A WHOLE LOT of building happened this past weekend. I took Friday and Monday off (as did my friend Matt), and we went from a bare slab Friday morning at 7:00 am to a fully-framed structure by 7:00 PM Monday. The above picture is the end of one of the two main beams - the end will show on the finished building, and is designed to echo a detail on the front of the house (which is actually much smaller). I don't expect anyone to actually make the connection - it feels a little like an inside joke, because the corbels on the front of the house are so small by comparison - but it's the only design motif on the house that's even remotely usable for this kind of detail.

A bunch more pictures are available by clicking on the above one, over at Flickr.

It rained this morning and I wasn't expecting it, so EVERYTHING got wet - including the stuff in the old garage, which has no roof shingles on it. Had I known it was going to rain, I'd have tarped the roof of at least the existing building. All the tools in the garage got wet.

I went to a funeral today that took up the whole middle of the day, so I had a completely unexpected day off from work (I make it sound like I'm happy about it, but believe me I'm not). It did let me get home a bit earlier than I normally would, so I was able to finish the roof sheathing on one side. It's supposed to rain again on Thursday, so I'll tarp the old roof tomorrow after work.

Hopefully this weekend the roof will get shingled, and I won't have to be afraid of the weather! I had quite a shock when I looked out this morning and saw everything was wet!

This weekend, I tore all the old asphalt shingles off the old garage roof, in preparation for the construction that we'll be starting next weekend. A bunch of years ago, I had a slab poured next to the garage, because I intended to widen it (to a two-car), and never got around to it.

Part of the problem was that the existing building had some termite/rot damage that needed repairing in the sill (the part that touches the ground). Ideally, one would simply tear down the existing building and put up a new, healthier structure that meets all codes - but this garage is only three feet from the property line, and any NEW structure must be FIVE feet from the line, so I would end up with a smaller garage! The rules say that I can MODIFY the existing building, though, without having to move it, so that's what I'm doing.

Anyway, rather than build an enclosed structure (enlarging the garage to two-car), we decided to build a "carport" on the new pad, an open-sided, roofed structure that provides limited weather protection. Then (and here's the nifty part), we'll screen it in, providing a shelter from sun, rain and insects, day or night, and large enough to put a table & chairs (and maybe an indoor/outdoor sofa and other seating). Then, in the winter, I can open the driveway end of it, pile the furniture and stuff up at the back, and keep a car in it.

I call the idea a "Carporch." Because I am tired and lack imagination.

Anyway, step one was to fix the termite/rot damage, which entailed lifting the building on the damaged side and replacing the base of the wall. We did this a couple weeks ago, and it was much easier than it sounds.

Yesterday, I got up on the roof and removed all the shingles, as previously mentioned. Shingles are HEAVY. My arms feel like rubber today, and the garage now has a blue tarp hat.

Next weekend, we'll put up the basic structure, and try to get the whole thing roofed. I'm taking a couple of vacation days, so with the four-day weekend, I should get most of the way through the major construction.

All the details, etc, will probably take the rest of my life. Sigh.

Oh - we also removed and replaced a huge row of old arborvitae that ran along the driveway. It was sorta tangential to this project, because the area behind the garage (which is only accessible through these trees) needed to be cleared out. The trees got CLOBBERED during the 2010/2011 snowpocalypse, and the October 2011 snowstorm, and were smashed all to hell. They needed to go. Now there's a new, tiny row of same.

I can't wait until it's all done. Though I can't say when it will happen, everything that has happened so far has been on-schedule (a first!)

Wow - it's been awhile. So much going on of late that I haven't looked in on LJ for awhile (much less posted anything).

Spring has sprung with a vengeance, and with it comes Project Season! This year's list is mostly about things outside the house:

- Finally turning that concrete slab/foundation I had poured years ago (pic here - I guess you can't edit entries that old, so I can't fix the link in it) - ahem, turning the slab into an ACTUAL BUILDING;

- Drastically increasing the number of flowerbeds around the house;

- Pulling out and replacing (as much as possible) a bunch of old, overgrown and shabby bushes around the house;

- the crazy bunch of stuff related to the above that I'm sure will pop up

And, having started with the shrub removal, I got a whopping case of poison ivy - so I'm starting off the season with a bang. And an itch.

Further updates soon - I promise!

I went to the Connecticut DMV today.

Months ago, Clay and I each got letters from the DMV saying that their records showed a lapse in insurance coverage.  We needed to show proof of coverage for the period in question, or our registrations would be suspended, even though we had current insurance.

There was indeed coverage at the time - but we changed insurance companies, AND bought Clay's new Honda, all within the six-week window that the DMV was complaining about.  During the time in question, there were actually TWO policies on the car at the time (our mistake), so when we discovered this and canceled the older one, the DMV thought that insurance had been canceled entirely (until we refinanced the house in April and changed insurance YET AGAIN).  Easy to see why they got confused.

The requirements put forth in the letter were to submit proof that we were insured during the time in question.  Clay put together two packages of information (his and mine) and sent them off.  I got a confirmation letter some weeks later saying that the matter (for me) was resolved.  No such letter for Clay.

