Author: Lee

The Leak Just Keeps a’ Flowing

I have learned many things after buying this house.

1.  Expect the unexpected.
2.  That home repair class in High School has paid it self off and then some.
3.  When one crisis is finished, another one is sure to follow.

I came home the other day to hear the sound of running water.   I saw a glimmer of water downstairs as well.   Our infamous leak was back!  This time I could see exactly where it was coming from though.  It was leaking stronger than ever, I would guesstimate around 1-2 gallons per minute!

When the house was built, instead of using quick set concrete or mortar to seal the hole for the water line, caulking was used.  After 33 years, it has given out.

So I quickly went to Menards and purchased some items, one of which being “Dry-Lok Fast Plug,” a quick setting cement.  This stuff claimed to actually seal an active water leak, and it does!

After some trial and error, and much needed help from my “women,”the leak stopped.  But solving that problem, only created a new one.

It rained cats and dogs the next day, and the leak was back, more than ever.  There was no dripping sound, instead I found that water was “sweating” or coming directly through our concrete block foundation.  This is caused by hydrostatic pressure that builds up next to the house.

This is just an assumption, but I believe there are insufficient drainage systems in place around the house.  The rear of the home seems fine, and shows no signs of any water being there.  The front is a different story though.  I believe part of the problem lies in the topography immediately in front of the house.

But alas, it’s winter and no major excavation can be done.  Which means the problem cannot be fixed at this moment.  I hope my uncle Ted can help me out on this one. 

So I guess until spring comes, we will have to deal with the problem.

Our New “Roomie”

We have a new guest in our home.  He only comes out about once a week.  We like to call him our “roomie” but his real name is Roomba!

We are all very surprised at how well the roomba picks up dirt and debris.  We are even more surprised at how well he picks up pet hair.

The cats don’t know what to think of this new guest in “their” house, but we like him lots.  The operation of the roomba (model 4160) is simple enough a child could do it!  You press the power button, and then the clean button.  When the roomba is done with the area, it simply stops and plays a delightful tune!

Even better, when the battery is low, the roomba will even make it’s way to it’s charging base station and charge itself!  How cool?

A couple of years ago it was all about the dyson, and we tried a friends.  To be perfectly honest, it did not impress me at all.  The roomba does though, especially at half the cost of a dyson!

Nothing Fits

So much has happened since I last posted.  This will be a mish-mosh if you will, of thoughts, ideas and updates.

Personally this has been a trying week for me.  I had an interview at IU for a position, but due to the weird hours I currently work, I accidentally overslept and missed the interview.  It was a way out of this crazy lifestyle I am currently living.

We have a new problem with the house, flooding!¬† The last couple of weeks has been very rainy in Bloomington.¬† We knew the house had flooded when we purchased it, but thought it was a one time deal, we were wrong.¬† I called some “waterproofing” companies.¬†¬†That was¬†a joke.¬† The first company said that they would rip all of our concrete block walls out and replace them, plus they would sell me some backfill rock that is “patented and revolutionary” for only $5995.¬† I can understand this in extreme situations, but this isn’t major flooding.

I had my dad get a hold of my step-uncle (long story) to take a look at it.¬† He did, and told me he thought it was leaking at the point where the water line comes into the house, which is directly under our front door.¬† I ripped out everything in the vicinity and did not find any significant signs of a place for water to come in, but cleaned the area and sprayed some “stuff” on it.¬† I guess after tonight we’ll see the results, as it’s been raining all day.

I have met a kind spirit at work, something that is lacking majorly here.¬† His name is C.J., he’s a very interesting man, who happens to be the same age as my father.¬† He is into the same things I am, and we always have something to talk about.¬† The other day he gave me a video monitor he no longer used (an upgrade I needed badly).¬† I will miss him when I leave.¬† I will make sure to give him all of my info when that happens though.

I received a new client for my video business.¬† He told me over the phone he has over 80 tapes he wants transferred to DVD.¬† I received his first shipment last Tuesday and have been working constantly on them.¬† I sent him a shipment of 8 DVD’s today.¬† I hope he enjoys the care and hard work I put into his family’s memories.

I have learned that I do have some limitations when it comes to transferring video now, so I am hoping to correct these issues as soon as the funds become available.¬† The current plan is to build another computer, using some of the available parts I have on hand, and moving some from my current computer.¬† I don’t need a power machine, just a decent one.¬† So I’m checking out my options.

