So here's a photo of the neighbors' houses. If you crop out the dirt-floor 'parking lot' on the right, and the enormous consturction site on the left, this little part of the block looks pretty nice. I mean, when people aren't shooting each other, kids aren't fighting, or the ice cream truck isn't parked right in front of the house playing "Turkey in the Straw" for a half hour at a time. What's the rate of psychosis in ice cream truck drivers?
We're all pretty frugal in our household, we kept the thermostat at reasonable levels, didn't linger in the shower, kept laundry to a minimum. This seemed to pay off, as our bills have been modest in comparison to the horror stories we had heard. Then last month our gas bill was $24.
The flat "gas delivery charge" fee is $23; we had used no 'therms' of gas between February and March. It wasn't an estimated reading or anything, our meter just recorded no usage for those two months. Now, those of you who were in the city during this time may recall that it was not exactly pleasant for much of this time, so obviously we were using a lot of gas during that time. We received a letter from Keyspan a few days later, voicing their doubts about the meter's efficacy. Somebody would have to inspect the meter.
So last night, some guys came over and replaced the meter outright. The odd thing was that the meter appeared to be working when they arrived. They swapped it anyway, just to be safe. The guys seemed incredulous, asking if we were out of town for those months, or renovating or something. One of the guys advised us to say "You know, we just moved in here, the place needed a lot of renovation, so that's what we were doing." When he said this, I realized finally that Keyspan might continue to ask probing questions about the meter and why they're not getting paid, even the problem is now 'fixed.'
I hope they don't press us on the issue; after all, we did schedule to have the guys come and fix the problem, really we could have had them over a barrel (think of the Seinfeld episode when Kramer keeps making the cable guy wait). And they had better not charge us to have that meter replaced! But that does sound like just the sort of thing they might pull. If so, I hope that meter has been bilking them from the get-go!
You know how sometimes when you drink you end up doing things you later regret? Well, this happened to me the other night. I awoke on Sunday with a pounding head and the sobering realization that at 3:30 the night before I was singing "Captain Jack" because Alex knew how to play it on the piano. Sure it could be construed as an amusing party-type moment, but the more I thought about it, the worse it seemed. Now I keep thinking, "What if the neighbors were trying to sleep? What if their bed is right on the other side of the piano-room wall? Oh god I was singing Billy Joel. I mean, please. Billy Joel."
Luckily, my body shut itself down soon after. My only solace is that I think the neighbors know I live in the lower part of the house, and will blame it on Buzz. They think he's trouble anyway.
April 13, 2007 – 11:18 am
The last can of foam I bought turned out to be something of a dud. It didn't expand to the impressive degree of the previous can, so I'm a little bitter about the whole foam issue for now. I guess I still love it, but I'm feeling a little cynical about my future with expanding foam, even though it constantly assures me it is GREAT STUFF.
Buzz and I moved all the drywall to the cellar last night, what a relief it's finally down there! It wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be, but moving drywall down a narrow flight of stairs is not something anybody looks forward to. at least it stopped raining. I'd had this sheetrock in my hallway since the end of February. I wish I could say the hallway looks better without it, but actually it's pretty dingy. Well, when I get done with this project, I suppose I should my attention back to the above-ground portions of this house. This will be a difficult transition, since the work I've been doing for the past couple of months needs only to be aesthetically pleasing to me and Buzz. All the other work the house needs has to look good to Real People, and all I've learned so far is that Sherbet-Orange is not a good paint choice.
Somehow, despite my healthy lifestyle choices and PMA, my cold continues unabated. I thought recovery was imminent when my voice gave out on Sunday, but I'm still decidedly unwell two days later, albeit in new and disgusting ways. My only solace is that by not using my federally-mandated sick days, I may very well infect my entire office. Then I'll have some peace and quiet around this place!
Work on the basement has slowed due to my ineffectual white blood cells, but we are definitely primed for completion. We brought the plywood downstairs yesterday. You may remember this plywood as the old subfloor Buzz painfully removed from the 4th floor during that project. How's that for recycling? Or, more correctly, how's that for being a skinflint? I'm also using as much of the old paneling and furring strips I ripped out of the basement, both to cut down on costs and so I don't have as much crap to throw out later.
Speaking of which, as a new homeowner I am now acquainted with the joys of being fully responsible not only for my trash, but for any little piece of garbage that happens to drop on my property (or the sidewalk in front). I've already been fined for improperly secured refuse (apparently the Dept of Sanitation prefers their garbage gift-wrapped), so when it comes to the big stuff like scrap wood and metal, I get spooked. I don't even want to risk a fine for some law I didn't even know about. For instance, do you know when your 'bulk' trash day is?
Trick question! Officially, there is no single bulk trash day, every regular trash day allows for the inclusion of large items. That's the theory, but of course a lotta people think Friday is always bulk day. Still, I have seen little consistency not just in bulk pick-up, but even the regular trash. I think they only pick up trash when they 'feel' like it. When I put out nonstandard items in the trash, I cross my fingers in the hopes it will be picked up. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't. I never know if it's because there secretly is a bulk day they're not telling people about, or if the DOS guys are just jerking me around.
