A website/ blog I’ve just discovered and really enjoy just posted something that turned me into a puddle of joy. Desire to Inspire showed how books could be used in decorating. I have mentioned to a few people the idea that I want to line my first floor with bookshelves. The Bernstein & Andriulli shot is just what I fantasized about, floor to ceiling bookshelves, with a ladder.
Month: February 2007
My love my radiators
Please oh wonderful radiator heat never, never leave me again. I didn’t know how good I had until you left me. This house is not a home without you. I promise to treat you right this time. I will have you serviced every year, even if it means having some plumber talk down to me because I’m a woman. ‘Cause you are worth it.
For the past two mornings I have woken up to a hot bathrobe and towel. I’ve been able to dry my thick tights, socks and sweaters on the radiators, filling the room with that Downy fabric softner smell. My nose isn’t drying out anymore. I can leave the house with warmed gloves. Life is good again.
Jaded
I just got the following announcement:
The Howard Theatre–
Yesterday and Tomorrow!Saturday, February 24
3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
The Carnegie at Mount Vernon Square
801 K Street, NW
(enter on K Street)
Gallery Place and Mount Vernon Square Metro StopsThe Circulator Bus stops at 9th and K
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
SEE:
· Mercedes Ellington
· Historic pictures
· Plans for the restoration of the theatre
HEAR:
· Remembrances from those who played at and reported on the Howard Theatre
· Music by the Washington Jazz Arts Institute,
· Davey Yarborough, Director
· Shaw Jr. High School Concert Band, Wesley Hoover, Band Director
· Remembrances from the audienceBRING YOUR OWN MEMORIES AND MEMORABILIA
BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
Historical Society of Washington, D.C.
Howard Theatre Restoration, Inc.
National Music Center & Museum Foundation
Washington Jazz Arts Institute
Shaw Main Streets, Inc.
WPFW Radio 89.3 FMRSVP so we can plan for numbers: 202-383-1837 or RSVP@historydc.org
Sadly, the Howard Theater is one of many projects I have heard plans for years ago. At least 2-3 years have passed since I’ve heard from the last person with plans. There were plans for the O Street Market back when it had a roof. There are plans for the Armstrong School over here in the TC and still nada. I know it takes time for these things to come to be and there are setbacks, but after hearing about plan after plan, I get jaded. I lose the faith and become a Doubting Thomas. I will not believe till I see scaffolding, construction crews working regularly, trucks blocking alleys, and other signs of the resurrection of place.
I know. Stuff happens, money needs to be raised, costs go up, permits are hard to come by, community groups must be met with, markets change and agreements must be had. However, after a certain amount of time, with very little visible progress, it is hard to keep believing and taking things on faith.
My comment policy: Anonymous Comments
So as not to go off topic in another post I’m going to create a post regarding my comment policy.
No anonymous comments.
I may let some fly but most I delete. Sometimes I acknowledge the comment I deleted, sometimes I don’t, and delete it forever so it doesn’t even register.
I have various reasons for my policy, but let me point out four:
1. My blog. As in I own it. Please do not confuse this with public space as it isn’t. I’ve created a space, which in all honesty was for the sheer entertainment of 5 people. And if I’m playing hostess, I’d like to know who my guests are.
2. Tone. I’ve noticed that sites that allow anon comments, no questions, can get fairly nasty. Not that InShaw has been free of such nastiness, it is just that I can put a cap on it or steer it in another direction. Also I truly believe that people will think before they post if they have to sign a name to it, thus moderating their tone.
3. Clarity. There was a post long time ago where there were at least two different anon posters. This was confusing to me and annoying.
4. Quirk. I just don’t like anonymous posts. They get on my nerves. I find them somewhat annoying on other people’s blogs, but other people can do what they want.
