Wow! I actually do have a few readers of my blog, and thanks to those of you who've prodded me to keep going.
After a brief delay last weekend, I finally got started on the basement this weekend, with the help of my mom. My brother J had a crazy weekend so he got to skip out, but that's okay. We have projects for him when he gets home. For those of you who know my dad, you'll understand why it's going to be a much easier process if he stays away until the basement is clean and ready for remodeling (long story short...he doesn't do well with "purging" items). We spent a good portion of the day on Saturday and about half of Sunday cleaning what will continue to be the "utility/storage" room. At this point, it's about 80% of the way to where it should be, and since I'm working an hour from home on Friday, I should be able to get a little work done that evening. Hopefully by Saturday I'll have that room as done as he can until a certain totally awesome little brother gets a few things done (installs the tray under the washing machine in the laundry room above, plumbs the drain from said tray, etc).
So far, I'm still on track to being done with the cleaning by mid-June (4 more weekends). If I can pull that off, I can get my building permit and we can start all of the "rough" work that needs to get done behind the scenes (extending the central vac PVC piping into the new room, running the necessary wiring for television, internet, and electricity, and getting the water into the bathroom). My goal is to have that all done so that the drywall can go in by the beginning of September.
So thanks to those of you who've pushed me so far. Once the clean-up is done, I'll start posting pictures throughout the remodel.
Have a great week!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Basement Bedlam
Okay readers, I need your help and encouragement.
Growing up in Wisconsin, a basement has been a part of most homes in the area, although they were often different. By my Grandma K, it was the place the laundry chute led to; by Grandma and Grandpa H, it's where Grandpa went to put that one last log in the woodstove before the 50+ people arrived for Christmas dinner; by my Aunt and Uncle G, it was where my cousin's really cool bedroom (and the rec room with the freaky electric fireplace) were; and, at home, it was where I hung out during Tornado Warnings (okay, and watches).
Whatever the purpose, I never really gave a second thought to a basement, it was a basement. There really wasn't something "EXCITING" about a basement. That is, unless you're my cousin P. In all fairness, my Aunt and Uncle K moved out to California when P and his sister were still in school, but if you ask me, he was just a little too obsessed with my basement when he toured the "under construction" condo during a visit. At that time, the place was empty, so yeah, the basement was cool.
A year after I moved into the condo, I had done a good job of filling up my basement, with Christmas decorations (don't forget, I have in excess of 30 bins, plus three Christmas trees); a crib my cousin C gave me in hopes that someday I actually do "get" a kid of my own (along with some dressers from my parent's neighbors, for the same reason); Grandma K's walker and wheelchair; my crafting supplies; and assorted other "valuable" things that "I might need" one day. But, hey, it's a basement, it's not where I entertain, so who cares if it's a disaster area.
Enter Cousin P once again. He and his wife M were coming to Wisconsin for a visit, and I offered up Staci's Bed and Breakfast for them to stay at, since I was going to be out of the country for work. The only condition...stay OUT of the basement. Note to self: P takes after his father and his grandmother...he's stubborn and he doesn't listen. To my horror, I learned he took M downstairs to look at the basement. How embarassing! I vowed by the next time the two of them came for a visit, I would have the basement cleaned up.
Four years later, I've acquired more, um, stuff and the basement isn't ready for any tours. I had taken a stab at it more than once, but for some reason it likes to become cluttered quickly. I did have great intentions to fix up the basement this year, since I had to do something with credit card points when the firm switched providers; I have several gift cards to a major home improvement retailer waiting to be spent. The problem is, I just really haven't had the time yet this year.
Now I find out that P and M are likely coming, along with P's sister, for a visit in July. Odds are about 100:1 that I'll need to be at a client that week, since it's quarter end, so the logical place for them to stay is once again Staci's B&B. Only this time, I know that P won't listen to me, and they're bound to want to look at my basement once again.
So, my readers, this is where you come in. Don't worry, I'm not asking you to come help me clean the place...instead, I need a little push from each and every one of you. I cannot start the organiztion this weekend, since I may have to work at some point, and I have a 1st Communion to attend in Chicago on Saturday, so I only have 8 weekends to get this all done. While it may not be fixed up, I cannot have a repeat of June '07. So, please, help encourage me to get moving and get organized. If you don't see reports of progress (and, in upcoming weeks, as I've gotten through at least SOME of the things, pictures to support the progress), send me a note to help me get moving.
