Home Alone: Going for Broke

I promised Betty that I'd get some posts, um, posted in the month of December and with the last day of the month quickly approaching, I'd better take a break from all the remodeling tasks (and the Futurama marathon currently playing on Adult Swim on Cartoon Network) and post something. I have another post that I just realize is still in "Draft" mode that I need to publish too, but first things first.

Many of you in the blogiverse have no doubt been wondering what the heck is going on with the remodeling project. And to answer the question everyone is asking... no, it's not done yet. But that's actually ok because if it were going any faster, I'd be completely broke at this point. The fewer hours the contractors work, the less it costs me each week and right now I'm anxiously awaiting to be able to sell some stock after 12/30 so I'm not hit with short-term capital gains tax. But after that I'll be able to refill my reserves and crank up the speed. I'm also going to take back some of the projects from the contractors and finish them myself (installing baseboards, painting, minor rewiring work, etc) to save some cabbage.

It's been kind of nice being home during this past week (company break) and actually having people to talk to. The contractors are really nice guys, friends of a relative-in-law, and fun to converse with (which is good because I'm probably paying for said conversations). With as long as this whole process is taking, it's really good that T-Snake and Carlos aren't here, as it's been challenging enough for me to "rough it" with only a working faucet in my bathroom and a microwave for cooking. Trying to manage these conditions with two other people would be a living nightmare, literally. I'm not sure if they see it that way, mostly because neither side has made much of an effort to stay in touch, but as I write this I don't really care. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself. But honestly, it's really for the best and I need to accept that and look to the future, not the past.

Anyway, the countertop that I finally selected (why is it so hard for me to decide on things like this?) looks amazing after the contractors roughed it into place. Take a look at the pics and see for yourself. The following slideshow actually starts in the future and goes backward to the early days of the project, when I still had money to spend on things like food.