Case in point--here are a list of things I have paused upon recently and yet done nothing whatsoever about:
- The window that I broke when I flipped it inward for cleaning last fall (now that's a fine reward for actually cleaning something when necessary...), which I now need to prop with a block of wood when I want to let fresh air into my room. This is particularly notable given my fear of windows slamming shut on my arms, and yet, have I called a handyman (or woman) with window expertise to attend to the matter? No.
- The large, spreading cracks across the foundation of my garage. The home inspector I hired before I bought this house assured me that "Oh, that's nothing to be worried about," but each year, the concrete on each side of the cracks shifts a bit, making it more uneven and likely more structurally unsound. Since I do quite often have an overactive and paranoid imagination, I have considered the possibility that my garage was built on the Hellmouth and the demons of the underworld are trying to free themselves through its floor. More likely, of course, it's the ants, but still, I should probably have a professional present my options.
- My inability to fully turn off my water main without a bit of water still trickling out through each tap. This is really a problem primarily just because it's prevented me from installing the lovely silver replacement faucet I spent approximately 70 hard-earned dollars* on damn-nearly a full year ago, but I suppose in the event of a gushing-water sort of emergency, the lack of a proper shutoff valve would present other very real issues as well.
I could go on and on with home-ownership woes, but since my laziness covers all aspects of life, I should really move over to other aspects...
- The fact that, every Monday through Friday morning, I pull into my office's parking lot and say, "I really don't want to be here," and yet, the comfort and security of the familiar daily routine (and the fact that I would rather read blogs and watch bad TV than polish my resume or write cover letters) prevents me from remedying the situation in any way.**
- The way that I dread making a haircut appointment because I know it means uncomfortable small-talk with a not-very-interesting young woman who was likely trading Pogs and Pokemon cards when I graduated from high school, and yet, have I done anything about finding a new salon to which I would relish going? No.
- Dialup. Land line. Are these things that I should banish from my home? Survey says yes, and yet, I'm hesitant to reassess and shift all my home services.
- That maid-of-honor speech I have to give less than a month from today. I really don't want to pull a drunken Lorelei and slur a weepy "Know when I'm not getting married? June 3!"*** and yet--if I don't come up with something soon, who knows what will spill out of my mouth on the big day.
On the upside, I did finally make the call and set an appointment to have my dress for said wedding fitted, which means that the bust area won't be a gaping target for a game of pop-a-shot at the reception.**** And on the home-ownership front--remember this? Well, all I have to say is, two bags down, six to go. How'd I do it? That's another post entirely, and a not very impressive one at that. So never mind.
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* OK, just as likely they were 70 dollars not-so-hard-earned but in fact earned while surfing the Internet or sending e-mails to my friends, but still, the point is there.
** This is the sort of comment Thou Shalt Not Publish on the Internet, but is exactly the sort of thing one needs to get out every now and then nonetheless.
*** I was thinking how entirely lame it is to plant a Gilmore Girls reference in two posts in a row, and then I remembered that my little sister actually emailed me on June 3 to tell me that she remembered it was supposed to be Lorelei's wedding day, and I realized I really could be much, much worse.
**** Ironic, considering I'm actually a pretty busty gal. Clearly bridesmaids dresses are the one item of clothing where they give extra leeway to fit all sizes. If only jeans lengths would similarly accommodate the upper range.
11 comments:
See? It's posts like this that make me terrified of home ownership. As for the job, I have a tendency to do the same thing. I'll have a flurry of resume activity - sending it all over the place and whatnot - and then spend a couple weeks "recovering" from it. Lorelei Gilmore references are always welcome in my world. Totally not lame!
I am a problem observer too! I have (hopefully minor) problems with our bathroom wall, the outside faucet, and that weird bush in our yard, but I have done nothing about any of them. I am hoping that if I ignore them, they will just fix themselves. I will let you know how this plan goes.
I would get that crack in the foundation looked at if I were you... Better be safe than sorry. You wouldn't want those ants to find their way thru that, now would you? I didn't think so.
A friend of ours who lived 3 houses away, was called on Jury Duties and was away from home for a few days (murder trial). He did not shot off his hose at the faucet completely, so when he got back from his civic duties, he came home to a flooded basement! The mess he had to clean, had to re-do some walls, etc. Don't mean to scare you or anything like that... sorry if it reads like that... I'll sign off now!
GG--Good point. I can think of several very valid reasons that life in an apartment was just a whole lot easier. I have never walked into my house and smelled the fish someone else was cooking for dinner, however, nor have I had to wait for some jerk to take their seemingly abandoned laundry out of the machine, nor do I hear the domestic squabbles of a couple on the other side of my wall. So it's a trade-off, you know? Oh, and there's equity. I'm always supposed to remember the equity. Responsible, grown-up equity.
R--Problems with my bathroom wall are one of the things I had on the list but deleted, because I didn't want to just rattle off everything that's wrong with my house! And that bush is still looking scary? Eh--let it go through the winter. Maybe the cold will kill whatever latched on and yet somehow leave the bush intact. ;-)
Spaw--Oh, the ants have already worked their way up. But I baited them and they seem to have receded. (They're likely reorganizing to resurface elsewhere.) Still, you're probably right about getting the cracks looked at.
Oh - PS - My sister gave me an amazon.com gift certificate for my birthday (how random is THAT?). I used part of it to buy season 5 of the Gilmore Girls because I love them so. Can't wait for it to arrive! Oh, happy day for Wilman (he hates the show).
PS again - I LOVED Franny & Zooey when I was in high school - read it over and over again.
GG--That's not random; I would LOVE an Amazon gift card as a gift! The only trouble would be deciding what to spend it on, as there are thousands of options, of course.
I have seasons 1 through 3 on DVD, and watching the old ones just reminds me how much better that show was in its early years. Oh well. I'll still stick by it until it's canceled, I'm sure.
I ask: Why must bridesmaid dresses always conspire to make me feel fat at the fittings? You know, if you're a size 8, you're, like, a 20 in bridesmaid dress sizes or some crap.
Sweet Christ, I'm glad all of my friends are married. I don't miss that!
Nabbalicious--I know what you mean. I have my dress in my car (for my fitting tonight), and do you know I actually felt the need to flip the tag around when I noticed the size was showing for anyone who might look in my window today? It's insane, I know, but the dress is one to two sizes larger than my "real" size, and I don't like that!
Ha! Well, you probably don't want to admit that you're a "busty gal" on the Internet either.
Good point, Darren. I actually considered that myself after clicking the Publish button, but I still didn't go back to edit it out.
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