He called, and they told him that since his name was not on the insurance card he'd sent, it wasn't adequate proof.  Though both of us were named on the policy, only MY name was on the insurance card, because before the re-fi in April, the house (the insurance of which was shared with the cars) was only in my name.  He explained to them that WE WERE MARRIED, but it apparently didn't wash.  In utter exasperation, he asked me to take care of it.

A couple of weeks ago, when he renewed his license, they reminded him that he had an outstanding suspension on his registration.

Then, yesterday while at work, Clay was told a horror story by a co-worker, about how she'd gotten pulled over for some minor thing, and they IMPOUNDED HER CAR, LEAVING HER STANDING AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, because she had an unresolved gap in her insurance coverage in the past (i.e. exactly the same problem Clay had).  She recounted in tears how it was going to cost the towing fee, the suspension fine ($200) AND the cost/bother of re-registering the car FROM SCRATCH because of this.

I decided to get on the ball and resolve this.  So:

I went to the Connecticut DMV today.  Have I said this already?  Back-story can take forever, especially regarding bureaucracy.

I am of the firm belief that if you are genuinely nice to people, they will be inclined to be nice in return.  This has rarely let me down - and when it has, I resort to "Always Be a Gentleman," which is more work without the implied payoff.

Up until now, I thought that the only exceptions to this rule were certain members of my family - but now I must include the people who work the windows at VERY BUSY DMVs.  I had vague idealistic hopes that the people behind the scenes might not be so ruined, but idealism is often blind to reality.  This WAS the DMV, after all.

I walked into the building (the main DMV headquarters in Wethersfield, which is not far from work), and passed a sign that said "As of October 2011, The Insurance Validation Window is closed.  All insurance validation issues MUST BE RESOLVED BY MAIL."  This did not bode well.  I went to the regular information window.

Information Window People must be All About Numbers, because they just want everyone processed AS FAST AS POSSIBLE.  I had not even finished my explanation of what I wanted, when she delivered an answer AT HIGH SPEED (which was, of course, wrong - I hadn't finished!); I had to settle for getting the phone number of Insurance Validation Customer Support.  I got the heck outta there.

I found a quiet place outside the building, and called the phone number.  DMV hold music is AWFUL, and I listened to A LOT OF IT.

Eventually, I got a lady on the phone and, as politely, nicely and reasonably as I could, explained what had happened - carefully avoiding any suggestion that I might NOT be Clay himself (when you're a same-sex married couple, you can often get away with phone-shenanigans like this - straight spouses must feign a cold, I guess).

At one point, however, I slipped and referred to Clay as "he" and the lady asked "who is this?"

I had to 'fess up.  "I'm his husband."

"OH," she said.  A pause.  A _long_ pause.  A long-enough pause, in fact, that I began to wonder if she had a problem with it.

"Do you have a marriage license?"

"Not WITH me, but yes."

"Where did you say you were?"

"I'm standing on the front steps of the main building in Wethersfield."

In shushed tones, she said, "come to the Third Floor.  What are you wearing?"

At this point, a noise like a ruler held at the edge of a desk and WOINGGGed would have been appropriate.  It would have matched the expression on my face.

I described my hat.  Comedy, at this point, seemed unwise, though I think my tongue may have been bleeding just then.

I stood in the third floor hallway.  This was not a hallway for the public, except for a teeny bulletproof-glass service window at the far end, "Dealers Only."  After a few minutes, the woman came out of a nondescript door and spotted me, gesturing me over.

"Show me the Insurance Declarations page with Clay's name on it, for the time period in question," she said.  I did so.  His name was NOT on the front page, but on the list of insured drivers on page 2.  

After a brief inspection of the paper, she handed me a different piece of paper with a stamp and signature on it.  "Have him keep this in the glove compartment with his current insurance card.  THAT has his name on it, right?"

I assured her it did.

"If he gets pulled over for anything, have him show the law enforcement officer this.  It explains that we've cleared him."

I thanked her profusely, my belief in "treating people nicely" intact.  If confronted by a DMV window person, however, I will probably still have to resort to "always be a Gentleman."

Happy birthday, you craze-O!

Posted via m.livejournal.com.

In early December, the manager of the department I work for suddenly died.  It was a terrible tragedy for his family, and for our small company.

Two weeks ago, the company posted an opening for his management position.  I was encouraged to apply, by the president of the company, and (slightly reluctantly) did so.

I didn't get the job, but that's not what I'm writing about.

As a part of the application process, I took a Personality Test.

Because all of the applicants were internal, they have given the applicants the results of their tests, and are offering one-on-one time with the consultants to discuss the results and what they mean.  This is nice; they could have just sat on the results and let us wonder what they think of us.

That said, I have a complaint that I intend to present to the consultant when I meet her tomorrow.

I don't know if you have ever taken one of these personality tests, so I present a brief summary of the concept: Ask the subject a whole bunch of true/false questions seemingly unrelated to their job (or whatever you're testing for), and then categorize the answers against pre-identified personality traits.