Yes, I recognize that by saying yes to my policy I’m saying no to some other things. One poster commenting on the comment policy mentioned privacy. Well, the thing is your IP address is tracked here by one of those buttons I put on the blog. I put it there to see how local my audience is, beyond those 5 people. If you want to be undercover, get AOL, Comcast, Quest, or Verizon and read the blog from home because a dozen regulars come from those IPs, so you can hide in the crowd. Or subscribe to the feed via some RSS aggregator like Bloglines, which I use to keep track of over 50 blogs & podcasts. Second, I don’t demand real names. I probably never will. I will demand that you pick an identity. Call yourself Bob, Jane Doh!, HRH Queen of Caffeine, the Raj of 9th St, whatever. However names like Phallic Cheney, or cruder, no. Anyway, my real name isn’t spelled Mari, and technically, legally, according to the woman in Personnel who wasn’t being particularly helpful, the name that EVERYONE calls me… apparently not my real name. Well, according to her.
Since I’m on the topic of Internet IDs, cultivate your real name in the places it should be. Also be aware of those other people who share your name. There is a woman running around with the simplified version of my name selling real estate in Seattle. When you throw in the initial, then it is pretty much 90% me, 85% in the right places, such as the history/ library/info sciences forums, things I’ve created for work, on lists of participants for conferences, etc. Your mamma might of given you a stupid middle name but thank her, because my friend Dr. So N Soh, PhD (obviously not his real name) who dabbles in SubjX as an amateur, keeps getting mixed up with Dr. So Han Soh, PhD who does SubjX as his profession. And there is a Dr. So Soh, MD, but he lives in Atlanta and there is little chance of confusion.
Go home
DC Feds go home. Government is closed according to WJLA and Fox 5. I would have checked OPM but it wouldn’t load.
I’m going home to a nice warm, warm house. I got the boiler yesterday from Contractor #1 installed and it churns out heat like a big heating thing…. Contractor #1 has now received many many brownie points.
Busted pipes and busted glass
Argh! This weekend I had a mini flood in the basement. It started on Friday with the sump pump going off. I did bother to notice it really until the sump pump kept going off a lot. That is Sunday morning. Anyway long story short, the house next to mine has been unoccupied for weeks and their pipes broke, sending water into my basement. WASA was really great in all this. They came by in two trips. The first came to see if it was stinky water. Nope, clear non-stinky stuff. The second crew came, listened to me about how this happened last time with the house 3 doors down having busted pipes. So they checked my meter, the houses next door and 3 hours after I made my first call, the water for the vacant house was turned off. Yay, WASA!
Also I noticed on the street and on the listservs there was a slew of car break ins. I saw one gal chatting with the cops over her busted window. Then a SUV with a shiny pile of blue green glass near it, and a duct taped driver’s side. I don’t have a car but still, a little reminder, don’t leave crap in your car. Thieves will bust in if they “think” you have something. Besides the crap, stuff, you constantly drive around with and don’t use, unnecessarily uses up gas. Lighten your load and improve your gas mileage.
Waaay off topic: State Universities
I heard something that annoyed the crap out of me a few days ago and occasionally the memory of it, and how I felt afterwards comes to the surface of the present and raises my blood pressure. Before I go into rant mode let me throw in the disclaimer. I mean no ill will to those who went to small- midsized private schools, or large ivies. Some of my dearest friends are Harvard alumni.
–Start Rant—
I was listening to a NPR report on class in America the focus was Amherst College and the class divisions at the school. Amherst is trying to provide itself and the opportunities it provides to non-wealthy students. That’s an admirable thing. However there was a part that came that I took to insinuate that schools like Amherst had a monopoly on those opportunities like foreign trips, mentoring and honors programs. Huh? I went to the Univ of Florida and one summer spent a semester in Cambridge Univ (UK), with the help of a scholarship and some loan money. My cousin goes to some flat state university in the middle of the country and went to South Africa for a semester. My college at Univ Maryland offers mentoring, however few students ever seem to take us up on our offers.
Many state universities are great value for money, provide a solid education and offer excellent opportunities. Yeah, there are some state schools that are crappy, but I’m not talking about those. There are state schools that are beyond excellent, like UVa & UNC, and sometimes it is not the school but particular programs. More importantly, the student has to take advantage of what’s there. You don’t do the internships, you don’t get involved in certain groups, you don’t sign up for that extra circular program, it can pretty much be a waste no matter how much you or your parents spend.