Yesterday I shut off my computer and did some wiring work, installed a new surge protector and my computer wouldn’t come back on.¬† Turns out my power supply had went bad.¬† I was somewhat scared because this was one thing I hadn’t done on a computer yet.¬† $42 later, I have a bigger power supply installed (by me).

I must say something about Editor B’s speech.¬† I was not there, and only saw a snippet from Anderson Cooper 360, but I’m sure it was amazing.¬† After watching almost every episode of ROX, I have a good idea of how he spoke.¬† I hope XY got it on video?¬† It’s still hard for me to understand how it is taking so long to recover.¬† All I have to say is Andrew, how long did it take Florida to rebuild and recover?¬† I know I’m merely speculating, but come on, without New Orleans, this country wouldn’t be anything like it is today.¬† What do you think made westward expansion possible?¬† We the people need to remember that.

Sleep Much?

As anyone who has lived in this area knows, the “working wage” isn’t swell, and the costs of living are as high as the sky compared to it.

The Herald-Times published an article today regarding this issue, which rattles me to the core.  Some of these statistics are downright frightening.

Here are some excerpts: 
To afford a two-bedroom apartment and cover other expenses, someone working a minimum-wage job must work the equivalent of 100 hours a week. Or make $12.88 an hour for an average 40-hour work week.  (It took me nearly 5 years to earn a few cents less an hour than that.)

An estimated 59 percent of renters are unable to afford a 2-bedroom apartment in Bloomington, compared to 44 percent of the statewide percentage, according to the Indiana Coalition on Housing and Homelessness Issues report.¬† (I couldn’t afford to live by myself and never have.)

Just for pure informational purposes, a co-worker of my wife rents a “1 bedroom apartment w/ den”.¬† Her rent is nearly what our mortgage payment (including P&I)¬†is on a 1800 sq. ft. home with .48 acres.¬† We live around 10 miles away from her.

We Already Have a Dishwasher, Me

The inevitable happened last night, our dishwasher finally gave out on us.  It still works, but water leaks everywhere!  After some in depth viewing, the leak is actually coming from inside the door.  It’s old, probably around 30+ years.  Luckily, we anticipated this, and asked that everyone purchase gift cards for us to help with this purchase.

Now every major appliance in the house has been replaced except the stove, and it’s on it’s last leg.  A few months ago the oven just quit working.  We tried and tried and tried to get someone to repair it.  Someone even came out, and told us what the problem was.  They said they would order the part and return to install. That date has yet to come!  We have called, and even visited their shop, to no avail.  A couple of weeks ago, my mom came up from Louisville.  As I was explaining the stove situation, tada it started working again!

I guess the garage will have to wait a little while longer.  I want to just get it done, but have had little to no time due to my constant job search and the weird hours I am available to anyone now.

We have started a log of changes and repairs we have made to the house.  A great idea of my wife!

Hopefully the house will start to look different.  Rachel (and Taylor maybe) will start tearing the wallpaper off today.  Isn’t it hideous?  After some drywall patching we will paint, finally!  The original plan was to do it right after we moved in, 5 months ago.

LML Video Services Revamped

I had a late night yesterday, creating a new version of my business website, LMLVideoServices.com.¬† Please look around, and let me know what you think!¬† I’m all about constructive criticism.

The website is more about information than selling, so please let me know what you think about the information included.

With the help of Editor B, I will hopefully have a better logo as well.  Thanks B!

I think with this version, the site is somewhat professional.  Finally!

I Need A Vacation!

The only questions are why and where, everything else is covered! 

I have been contenplating travelling to New Orleans, LA for 2 reasons.¬† Number one, to finally meet “Editor B & XY”, number 2, to go to Mardi Gras for the first time.

Since my life has been nothing but a mess lately, I’m unsure if my wife and I will be able to make this journey.¬† Which pains me so.

My wife “claims”¬†she has¬†never been¬†to Florida, even though many know she has been :p¬† So now the plan, I think, is to have a longer spring break trip.¬† We would¬†visit Daytona Beach and Tallahasee, and end our trip with I’m sure a great time in New Orleans.