Hopefully, I will soon be able to move from "Basement Bedlam" to "Rec Room Remodel."
Growing up in Wisconsin, a basement has been a part of most homes in the area, although they were often different. By my Grandma K, it was the place the laundry chute led to; by Grandma and Grandpa H, it's where Grandpa went to put that one last log in the woodstove before the 50+ people arrived for Christmas dinner; by my Aunt and Uncle G, it was where my cousin's really cool bedroom (and the rec room with the freaky electric fireplace) were; and, at home, it was where I hung out during Tornado Warnings (okay, and watches).
Whatever the purpose, I never really gave a second thought to a basement, it was a basement. There really wasn't something "EXCITING" about a basement. That is, unless you're my cousin P. In all fairness, my Aunt and Uncle K moved out to California when P and his sister were still in school, but if you ask me, he was just a little too obsessed with my basement when he toured the "under construction" condo during a visit. At that time, the place was empty, so yeah, the basement was cool.
A year after I moved into the condo, I had done a good job of filling up my basement, with Christmas decorations (don't forget, I have in excess of 30 bins, plus three Christmas trees); a crib my cousin C gave me in hopes that someday I actually do "get" a kid of my own (along with some dressers from my parent's neighbors, for the same reason); Grandma K's walker and wheelchair; my crafting supplies; and assorted other "valuable" things that "I might need" one day. But, hey, it's a basement, it's not where I entertain, so who cares if it's a disaster area.
Enter Cousin P once again. He and his wife M were coming to Wisconsin for a visit, and I offered up Staci's Bed and Breakfast for them to stay at, since I was going to be out of the country for work. The only condition...stay OUT of the basement. Note to self: P takes after his father and his grandmother...he's stubborn and he doesn't listen. To my horror, I learned he took M downstairs to look at the basement. How embarassing! I vowed by the next time the two of them came for a visit, I would have the basement cleaned up.
Four years later, I've acquired more, um, stuff and the basement isn't ready for any tours. I had taken a stab at it more than once, but for some reason it likes to become cluttered quickly. I did have great intentions to fix up the basement this year, since I had to do something with credit card points when the firm switched providers; I have several gift cards to a major home improvement retailer waiting to be spent. The problem is, I just really haven't had the time yet this year.
Now I find out that P and M are likely coming, along with P's sister, for a visit in July. Odds are about 100:1 that I'll need to be at a client that week, since it's quarter end, so the logical place for them to stay is once again Staci's B&B. Only this time, I know that P won't listen to me, and they're bound to want to look at my basement once again.
So, my readers, this is where you come in. Don't worry, I'm not asking you to come help me clean the place...instead, I need a little push from each and every one of you. I cannot start the organiztion this weekend, since I may have to work at some point, and I have a 1st Communion to attend in Chicago on Saturday, so I only have 8 weekends to get this all done. While it may not be fixed up, I cannot have a repeat of June '07. So, please, help encourage me to get moving and get organized. If you don't see reports of progress (and, in upcoming weeks, as I've gotten through at least SOME of the things, pictures to support the progress), send me a note to help me get moving.
Hopefully, I will soon be able to move from "Basement Bedlam" to "Rec Room Remodel."
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Surviving Travel During the Great Blizzard of 2011
I got an unexpected call tonight from a friend of mine who thought I may be going stir-crazy in my hotel room. What an awesome suprise that was! One of the things that we talked about was her blog...she's got a natural talent for writing, so reading her musings about this or that is a great way for me to get my head out of my work for a bit. I had thought about blogging myself for a while, but figured my life wasn't really something anyone would be interested in. Not like H, who writes about her hubby and kiddos, or like another friend of mine, D, who initially started her blog as a way to keep everyone informed on the progress of her son, who was born super early (now, he's like any other 3-year old, but she still blogs about her family).
H told me tonight that she was suprised at who actually reads her blog. She uses her blog as a way to write something her children can reflect on in the future, but also as a way to blow off some steam when she needs to. She never really thought people would take the time to read it.
While I'm not foolish enough to think that my blog is actually of interest to many, I thought it might actually be a good place for me to blow off some steam and detach myself from work for a few minutes every once in a while.
All of this brings me to my first entry on my blog, the Great Blizzard of 2011.
Anyone who knows me will understand why I titled my blog what I did. It's a turn of words on my hometown, and the fact that I'm often traveling to multiple cities in a month. This week was supposed to be an "easy" travel week. There was no air travel, all I had to do was drive to Illinois for the week. Easy enough, right?
