My move home in '98 '08 provided another reason to keep things hidden.  I was in slings and castes, unable to pack (or even brush my teeth).  Again, professional movers packed stuff in boxes.  Steve, Tanya and Keith were great about unpacking for me......but not "those boxes".  The ones packed before the trip to Toronto stayed in the back of my closet.  My apartment at 339 also didn't feel like a permanent home.

But, now I'm nesting.  The mystery boxes are getting unpacked.  The photos are excellent.  I've had things pretty good for a long time.  I've got excellent friends and a family that loves me.

Anyway, mom, I hope this photo doesn't embarrass you too much.  You look beautiful as always.  Head over to Paige's sometime and ask her to show you my Facebook photos.  You'll get a kick out of some of them in "Thru the Years".

Bye for now......

The "guest" bathroom is below the bedroom.  Bathrooms need fans to vent air.  The plans called for the fan to have ductwork in a location that would not work.  I think it vented into the elevator shaft.  No good.  So, David moved the fan to a location that caused the ductwork to run up the middle of the wall in this photo.  That's not good; it functions for the bathroom but creates an astetic challenge in the bedroom above.

So, the duct gets moved again.  Over to the opposing corner like it shows in the photo.  Good location, but now there are Change Order charges.  The architects, contractor and I split the charges.  A gracious move on their parts.

But, it still wasn't right by my lofty standards.  The duct was traditional fan duct material; silver, tin metal.  The diameter was slightly smaller than the galvanized pipe in the opposite corner.  It was already dented.  It had duct tape seams.  It could be moved.  "We'll paint it and make some brackets to hold it against the wall."  This was an acceptable solution but it still bothered me.  I'm a perfectionist.  Mom used to call me a perfectionist.  I'd get mad when I'd build a model and it wasn't perfect.  Suppose I still do.

So, Sunday I kick around the Home Depot.  I walk the aisles, looking for ideas on anything that pops into my mind.  I come to the plumbing section and see PVC drain pipes.  What if I take the tin metal, silver, fart fan duct and replace it with PVC?  It would be the same diameter as the 100 year old galvanized pipe.  It would be easily painted black.  Heck, it could even use plumbing collars to match the galvanized pipe.  The material looked to be less than $20.  Could this work??!!

David managed to make it so.  Looks beautiful, huh?  Most people don't get excited over actual and fake plumbing.  I think it's the little things that matter.

$42.40 --- $168.58 --- $144.75 --- $693.11

These are the amounts of my last 4 electric bills.  Forget the question, "why are you paying for the bills during contruction?"  That's a question I asked a while ago and now is water under the proverbial bridge.  Imagine my surprise when Saturday arrived and I open my electric bill: For the period December 30 thru February 9, my electric bill is $693.11.  Including my final bill for my residence across the street the bill is $776!!!!  Seriously.  One bill. 

I've told everyone I know that the HVAC system isn't working.  It runs all the time.  All the time.  I've heard:

• The front door is open during construction.  That's the reason.
• The elevator shaft is letting in cold air.  That is the reason.
• The dampers aren't working.  That is the reason.
• The big open space will let heat rise.  That is the reason.

The only certainties I'm starting to believe are 1) I shouldn't have moved in on January 31st and 2) I shouldn't have agreed to pay utilities until I took posession of the place. 

So, I'll spend more time this week at home giving very specific instructions to the HVAC people.  Seems I could have set up an arrangement where others execute these events on my behalf.  Guess I'm the one not like the others.

Yesterday, I take a day off from my paying gig to move along some matters related to 308.  I get up, have breakfast and settle into my morning when:

• 9:35 - guy who hangs my blinds (referred to as blind guy) shows up to move them because some of the pulls are in the wrong position
• 10:15 - locksmith arrives to determine what kind of electronic locks I have and in which doors  
• 10:35 - security/access guy arrives to meet with locksmith.  I've got more equipment than I need right now.  At least we find out so no more windows get broken....
• 10:55 - HVAC guy arrives to troubleshoot why my HVAC system has run for 24 straight days.  Other folks are now gone.
• 11:15 - I leave HVAC guy to sign Invoices to pay contractor
• 11:45 - Rental Management company calls to tell me my Heat Pump has stopped working and my tenant's home is getting cold.  I authorize HVAC persons to investigate....same HVAC people that are at my 308 home
• 12:30 - I get lunch
• 1:00 - arrive back home to find electrician and general contractor.  We begin to work on electrical punchlist items (bulbs, pointing fixtures, water circulation pump, electrical outlets).  HVAC guys is still at 308
• 1:30 - HVAC people call from Farrington Road tenant's home to tell me "we can spend about $1000 and maybe not fix this, or replace the whole system.  It's lived past it's 20 year life, I'd replace it and be done with it."
• 2:00 - I head to Raleigh to meet with accountant
• 2:30 - accountant meeting
• 3:15 - heading home and get call from HVAC people at Farrington, replacing system will cost $5000
• 3:35 - meet again with electrician and gc.  HVAC people gone from 308
• 3:45 - call from Rental Management people, your tenant is cold, has a mother staying with her because of cancer.  Needs a temporary heater or authorization to move to a hotel for the night
• 4:00 - walk-through with my downtown neighbors to add any parking lot or rooftop damage to my punchlist to be completed by my contractor
• 4:30 - finish walk-thru....test view from neighbors windows to see if they can see me shower
• 5:00 - position location of shelves for "bar area"
• 6:00 - do a night-time test view of my windows.....can we see in the windows at night with the blinds pulled (no)
• 6:30 - paperwork
• 8:30 - finish and watch the Duke game with Kimberly

Some day off.  I can't make this stuff up.

