Bumps in the night...

The last couple of days living in this house have been pretty daunting. Basically every time I walk into a room I’m look to the ceilings. It’s so bad that when I walk into the basement, I’m sneaking around like Elmer Fudd hunting for a wascally wabbit… Let me explain what’s going on… but let me start with a little history lesson… way back in time… When I was a wee lad; my mother and I were in the bedroom. She had noticed something up at the ceiling and was instantly frightened. A bat had flown into the room… She was so frightened by the flying mouse that she ran out of the room and closed the door behind her. Yes, I was left behind in the room frightened out of my mind!!! So after many years later (Today) that horror continues to follow me….

Last week I was in Orlando, Florida for work. I had flown back on Sunday and began to unpack my clothing. As I walked down to the basement with my dirty clothing, I’d notice some dirt on top of the dryer. Then I notice movement in the dryer vent. I instantly thought there was possibly a mouse in the dryer vent. So I decided to turn the dryer on, in hopes that the mouse would climb back out of the dryer vent due to the heat. But then the movement stopped… I then peaked behind the dryer and instantly saw a black mass. Our eyes locked as my eyes grew to the size of a half dollar coin… I could see it hissing at me… (Ok not really) But I did run out of the basement as quickly as possible…

I was in shock… For several minutes I could not focused. I was pacing back in forth between the kitchen and living room… Then after several seconds of breathing heavily, everything became clear… I instantly sent a text to the tenants, “Don’t go into the basement, there is a bat down there, I’m calling the exterminator to remove it”

I then started making calls to exterminators. The time was about 8:30 pm at night...I was able to get in touch with an exterminator and he told me that he won’t be able to get to the house until morning.

I then got a text from one of the tenants, “can you do me a favor then, please?”

I instantly responded, “First off. I’m scared of bats. So no I’m not going in there to get anything. Sorry but no”

She then responded that her boyfriend would go in and get her clothing. I informed them that I will not be responsible if he gets bitten… Sorry…

So Adam comes to my house… He’s a 25 year old standing at my back door requesting a flashlight with a clothing basket by his side. So we go into the basement from the outside. I open the basement door and he sneaks into the basement. I stand outside looking into the window by the door. Before he enters, he places the basket over his head.

Through the window I can see him sneaking into to the laundry room (Elmer Fudd style). He is slowly walking into the laundry room, stopping for a second and looking around before taking his next step. I see him stop at the laundry doorway… He pauses for a brief second as if he’s thinking of his next move. He instantly spins around and runs… I’m standing there in disbelief then I notice the bat right behind him... He bolts outside and trips over his own feet…Right behind him is the bat flying out of basement… I realize that I finally have a chance… I rush in and close the basement door… I’m now standing inside the basement, standing at the door excited that the bat flew outside… I’m proud of what has just happened…

Then I hear something in the background… I hear bat squeaking in the background… I realized that I’m not alone… I instantly run outside and close the door… I talk with Adam and tell him that I heard another bat in the basement… He returns into the basement. He hears the same squeaking but doesn’t know where the noise if coming from. Adam was able to gather the clothing and runs out of the basement.

I had to wait until morning for the exterminator to come to the house. That night I had turn on all of the lights. I also had the television on. My thought was that the noise from the TV would scare the bat away. That night was the longest night that I could remember. I was up almost all night… waking every 1 hour and inspecting the room to make sure that I was safe…

Finally the exterminator comes… We find two more bats in the basement. They were young bats. The exterminator takes the bats and place them in a coffee can to take away from the house. The only problem was that now there was a good possibly that the mother would return. He informs me that the mother would attempt to get her pups  for about a week or so.

So for one week, I have to struggle with going into the basement… So here I am going into the basement looking like Elmer Fudd… Anyway, until next time, happy building….

Got my Chocolate Bar...

Over the past month, things have been extremely busy. I’ve been unable to do things around the house because of my extra responsibilities (activities). Ok yes it’s an excuse I know. But my nephews Fredy and Devyn have started playing little league baseball and I’ve started to play softball. Let us not forget the periodic travels for work as well. Although I seriously can’t lie, it is really nice seeing a smile on Fredy and Devyn when they both independently make a significant play on their respective teams.

Fredy at Bat

Devyn at Bat

They are having a lot of fun playing on their teams and it shows… Ok let me move on… I can honestly say I’ve been able to do some stuff around the house…

So recently the wonderful state of Massachusetts decided to give back to its tax payers by providing a rebate for purchasing a new energy star appliance. The state allocated over 5 million dollars to encourage its residents to exchange their non-energy star appliance for a new energy star appliance. The concept was the same as the recent vehicle “cash for clunkers.” The only difference was that individuals were required to get a registration number prior to getting the rebate. The rebate for a dishwasher was $250. I had discovered the deal about 2 weeks prior to the actual start date. Since I’m in the process of renovating my kitchen, I decided to make the dishwasher purchase a little early.

There was one problem, as part of the rebate, I had to exchange an old one for a new one. I didn't have one for the exchange... So three days before the rebate phone banks were to open, I was able to get a dishwasher from Craigslist for free…

To register for a “Golden Ticket” or number, I had to calling a 1- 800 number and/or by logging on to the Mass Save website... The phone lines and website would be open on April 22, 2010 at 10 am until 7pm. It was going to stay open until all of the money was depleted. Sounds simple enough…. Not really…

On the day of the giveaway, I was at work and as I was walking to my desk, a co-worker had reminded me that the phone lines were open. It was about 10:30 am when I was reminded. I went to website and got an error page. The website was down for some reason… So I decided to go to the Massachusetts Government website because I figured it would at least tell us if something was wrong.

Sure enough, the website and phone banks were so overwhelmed with request for registration numbers that they both shut themselves down. But on the government website, they made a second website for people to register. I was able to get to the new link and within 5 minutes I got my “Golden Ticket”. At that very moment I heard a voice in my head, “Run home Charlie!!! And don’t stop until you get there! “

In least than 2 hours all of the 5 million dollars were depleted. Many residents of Massachusetts were extremely disappointed. Talking with people at Home depot, many customers didn’t know about the rebate. People had made purchased days before and wanted to make exchanges to get the rebate. Or people going to the store tried to get the rebate but couldn’t get it. It sounded like a complete mess…

So now I got my “Golden Ticket”, I started to look into dishwashers. I began to look at different dishwashers online. I evaluated cost, haul away cost, delivery cost and warranty cost. Luck would for the dishwasher I found, there were two other rebates that totaled an additional $75. I found one at Sears for $377, but the delivery and haul away cost was an extra $100. I found the same dishwasher for $500 at Home Depot. It turns out that Home Depot has a price guarantee with a 10% discount… additionally delivery and haul away were free…

So at the end of the day, after the purchase of hoses and electrical cords I paid $400. But the best part after all of the rebates are mailed, the total cost for me should be $75. I will not be installing it for some time a lot of work is still needed prior to installing dishwasher. So the kitchen remodel continues.

New Dishwasher

I then filled the cracks with wood putty and sanded them. I also sanded the wood cabinets to prepare them for painting.

After completing that process, I thought long and hard about what to do with the ceiling. See I struggled for a bit about painting with a dark color or with a light color. The other issue was that I wanted the metal look. So while I was in the basement looking for a tool I discovered a can of spray paint that I used in the bathroom.

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves… Although I have to admit, they really don't give it justice...

The spay paint is a hammered brownish color. This is what the ceiling looks like currently.

Next I began to prime the walls...

Ok so here is where I am at currently.. I still need to finish priming the wall and cabinets... Anyway, sorry for the long delay... But until next time, happy building...