I am way overdue for a long road trip.¬† My father and I haven’t been able to¬†take our annual weekend Oklahoma trip,(Imagine driving 10 hours to¬†say HI, do you have a place I can sleep, and leaving in the morning)¬†which is great time for the 2 of us to spend quality time together.¬† I must admit, I have never “been” to the “deep south.”¬† I’ve driven through ‘bama and Georgia, but never stayed.¬† Just the thought excites me.

Travelling has always been more about the journey than the destination to me.¬† Don’t get me wrong, I always love where I go, I just enjoy viewing the amazing¬†sights our country has to offer us¬†on the open road.¬† I guess it’s a guy thing?, cuz the wife does not get it at all.

911, What’s Your Emergency?

Since losing my so called career in the pharmaceutical industry, I have had to take a hard look at exactly what I want in a career, and what makes me happy.

Part of why I enjoyed the pharmaceutical industry so much is because I was helping people.¬† I wasn’t on the “front line,” the consumer didn’t know my name, but it was very self fulfilling to know I was a part of making peoples’ quality of life better.

I have tried to continue in the pharmaceutical industry.¬† It seems as if I’ve been blacklisted though, as I haven’t even been offered an opportunity to interview.¬† Some positions seemed a “perfect match” with my skills, and one job was EXACTLY the same thing I did at Baxter!

With my wifes’ help I found that Monroe county has 2 openings for 911 dispatchers!¬† (She’s amazing at finding open positions) So I went for it.¬† What I understand so far about the hiring process is it’s more about testing than just an interview.¬† I took the first¬†test last Wednesday night, and I must say it was very interesting.¬† It was completely computerized, and to my understanding just an exercise in distraction.¬† It was mainly data entry type stuff, but here’s the kicker:¬† every few seconds an “emergency” would pop up on the screen.¬† If we did not dispatch the correct agency within 15 seconds, the test would give us a lower score.¬† All while doing the data entry portion at the same time!

It was very intriguing, yet fulfilling at the same time.  I am excitied about the possibility of becoming a dispatcher as I would be helping people, which is all I really want to do in life.

I received an email yesterday from the Monroe county director of communications, I passed the test!¬† No congratulations are in order yet, but it’s the first step.¬† The email also stated I would be contacted after the first of the year regarding more testing and interviews.

Wish me luck!

Stabilizing The Crude

As many Bloomintonian’s know, gasoline or diesel in this town is crazy.¬† Prices can and often change, sometimes dramatically, numerous times a day!¬† I think those days are coming to an end.

There have been many articles in the local newspaper (The Herald-Times)¬†regarding this issue.¬† They even have a “price watch” on their website.¬† In the end, every article I’ve read regarding this issue states the main reason prices are so high in this area¬†is mainly “greed.”

By simply travelling 20 miles, the price is sometimes up to 20 cents less a gallon.  Depending on travelling habits this could save a fortune.

A couple of months ago, Bloomington got a Wal-Mart supercenter.¬† I have issues with Wal-Mart, but that’s a whole other story.¬† A part of this supercenter is a gas station, called “Murphy USA.”¬† The gas station’s construction was delayed and did not open until last week.¬† In that week, the price of regular unleaded gasonline has dropped $0.12 a gallon on the whole west side of town!¬† On one day alone, they dropped their prices 3 times, with the other stations following their lead.

I am unsure if wholesale prices have dropped, or if it is exactly due to the opening of this new gas outlet.  I do have an optimistic outlook on this though, and hope to see the price keep dropping.

This gas station is on our way home, and it’s now very interesting to see if the price of gas has changed, and how much the change was.

Pardon Moi?

I recieved an email yesterday from a person visiting the ROX website.¬† They were viewing “my” page, which has answers to particular questions about me.¬† The unsettling thing is what the emails theme and tone are stating.¬† Here it is, for your viewing pleasure.

“Stealing from other people websites won’t do you any good.¬† I suggest you remove your so called “site” immediately, and never show up on the internet again.”

I have no “stolen” images on this blog, which is the only thing linked to my page on the ROX website.¬† The only images I have which come close to being stolen, are “borrowed” for my business website.¬† I was unable to create images that portrayed the products I sell, so I became an agent for a company that does the same thing I do.¬† Used a few of their images, removing their logos etc.

What do you think?¬† My co-blogger Kelly at cheese.rox is having the same situation.¬† I think that “public” picture use,¬†especially for non-monetary use,¬†needs some better definition.