February 19, 2009
Dear Everyone:
Condo update:
Last Saturday, “Jeannie” and I went up to take another look at
the condo and take a few measurements.
I brought along a 12-foot measuring tape and a flashlight, in
case the bank had already turned the power off.
When we got there, we knew immediately that the power had not
been turned off because it was 83 degrees inside.
Last week, the real estate agent and I had done the
final walkthrough. It was
very cold that afternoon and she turned the heat on while we were there.
Evidently, we forgot to turn it off when we left.
Oops.
“Jeannie” and I measured the living room, bedrooms
and the height of the vanity in one of the bathrooms.
Apparently, people have been getting taller over the past thirty
years (not that I have) and the vanities in the bathrooms in the
townhouse (my current place) are now hopelessly too short and absolutely
must be replaced. Did I
mention that “Jeannie” is really looking forward to fixing up the
townhouse?
We also measured the location where the
deadbolt
lock should go and took a careful look at my neighbor’s lock,
incidentally meeting her boyfriend who was delivering something at the
time. Then we went to the
big warehouse hardware store where we picked out a “satin nickel”
deadbolt that was very close to the one we’d seen.
When the condo went on the market, the listing
agent (or somebody) put an ordinary locking doorknob where the deadbolt
had been. Remember, this was
a foreclosure and the people who used to live there probably weren’t
happy and may not have been inclined to leave a key behind.
In fact, “Jeannie” spotted a couple of places, like next to the
fireplace where somebody might have punched the wall.
Anger management issues might have been involved.
On Sunday afternoon, I took the new deadbolt lock
and a bag of screwdrivers to the condo.
I didn’t have too much trouble taking the doorknob apart.
But when I tried to install the deadbolt, it just wasn’t
happening. After about an
hour, I decided to throw in the towel and call a locksmith.
Then I couldn’t get the doorknob back into the lock area.
I could manage the outside part, but the inside part just
wouldn’t connect. I finally
screwed the outside part in place and very carefully closed the door and
locked it. The only thing
holding that doorknob in place was good thoughts.
Monday was
Presidents’ Day, which I get as a paid
holiday. So Monday morning I
called a locksmith in nearby
Having spent the entire morning waiting, and unable
to do any laundry until I did the weekly shopping (laundry detergent was
the first thing on the shopping list for that week), I went to the
store. Back at the house, I
could at least get started on the laundry.
Still no call from the locksmith.
I called another locksmith and asked if it would be possible to
get someone out to
San Ramon that afternoon.
Once he knew where the condo was, the dispatcher thought he could
have someone there by 4:00, but he wanted to confirm that.
When he came back to the phone he said someone
could be there by 3:00.
Great. In fact, what he
really meant was that someone was leaving right then and would be there
between now and 3:00. Why
didn’t I wait at my place until the locksmith was 15 minutes away and
they would call me. They
called at 2:00. I jumped in
the car (figuratively speaking, of course) and drove to the condo in
about ten minutes.
About five minutes later, I saw the big, orange van
pulling in. The locksmith
(we’ll call him “Archie”) actually spent quite a bit of time repairing
the door before installing the deadbolt, which he tested strenuously
until he was satisfied. Then
he had me test it from inside.
Then he stayed inside while I tested leaving and coming back from
the outside. Archie only
took 45 minutes and commented that there was something wrong with the
way the door worked, which made me feel better about not being able to
finish the job myself. I now
have two new keys on my key ring.
My next “homework” assignment is to pick out colors
for the condo. I’m leaning
in the direction of cream for the front and a very light blue for the
bedrooms. “Jeannie” has
already called me three times this evening about making arrangements for
some guy who did the tile floors in her place to come next week and do
the painting.
If anyone is interested, here’s the URL to the
development:
“http://www.something-something.com/
Finally, did anyone notice that last week I didn’t
end the Letter with “everyone please pray for rain and lots of snow in
the mountains”? That’s
because we were expecting rain last weekend and the early part of this
week. Boy, did we get rain
(and hopefully, snow in the mountains.)
We had very heavy showers Monday and Tuesday.
Luckily for me, I was usually inside, but Tuesday morning I was
conducting training in another location.
I had my computer cart, plus a second cart to get from the
building out to my car.
There was a break in the rain just then.
By the time I got to my office building, the skies had opened up
again.
I sat in my car, thinking I should have used the
restroom before I left. Less
than five minutes later, the rain stopped.
I got inside the office before it started again.
Nevertheless, please continue to pray for rain and lots of snow
in the mountains. A couple
of cloudbursts aren’t enough yet.
Love, as always,
Pete
| Previous | Next |