Title courtesy of Madonna of all people. I swear, she was the worst thing that happened to Guy Ritchie. The dude made two great movies, "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch", then he married Madonna, and he's made nothing good since, although I hear good things about "Rock N Rolla."
Anyway, so I know its been awhile, and I'm going to use the same excuse that I've been super, crazy busy. Except this time, its not an excuse, its the truth.
So, the day before New Year's we closed on the house. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be, it was just signing a lot of papers, and when I mean a lot, I mean an insanely, ridiculous amount of paperwork. And oh yeah, just seeing the amount we'll have paid the bank after 30 years was enough to make my jaw drop! But, now we're home owners, which is pretty cool. But, I do have to admit, its crazy scary. For instance, we got the keys to the kingdom on January 1, and even though we'd seen and been in the house a few times, it was always furnished, and its simply amazing how the furniture and whatnot hides the nastiness. Because the second we got those keys and saw what the inside of the house looked like, completely empty, the first thought that went through my head was, holy crap, I can't believe I agreed to buy this dump, and pay for it for the next 30 years.
But, after putting in a lot of work cleaning the place up and taking a ton of estimates from people for a ton of work that the place needs, its getting better. So far we've booked a painter to remove all the hideous and painted over multiple time wallpaper, we bought new carpets for two rooms, and currently the carpeting is being ripped up in the living room/dining room, stairs and upstairs hallway so that the wood floors underneath can be refinished. The guy started ripping up carpet this morning and Missy stopped by after work and said it looked really good! So I'm psyched to see to see it for myself. Why I haven't yet, I'll get to in a second. We also bought some den furniture and a new king size bed, both I'm psyched about!
The one thing that's really disconcerting is that the hot water heater needs to be replaced ASAP. There was money left in escrow and it hasn't been released yet until we get it replaced. We got from the seller this one year home warranty that covers a lot of major appliances in the house, so we called to get service through that company, and low and behold, the warranty hasn't been paid for yet! But, they did allow one service call up to 21 days after closing, and we've used it. But, the plumbing company they're sending can't seem to coordinate with us when to come and look at it. They're insisting early in the morning, but we both work, so Missy will have to take a half day or something. Its just annoying. And, on top of that, the dryer doesn't work either, but that's already being replaced, as a gift from my mom and dad.
So, I haven't been able to see the house in a few days because I had to fly to Green Bay, Wisconsin for business. And damn, it is cold. But its been decent so far, just cold. I got in yesterday and I leave tomorrow, so its not so bad. It was a bit of a hassle getting here though. I had to fly from NYC to Detroit to Green Bay. My flight from NYC was delayed due to rain, so much so that when I got to Detroit, my plane to Green Bay was calling for final boarding. I hopped on board and we took of shortly thereafter. So, I made it to Green Bay, but my luggage didn't! When I noticed it didn't make it, I went to the airline desk to let them know, and the guy checked on the bag and said it was still in Detroit but would get sent to Green Bay on the next flight later that evening. He took down my cell phone number and hotel information and said that they'd messenger the bag over. So, I took a taxi to my customer, worked, walked to my hotel, ate dinner, and when I got back to the hotel, still no bag.
At this point I was starting to get a little pissed. I called the airline multiple times, and all I was told was that the guy at the airport earlier in the day didn't file a delayed baggage claim properly and that in order to get the bag delivered I'd have to go to the airport to file the claim. Which, when you think about it, is pretty damn stupid. Why go to the airport to file the claim, when I can just go to the airport and get the bag myself?! Morons. So, I lost all patience, told the front desk at the hotel to call me a taxi, to take me to the airport, then take me right back! I got the airport and the place was deserted. All I could see when I walked in was a guy riding a floor waxer, waxing the floor. I approached the airline desk and saw my bag next to someone else's. I checked the tag and it was in fact my bag. So I grabbed it, got back in the cab and went back to hotel. Now, I'm gracious that my bag was right there, but at the same time, I'm really pissed that my bag was right there. Anyone could've taken it, anyone could've taken something from it, anyone could've messed with it or placed something in it. So much for airport security, right? But, I had my luggage and a change of clothes, so what more can I ask for?
Thankfully my work at the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field is done, so now I can go home tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will be OK and I'll make it home without issues. That would be nice.
And that is all for now. I'll try to post some pictures of the house, before and after style when I get a chance. Its a work in progress, but its got potential!
Alright, I'm out!!!