Over the weekend, weathermen started to go into their panic mode, as Stormageddon was supposed to bear down on Wisconsin and Illinois during the week. Usually, when the media gets this hyped up about a storm it fizzles out, so I didn't panic too much about it. I was, however, proactive about a few things "just in case." I packed some "comfy" clothes (jeans and a sweatshirt) in case I had to work from the hotel one day; I picked a hotel that was surrounded by restaurants, so I could walk to dinner rather than drive if the snow was a blowing; and I even packed my portable DVD player and 3 seasons of The West Wing, in case the DirecTV at the hotel went out.
Unfortunately, there was one thing I didn't think about: what happened if the power went out at the hotel. Last night, the lights flickered a couple of times, and when I made a comment about it on Facebook my cousin commented that I should call down for an extra blanket just in case. So, I did that, and I dug out my flashlight just in case the lights did go out for a while. I pulled out the power strip that I carry in case I get stranded at an airport (it's a great way to make friends while waiting for a delayed flight if you have a place someone can charge their phone - and it makes it easy to convince someone to let you plug into the outlet if they aren't giving up their charging capability), since it has a surge protector, and plugged in all of my electronic garb.
When the power went out a little after Midnight, I grabbed the extra blanket, turned on the DVD player (I needed some noise to drown out the drunk group of people who'd just gotten back to the room next door) and snuggled into bed. No worries, I figured, by morning everything would be fine. Unfortunately, when I woke up at 6:00, the power still wasn't on. Since I'd drained the battery in the DVD player, I couldn't do my kickboxing workout, so I figured I'd go back to sleep for an hour and hope the power was back on when I woke up again...WRONG.
So, I started out today with a fully charged laptop and a cell phone that had already lost about 13% of its charge...the major downfall of the iPhone, and no TV, Radio or DVD Player to provide me background noise. Immediately, I set the laptop to "conserve energy," hoping the power would come on before I drained the battery completely. I turned off the 3G on the phone to conserve what power I had left, and started my workday. Just before noon, the laptop gave me the "find a place to plug in" warning message, and I saved my files just before it shut down.
By this time, I knew that the hotel was going to be serving a complementary banquet lunch downstairs, so I figured I may as well eat. I was on the fifth floor of the hotel, which has 16 floors in total. Since they were operating on generator power, only one elevator was operational, and by the time an elevator going to the lobby reached the 5th floor, it was full from the first 11 floors that it stopped at....which leads me to my first real gripe of the day. What kind of architect designs a hotel where the stairs don't go down to the lobby? (I have more to say about architects, but will save that for another day). In some architect's logic, it made sense to have the stairs allow you to only get to the second floor, where you would have to exit to the outside world. I don't mind walking the stairs, but in the middle of a blizzard I really didn't want to go outside and walk around the hotel to go in the lobby entrance. All of this led to the very interesting approach of pushing the UP button of the elevator, catching it on the way to the top, and riding it all the way back down to the lobby, a process which took about 20 minutes.
Well before this point, I had come to the realization that it was very likely the hotel wouldn't be getting power back today, but they were still advising people to stay off of the roads, and from my hotel window I could see that the roads were not in any real driving condition. This made for a VERY long afternoon. I realize now that I probably should have packed a book, or at least a magazine, from home, but I never thought about what would happen if the power went out at the hotel. For all of my laughing at my co-workers who hadn't thought about not being able to get back to Chicago last night, and bragging about being prepared, I really wasn't. Of course, I did at least have enough clothes along, but I was going out of my mind from sheer boredom. At least I knew I wasn't alone...at lunch I met a group of 5 women who were so bored they went "shopping" at the tiny hotel gift shop to pass the time (I'm not sure if they bought the "Someone who loves me very much" T-Shirt, the glow in the dark Willis Tower statue or some "incidental" items, but that was the wide selection they could choose from, so I'm sure they didn't alleviate their bordem for long.
Finally, at about 4:00, traffic seemed to be flowing a bit better, and I was able to get a reservation at a nearby hotel. I packed up everything, made the trek out to the parking lot and loaded up the Trailblazer. I have never been so glad to have a radio in my entire life, but it made me feel like I was back in the real world. What's usually a 7 minute drive on Lake Cook Road from Milwaukee Ave to just East of I-294 took about 25 minutes. Only one lane was plowed, and there were some cars that had spun out or gotten stuck that I had to make my way around, but I made it to my new home away from home in one piece. I unpacked my suitcase again, and then settled in with my laptop in front of the TV, checked on the shipping status of my iPad and then got back to work.