So, if they want to know whether you're an introvert or an extrovert, the test will say "I like to be the life of the party: T/F" and "huge crowds make me uncomfortable: T/F" and "I would go to a party every night if I could: T/F".  Then they tally the hits in each personality category and use the totals to identify personality strengths/weaknesses.

(If you noticed a trend in my example questions above (all real questions, btw), then you may have noticed the NON-related facets of the questions as well.  Like, I am blissfully happy with a crowd of 25 people in my house.  I am less comfortable in a group of 25 complete strangers elsewhere, but I am happy to be socially engaged.  I am likely to be anywhere from Indifferent to Downright Unhappy in a crowd of, say, 25 THOUSAND people that I do not know.  And I don't go to parties much, but have a GREAT time when I do.

This is not my complaint about this particular test, though.)

The test seeks to establish (among other things) the subject's comfort level in dealing with authority.

EVERY SINGLE EXAMPLE QUESTION that is counted against this particular personality trait concerned my relationship WITH MY PARENTS.

Now, I loved my parents growing up, but they were at times (a lot of times, actually) VERY DIFFICULT PEOPLE.  I worked very hard, once I grew up and got some distance from them, to re-form a close relationship with them in a way that worked for me, and was less destructive than my relationship with them had been for most of my life.  With my mother these efforts were productive, but my father got ill (and thus completely wrapped up in his own challenges) before we got anywhere, and he remained difficult (and our relationship rocky) until he died.

The personality test had questions like "No matter if I failed, I knew my parents still loved me: T/F."  I know that NOW, but I was definitely on shaky ground with that concept growing up; this logic applies to most of the other parent-centric questions on the test.  Needless to say, I scored low on the "respects authority" section of the personality profile.

Now, most of you guys know me.  Do I seem like a person with a problem respecting authority?

True story: When I was in California, and my ex-lover was still a part of my life, we both had jobs in a similar field.  I was doing tech support (which is high-tech customer service), and he was working a customer service desk at an automobile wholesale auction house (mostly catering to used car dealers).  Two different environments with very different clientele, but both positions that put us in contact with irate customers every day.

The lessons he learned from his experience were techniques that work to force customer service people to give you what you want; i.e. how to be a jerk (at least, this was his interpretation).

The lessons that I learned from my time in customer service were all about how to be a good customer.  I found that good customers got happy customer service people and better service - happiness all around!*  

This says more about my personality than any test, I think.  If there is a good lesson to be taken from something, I will take it, and I will grow from it.  If there is a way to make myself better while lifting those around me (as opposed to stepping on them), that's the way for me.

And having had an issue with my parents, I learned how NOT to have issues with them, and people like them, by making things BETTER, not FIGHTING, and I take this lesson with me down the road of life.

I hope I can get the consultant to understand that.

Happiness all around!




* Also, it's "treat people how you would like to be treated" - not "treat people how you EXPECT to be treated!"

Well, tomorrow is the big day - mom goes into hospital to have her thyroid removed.  I'll stay with her until she wakes up; being that her appointment is early (7:30! Sheesh!), she will hopefully be awake before noon, and she can shoo me off to work.  She'll be in the hospital overnight, and I'll pick her up on Friday.

My sister will stay home and smoke cigarettes.

I'm a little bitter about that.

A Christmas Story

Tags: writer's block

I received horrible news yesterday.

My 41-year-old boss had a massive heart attack and died Friday night. Tis is a terrible shock.

He was a really nice guy, and a great person to work with. He was a good boss, though my interaction with him has been kind of limited (I spend most of my time on the customer site, away from the office).

He leaves behind a wife and two boys, ages 10 and 12, and a office full of shocked co-workers who will miss him dearly.

I'm going into the office tomorrow (a rare thing) to find out what's next, and to see if there's anything I can do...

What a horrible thing...

So there was the yearly Alternate Thanksgiving party, and it was typical: awesome fun, awesome amounts of work, awesome food, an awesome time with my awesome friends, and awesome kudos from said friends.

I shall now cease to ever use the word "awesome" again.

Sixteen people (including us); it would have been more, but a bunch of people backed out for various good reasons. It's actually fortunate that everyone couldn't make it, as there wouldn't have been room for everyone.

Dinner was appetizers of artichoke dip from bixxy and two baked bries en croute by Clay (one with mincemeat and one with carmelized onion), then Caesar salad, then mushroom-stuffed ribeye roast with mashed and gravy and broccoli gratin (with mustardy streusel). And tons and tons of desserts, of course! Predictably, everyone was completely stuffed.

The only casualty of the evening, food-wise, was the stuffing inside the butterflied ribeye was supposed to be placed on a bed of fresh spinach before being rolled and tied, and I forgot the spinach. It wasn't really a problem, except that now I have a fridge full of fresh spinach! I know what we'll be eating for the next few days, anyway...

The evening was fabulous. I lead a truly blessed life, for which I am profoundly grateful.