Much of the work the last few weeks has been downstairs in the tenant space.  I received advice from some commercial real estate folks that it would market better if the space looked more complete. 

The first thing that comes to mind is how quickly one forgets.  I was passionately against changing the walls because "they had 100 years of character......changing it would ruin the historic story".  Well, I was wrong.  This wall told a story but I've already forgotten what it was.  And it still tells a story.  There are few 16 foot walls of plaster on 18" thick brick.  The story is still there.  It just looks ready for the next chapter.

The second thing that comes to mind is the cold.  It's been very cold for an extremely long stretch.  Literally, the heat in my place has not completely shut off one time since I've lived here.  That's 18 days of at least one blower running.  My bill is going to suck!  And the guys downstairs are working without heat. 

I'm very much looking forward to completing my space, calling it home, and having a tenant downstairs.  Next month will be 2 years since the contract was signed and the project story began.......

I had hoped to move in January 31st, have a bit of punchlist items to sift through, and then have 308westmain to my own.  As some said during the last presidential election, "hope is not a strategy".  I've been extremely busy since my February 4th post.  The picture here is a poetic visual of the last two weeks........my view is cracked because of poor communication and/or lack of understanding.

I got a call while working my day job that pays for this project saying "I broke the inner pane of your front window installing the electronic door strike".  Weird, I planned to have the electronic strike installed during manufacturing of the storefront.  I call David.  Story gets too long and not the type I want to publish.  The next day I hear back "the electronic strikes were installed.  Your guy didn't need to install his."  Say WHAT?

So, now I have a broken glass, 2 electronic strikes and what will be a bill for the "extra" strike.  Taking out what was installed by my guy isn't an option because it would leave no material for the door to lock.  I can't go back and have it remanufactured because the storefront folks did their work.  In the end, not having a simple bit of knowledge transferred...."there's already an electronic strike, just connect to it" has cost me money, time, my own dissatisfaction and a bit of ill-will between some of us participants.

My view is cracked right now.  Like the window, it will be repaired.  With some perspective, I recognize I've got little to complain about.

January the 31st was my last night renting my other place so "moving day" was planned for Friday, January 29th.  The place wasn't ready to move in unless I was ready to deal with hassles.  After 22 months, I was ready for some hassles so I started moving things and storing them in cabinets.  On Thursday, the weather service announced a winter storm warning for the entire South, with up to a foot of snow possible in Durham.  Excellent conditions for moving!

David's crew got it done in about 3 hours.  They used a big dump truck to haul the stuff.  It was a welcoming site to my neighbors.......

I didn't care about the astetics.  I was moved in.  And beat.  The truck may have run over me.  I slept.

The next day was cleanup day at my old place.  Kimberly and I met up and went looking for food.  Everything was closed so I had my first meal at the Marriott.  It was weird to eat at a hotel 100 yards from my home.  It was good enough for me to eat: an omelet, hash browns, oatmeal, fruit, bisquits and gravy and a bunch of coffee.  And then clean-up work.  Another truck hit me.

Sunday brought the usual brunch crowd at Parker and Otis.  Then Spot, Kimberly, Chris and Ashley came to my old place to finish moving stuff to 308westmain.  They rock!  Not only did they move me, but they all helped to unpack, sweep/mop floors, dust and etc.  It felt like home because of them.....BIG thanks.  We ordered pizza, watched the Grammy's and laughed ("my father wanted to perform here this year, but he didn't perform last year").

All week I've managed to do work from home while supporting the barrage of requests from the trades.  Electrical, plumbing, drywall, plaster, painting, shelving and cleaning are still underway.  It's punchlist time, so the work isn't "big" (like installing beams), but it's grating because life isn't normal.  It looks great though.  Enjoy your first view and know that more will come.

And it was cramped.  I didn't have much but I couldn't even stand in my "room" with folding up the futon thing that made up my bed on the floor.

Now I could live in my closet.  It's got a washer/dryer, room for 5 hanging racks, many storage cubbies and shelves on top.  And plenty of room for dirty and clean clothes on the floor.

This too, I love.

  Silver Jetta turned 100,000 yesterday.  10 years ago I purchased her over the phone.  Pre-internet commerce, I called the dealership and asked if they had any Jetta GLX's.  "Yes, a silver one" was the reply.  Some over the phone negotiations continued for about 15 minutes.  I said I wasn't driving to Raleigh unless I knew they'd sell it to me for my price.  The salesman came back and said, "the sales manager says we can't leave the lights on for that price but if you come today it is yours." I had a date that night, so my first hour of the date was at the car dealership.

And it's been good every since.  Trips home to see mom.  Several trips back and forth to Toronto.  The mountains, beach, Charleston, Baltimore, DC and many other fun locations.  And mostly it's gotten me to and from work.  At a reasonable cost.  My Jetta gets good gas mileage and I couldn't have known how important that would be through 10 years.

And in case Spot reads this.......she's a manual shift, the only kind of car to buy.  None of that automatic, no-brainer stuff.  She's all mechanical. 

Here's hoping for many more.  Long may you run.

We're definitely getting close to finishing 'cause the floors are being sanded, repaired and finished.  They haven't likely looked like this in dozens of year.  I like this photo because it shows the transition from old to new: at the bottom of the photo is the dull, grey the floors have been since I have had the building, and the floor below shows the new color.