That's when I realized how much I depend on electronics as a part of my daily routine. If I had drained my phone's power, there were only a handful of people who's phone numbers I had memorized...Mom & Dad (home, work and cell), my brother's cell, my aunt's home phone, and two people from work (and I wasn't 100% confident that I had committed one of them to memory). I couldn't even call my two best friends. In anticipation of my iPad, I've started downloading books for the Kindle app, rather than buying real books. I'd actually been hesitant to do that for a long time, because I struggled with the fact that I couldn't read while the plane was taxiing (which, when I was traveling to Houston, could sometimes be 40 minutes)...and now I have just one more reason to go back to my paperbacks.
As the Great Blizzard of 2011 dies down, I'm safely tucked away for the night, have eaten dinner, and I've been able to cross off two of the items on my "to do" list. Of course, when I went through my emails tonight, I got to add three more to the list, but at least I feel like I've accomplished something. Tomorrow, the client office is open again, and life will start to get back to normal. Anyone who's lived up North knows that after the snow comes the cold, and it's going to get COLD-D-D-D-D tonight, they're saying it will be about -6 without the wind chill when I head out in the morning. As I'm typing, I realize that I brought the snow brush, but left the ice scraper in the other car, so I need to allow myself some extra time to warm up the truck in the morning.
On the bright side, Phil didn't see his shadow today, so Spring should be right around the corner. Since the Milwaukee Zoo cancelled Groundhog Day in Wisconsin, I'm hoping Phil's prediction was for WI as well as PA. I know that it's cold across the country (who'd have thought the Frozen Tundra would actually travel to Dallas with the Pack), so I'm guessing wherever you are, most of you will agree.
Keep warm!
H told me tonight that she was suprised at who actually reads her blog. She uses her blog as a way to write something her children can reflect on in the future, but also as a way to blow off some steam when she needs to. She never really thought people would take the time to read it.
While I'm not foolish enough to think that my blog is actually of interest to many, I thought it might actually be a good place for me to blow off some steam and detach myself from work for a few minutes every once in a while.
All of this brings me to my first entry on my blog, the Great Blizzard of 2011.
Anyone who knows me will understand why I titled my blog what I did. It's a turn of words on my hometown, and the fact that I'm often traveling to multiple cities in a month. This week was supposed to be an "easy" travel week. There was no air travel, all I had to do was drive to Illinois for the week. Easy enough, right?
Over the weekend, weathermen started to go into their panic mode, as Stormageddon was supposed to bear down on Wisconsin and Illinois during the week. Usually, when the media gets this hyped up about a storm it fizzles out, so I didn't panic too much about it. I was, however, proactive about a few things "just in case." I packed some "comfy" clothes (jeans and a sweatshirt) in case I had to work from the hotel one day; I picked a hotel that was surrounded by restaurants, so I could walk to dinner rather than drive if the snow was a blowing; and I even packed my portable DVD player and 3 seasons of The West Wing, in case the DirecTV at the hotel went out.
Unfortunately, there was one thing I didn't think about: what happened if the power went out at the hotel. Last night, the lights flickered a couple of times, and when I made a comment about it on Facebook my cousin commented that I should call down for an extra blanket just in case. So, I did that, and I dug out my flashlight just in case the lights did go out for a while. I pulled out the power strip that I carry in case I get stranded at an airport (it's a great way to make friends while waiting for a delayed flight if you have a place someone can charge their phone - and it makes it easy to convince someone to let you plug into the outlet if they aren't giving up their charging capability), since it has a surge protector, and plugged in all of my electronic garb.
When the power went out a little after Midnight, I grabbed the extra blanket, turned on the DVD player (I needed some noise to drown out the drunk group of people who'd just gotten back to the room next door) and snuggled into bed. No worries, I figured, by morning everything would be fine. Unfortunately, when I woke up at 6:00, the power still wasn't on. Since I'd drained the battery in the DVD player, I couldn't do my kickboxing workout, so I figured I'd go back to sleep for an hour and hope the power was back on when I woke up again...WRONG.
