! One day a tile setter and a plumber were here at the same time to give me estimates. They knew each other so it was a veritable party.
It's the economy of course, but I love being an actual customer someone is eager to please. I feel like I'm in charge for a change. Usually I feel like I'm an annoyance and the contractors are in charge. My job interrupts their lives and is not too important. Someone else's job always takes precedence.
I don't know if this great attitude will continue once we give one of them job, but I'm hopeful. I am sorry that the economy is lousy, but I'm lovin' my little piece of remodel heaven.
Now we are getting ready to remodel the third and last bathroom in our current house. We hired "guys" to do the previous two bathrooms and they are really beautiful. Simple, clean, and relaxing. Those "guys" are no longer available so I have to find new guys.
In my first two houses my plumber, tile guy, demo expert, and painter lived on site so he was very reliable. Always arrived when he said he would, did a great job, and kept the place clean. All I had to do was take care of the kids, feed him lunch, and help out with jobs requiring no great skill. Things like painting base boards and calling out, "Yes, the lights are out" so he wouldn't get electrocuted. Now my "guy" isn't interested in doing plumbing and such so I have to look around for others. In the past finding guys has been difficult. You call and call and they never call you back. Then once they've deigned to take the job, they start and stop and start and stop until you just want to fire them and call someone else. Of course "someone else" won't be any better, so you just smile through your gritted your teeth and try to be friendly so they will finish and GET OUT!
New experience this time around. I called three tile setters and all three called me back the SAME DAY! I can't believe it. In four days I've gotten 3 tile estimates and am expecting a plumbing estimate by email any time! Wow! One day a tile setter and a plumber were here at the same time to give me estimates. They knew each other so it was a veritable party.
It's the economy of course, but I love being an actual customer someone is eager to please. I feel like I'm in charge for a change. Usually I feel like I'm an annoyance and the contractors are in charge. My job interrupts their lives and is not too important. Someone else's job always takes precedence.
I don't know if this great attitude will continue once we give one of them job, but I'm hopeful. I am sorry that the economy is lousy, but I'm lovin' my little piece of remodel heaven.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)