Skip to main content

Going Underground

We bought a house with an unfinished basement, thinking—as I'm sure every potential homeowner does when buying a house with unfinished space—that we will magically morph into a Bob Vila/Martha Stewart hybrid and transform our blank canvas into a home-improvement, do-it-yourself masterpiece that will add endless hours of joy and togetherness to our lives and will inevitably double the value of our home when we sell it.

Two years later, we have a kid, busy work lives, and outdoor activities beckoning. Do we really have time to take Drywall 101 or learn to become plumbers and electricians, potentially flooding our home and/or electricuting ourselves in the process? I'd say if there's one thing I learned from MRGs (the Moron Roofing Guys from last November—and don't even ASK), it's that if PROFESSIONALS can't even do a job right, AIN'T NO WAY we're going to master the job.

So, I had an hour-long meeting with the first of several remodeling contractors bidding for our business. This guy's been in the biz for 25 years, his name's the business name (thanks for that tip, Mary), and he's probably someone's sweet old grandpa. He'll talk your ear off, and he'll do a solid job, I'm sure. He even acknowledged that I may pass out, or at the very least suffer severe heart palpitations and a sweaty brow, when I get the estimate. But he insisted that not every square inch of basement had to be finished at one time.

In three days, you may be hearing from me. Or you might not. That's when I'm supposed to get a copy of his estimate. I may be in the E.R.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Is it OK to own a Canadian?

In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, written by a U.S. resident, and posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative: Dear Dr. Laura: Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination ... End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them. 1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexic...

In memoriam...

I remember the first time I heard the name "Les Anderson." A bunch of Wichita State University communication majors were sitting around on campus, talking about classes they planned to take. Several people warned me: watch out for Les Anderson. He was tough. He had a murderous grading scale. It was nearly impossible to get an A. They weren't kidding. But he wasn't tough just to be a tyrant. From his teaching sprang a fleet of incredible, successful journalists, writers, editors, broadcasters, public relations experts, advertisers, non-profit professionals...I could go on and on. Most importantly, he created a legion of people who wanted to make a difference in the world. The greatest gift Les gave to them all? He believed in them, cared about them for their own personal stories as well as the stories they told for class assignments or in the pages of his hometown newspaper. Les was my teacher. My boss. My mentor. My conscience. My champion. My friend. When I started c...

Holy Separated-At-Birth, Batman!

Gary Oldman...meet Uncle Knit-Knots from Imagination Movers.