Beethoven In Trance - Episode 16

Approaching the very last quarter of 2006.

and many things are undone.

It's getting chilly. Fall is here. Trees are turning color, and less people sitting outside watering lawn in the evening or BBQ in the yard. Our patio project is frozen, with a 80% chance that it will never happen. We would like to see what the winter will do to the house then decide if it makes sense to install the patio door. Still waiting on the ventilation project and entrance door replacement project. Not sure if it's still time to do that. Weather is getting cold and the door is shrinked. We don't want to see a expanded door next Summer.

Talked to the contractor that's referred by the church (with Mark's help). He sounds all right, not sure if he is willing to do these small jobs though. Will see.

The 'will see' attitude is not getting things done. Decision are tough to make to move things forward though. Pros and cons are almost equally weighted. Or maybe I just didn't spend enough time to think about it.

So, what was I doing except thinking about fixing around the house? Titan Quest certainly takes a big chunck of my time lately. It's really a addictive game. I agree this is the best 'Diablo' type game since 'Diablo 2'.

Garage roof is still leaking, and the garage smells mildew. It's bad, but can't do anything with it. According to neighbor (the electrician contractor), April is the best time to install new roof so that the summer heat will seal the roofing materials. I can't wait to April.

Having been checking websites about termite. Got scared by those horro stories about termite eating up the house. Saw some small cotton like stuff in the basement next to the basement window last weekend when shop-vac the basement. Suspected it was the 'dirt tunnel' that is created by termite, but didn't find any evidence online so far. Considering having a pest control guy to inspect the house so that I can have a peace of mind. Note: we did have a house inspection and pest inspection before we bought the house, and the resutl was no pests found. But we missed the 'leaky basement' situation at that time - the inspector mentioned the basement is high moisture and future water proofing is possible, and we missed this statement in the report as he didn't emphasize it. The agent was with us that day and he told the inspector before the inspection that he needs to go for another appointment that day, giving or trying to give the inspector pressure completing the inspection sooner. Well, maybe he didn't intend to do that. We were also the guilty ones as we were a little over our heads seeing the purchasing going through and we didn't really put much thinking of what exactely we want to get out of the inspection. Then again, we didn't have any experience with the house, we didn't know what would be the things that require scrutiny.

Experience of learning the house so far is not really a pleasant experience...

one of the collegues's husband went to building trade class when he was young and the program has bee helpful to his family since then. Another friend in the company wants to join the program like this as he had some success with his patio project. Emotion is high when you get something done at home. I can understand that. I was at the point once (for a second or minute). But considering how much time and money I need to invest into this, plus all the tools? Hum... I don't know. I simply don't know. Or maybe I know, but just too lazy to think about it. Let's see, in order to make a decision like this, I need to find out the cost of this program, then I need to see how many additional cost associated with it (tools, transportation, etc.). Do I need to or want to buy a truck? Do I want to build a house in the future? Is self-study possible? Will I have time to the finish the program? Do I have facility at home to practice those learnings? I don't have the answers to all that, so what are the questions that are driving the decision? Cost and timeline of course, and projected savings for future house project. Well, let me find about the cost first then, well just did, but no much luck...

As for wedding plan, nothing solid yet. Not even a date, but surely will be this year.

So happy to throw away that stinky gabage out last Sunday...

The visit to Winnipeg Canada over the labor day weekend was nice. Had a horrible experience with United airline at the chicago airport though. Those guys weren't even try to help customers.

Need to plan out for the 4th. quarter of the year. Decisions need to be made, action needs to be taken...