Also 5 years after graduating, most people don’t give a rat’s rear where you went to school. Of course, Univ of Wisconsin- Madison people seem to be all over the damned place. I have no idea where my supervisor went, or my boss, or many of my co-workers (a small percentage did attend UMCP). You typically find these things out when their team makes it to some bowl or is heading towards the final four, or they keep showing up wearing UGA sweatshirts and hats.
So three cheers for those publicly funded schools whose mission is to provide a post secondary education to its qualified citizens.
I’m at the starting line and I want to quit
Okay I’ve talked to DCRA about permits and two contractors. I’m tired.
First contractors. I’ve talked to contractor #1 who did my kitchen. He’s offered a free used boiler he pulled out from his last job (but labor will cost me) and I’m taking him up on it. The reason being is I called the eco-guy and he said if I could keep something out of the landfill and get 5-10 more years out of it, it would be a good thing. So contractor #1 will have scored brownie points. Those points will be awarded when I get some actual heat. Contractor #2 was unavailable. So contractor #3 became contractor #2. I had him over, he seemed to have really wanted architect designed plans. What I had was okay, but…. ya know. He did had a really can do, let’s get on this attitude. I got the number for a contractor #3 from Blagden Alley (thanks) but right now, I don’t wanna talk to anyone else.
It’s moments like this where I see being single has its negatives. It would be great to have another person with just as strong as an interest in the project. Or at least someone else to take on the contractor talking to bit.
Next, DCRA. I talked to someone at their Homeowner’s Center. The person at the other end was helpful and pointed out some things that would have to go through the regular permit process. The fence and front stoop are on “public space”, so that will have to go through the regular process. Getting rid of my unused chimney and flue, needs a structural engineer to sign off on it. They can handle the moving of the two bathrooms. Unfortunately I haven’t settled on what kind of air conditioning to get. They want plans for that. But I can’t get plans for that because I don’t know what the eco-guy is going to recommend, as it really doesn’t take that much to cool the house. Three window units did the trick last summer. Who knows, maybe a big honking through the wall unit in the back of the house will go there. And the gas fireplace will need a diagram. I may just throw that into a phase II project.
The major work on the house is Phase I. The basement and all the other little stuff that can get done on its own, Phase II. There is a Phase III, but I’m not even thinking that far ahead.
I’ve drawn up plans, with my little hands and talking with several people there are things I have left out. DCRA wants to know where the lines are going. I have no idea where the lines are now. I need to show where the doors swing. I need to show closets and electrical outlets and lights. Feh! I may need to hire IT to draw up plans after all.
I’m tired and I want my mommy.
Renovation 2007: Resale repeated
I’ve heard ‘resale value’ so many times now that I want to make a drinking game out of it, if it weren’t so disrespectful of those speaking, who I know mean well. I have gotten so good pointers and have been challenged, in a good way. But still there is that value that I keeps getting repeated that just seems to undermine my status as a homeowner. Every time someone says something about resale I take it as “hey you are just a renter with a mortgage.”
One of the joys I looked forward to as a homeowner is the possibility of customizing the house to me(without violating any major laws or codes). That drywall, I can tear that out. You know why? ‘Cause I own it. So now I’m all prepped to customize a good portion of the house based on my wants and desires and (most important) budget and I’m supposed to think about some future buyer. The house was designed by crackheads, they didn’t give a rat’s ass about me, why extend the same? What I will do for future owners is do my best to make sure the house is structurally sound. That’s it.
I don’t care about the money. I have too much equity. Because of my income I can only tap into part of the equity. I’d have to sell the house to get the rest. And that is as the house exists now, with no air conditioning, a busted boiler, crappy carpeting, warped floors, and crackadelic design.
One sin against the creed of resale I’m planning is getting rid of the closet in one of the bedrooms. I’ve heard that a bedroom needs to have a closet to legally be called a bedroom. Ok. Stick an armoire in it.
There were a couple anti-resale moves I considered, but decided that the generic solution could be worked around or was more economical. At some point I did play with the idea of not having a single tub in the house and just have a really cool shower. Then I also looked at ductless AC. Decided that if the ducts are on one side the house they can get camouflaged with a certain decorative idea I might do if I can afford it.
Comment problems
Comments don’t appear to be showing up for some odd reason.