i’m feeling a little down right now because of issues getting rid of the car, so i’m going to do what really makes me happy – post cute pictures. i’ll do it after the jump for those who’d like to skip them or look at them later. just a puppy photo or two, then maybe one of becky’s birthday present.
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Specifically house-type things. It’s really just proof that you need to know how much things are worth so you don’t get horribly ripped off.
1. There were two broken window panes that the house inspector found and we required that they be fixed before we took ownership. Now, these are old single-pane windows. It’s just glass. You scrape out the putty, get a new piece of glass for maybe $1 (the panes are only around 6×6 inches), press some glazing points into the frame to hold the glass in place, and the put new putty over the top. Even accounting for the fact that you have to buy full containers of glazing putty and the points, we’re still talking less than $10 for parts and maybe 20 minutes of labor per pane. The previous owners paid $175 to have it done. Lesson: a lot of things around the house are easy to fix and can be done much more cheaply than hiring someone.
2. The upstairs sunroom has 10 windows that wrap all the way around it. Apparently the previous owners wanted cellular blinds on all of them. At Home Depot, you can get cellular blinds for something less than $25 each (these windows are around 12 inches wide) and they’ll even cut them to your exact width. Total: around $250. The previous owners went to a curtain store and had someone come out to custom measure, insert a colored accent piece to match the walls, and then install the blinds. Total: $2250. Holy shit in the morning! They wasted two thousand dollars!
3. The house used to have a slate roof but it apparently leaked a lot so it got replaced with some really high quality shingles. When they replaced the roof, they also installed new gutters and new gutter guards.* In case you don’t know, gutter guards keep leaves out of the gutters so they don’t get clogged which can lead to all sorts of water problems. Also of note is the fact that gutter guards aren’t very helpful against pine needles. However, there aren’t any pine trees in a 500 foot radius from the house. Despite the new non-leaking roof and working gutters, the previous owners paid to have twice-yearly inspections of the roof (which can be expected just by walking up into the attic) and twice-yearly gutter cleanings.
*However, they didn’t fix the collapsing ceiling and falling paint caused by the water in the master bedroom closets. I guess they liked plaster and fragments of paint on their clothes.
4. The kitchen stove. First off, these people did not cook. Ever. The reason I know this is that between the microwave and the coffee maker, there was no free counter space to work on. Given the condition of the refridgerator too, they just didn’t prioritize food very much. However, the kitchen stove is a brand-new top of the line GE model in sparkling stainless steel (all the other appliances are white). I looked it up on Sears and it’s a good $800 more expensive than a “good” stove. Now, a good kitchen stove should last at least 10 years without any problem at all. They paid for the extended warranty through 2011. I’m willing to bet a large sum of money that their cars are undercoated too.
Ok, I think I’m done ranting for the moment.
Greetings from Stacy. Hmm, STScI. Better known as “the institute”. I’m going to try to convince people to call it Stacy though.
As you can tell, it’s an eventful first day of work. Lots of “I do”s including:
I do not have my computer
I do not have an ID badge
I do not have a login to the unix machines
I do not have an office.
Hmm, maybe it’s an “I do not” list. Guess it all depends on the emphasis. Anyway, I left my laptop at home this morning because I figured that I wouldn’t be needing it. Which brings up a rule: always take your laptop. Instead I’m borrowing some else’s account.
And, since I want today to count as a work day, I’m going to be blogging until 5. 
Paris Hilton’s new single is actually pretty good pop.
I’m off to bed.
I assume y’all are all members of the “Apple Students” group on facebook. If you go there, click the link, and then use the code at the music store, you get 25 free songs.
(The link didn’t properly render in my browser, if you just see a black square, click around in it.)