So, I started out today with a fully charged laptop and a cell phone that had already lost about 13% of its charge...the major downfall of the iPhone, and no TV, Radio or DVD Player to provide me background noise. Immediately, I set the laptop to "conserve energy," hoping the power would come on before I drained the battery completely. I turned off the 3G on the phone to conserve what power I had left, and started my workday. Just before noon, the laptop gave me the "find a place to plug in" warning message, and I saved my files just before it shut down.
By this time, I knew that the hotel was going to be serving a complementary banquet lunch downstairs, so I figured I may as well eat. I was on the fifth floor of the hotel, which has 16 floors in total. Since they were operating on generator power, only one elevator was operational, and by the time an elevator going to the lobby reached the 5th floor, it was full from the first 11 floors that it stopped at....which leads me to my first real gripe of the day. What kind of architect designs a hotel where the stairs don't go down to the lobby? (I have more to say about architects, but will save that for another day). In some architect's logic, it made sense to have the stairs allow you to only get to the second floor, where you would have to exit to the outside world. I don't mind walking the stairs, but in the middle of a blizzard I really didn't want to go outside and walk around the hotel to go in the lobby entrance. All of this led to the very interesting approach of pushing the UP button of the elevator, catching it on the way to the top, and riding it all the way back down to the lobby, a process which took about 20 minutes.
Well before this point, I had come to the realization that it was very likely the hotel wouldn't be getting power back today, but they were still advising people to stay off of the roads, and from my hotel window I could see that the roads were not in any real driving condition. This made for a VERY long afternoon. I realize now that I probably should have packed a book, or at least a magazine, from home, but I never thought about what would happen if the power went out at the hotel. For all of my laughing at my co-workers who hadn't thought about not being able to get back to Chicago last night, and bragging about being prepared, I really wasn't. Of course, I did at least have enough clothes along, but I was going out of my mind from sheer boredom. At least I knew I wasn't alone...at lunch I met a group of 5 women who were so bored they went "shopping" at the tiny hotel gift shop to pass the time (I'm not sure if they bought the "Someone who loves me very much" T-Shirt, the glow in the dark Willis Tower statue or some "incidental" items, but that was the wide selection they could choose from, so I'm sure they didn't alleviate their bordem for long.
Finally, at about 4:00, traffic seemed to be flowing a bit better, and I was able to get a reservation at a nearby hotel. I packed up everything, made the trek out to the parking lot and loaded up the Trailblazer. I have never been so glad to have a radio in my entire life, but it made me feel like I was back in the real world. What's usually a 7 minute drive on Lake Cook Road from Milwaukee Ave to just East of I-294 took about 25 minutes. Only one lane was plowed, and there were some cars that had spun out or gotten stuck that I had to make my way around, but I made it to my new home away from home in one piece. I unpacked my suitcase again, and then settled in with my laptop in front of the TV, checked on the shipping status of my iPad and then got back to work.
That's when I realized how much I depend on electronics as a part of my daily routine. If I had drained my phone's power, there were only a handful of people who's phone numbers I had memorized...Mom & Dad (home, work and cell), my brother's cell, my aunt's home phone, and two people from work (and I wasn't 100% confident that I had committed one of them to memory). I couldn't even call my two best friends. In anticipation of my iPad, I've started downloading books for the Kindle app, rather than buying real books. I'd actually been hesitant to do that for a long time, because I struggled with the fact that I couldn't read while the plane was taxiing (which, when I was traveling to Houston, could sometimes be 40 minutes)...and now I have just one more reason to go back to my paperbacks.
As the Great Blizzard of 2011 dies down, I'm safely tucked away for the night, have eaten dinner, and I've been able to cross off two of the items on my "to do" list. Of course, when I went through my emails tonight, I got to add three more to the list, but at least I feel like I've accomplished something. Tomorrow, the client office is open again, and life will start to get back to normal. Anyone who's lived up North knows that after the snow comes the cold, and it's going to get COLD-D-D-D-D tonight, they're saying it will be about -6 without the wind chill when I head out in the morning. As I'm typing, I realize that I brought the snow brush, but left the ice scraper in the other car, so I need to allow myself some extra time to warm up the truck in the morning.
On the bright side, Phil didn't see his shadow today, so Spring should be right around the corner. Since the Milwaukee Zoo cancelled Groundhog Day in Wisconsin, I'm hoping Phil's prediction was for WI as well as PA. I know that it's cold across the country (who'd have thought the Frozen Tundra would actually travel to Dallas with the Pack), so I'm guessing wherever you are, most of you will agree.
Keep warm!
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