Corona Red Roses

Single Living - Never Confuse with Clean Living

So, I went to a pub crawl two weeks ago on a Friday night with some friends. I was a bit nervous, but my stress has been unbelievable so I was looking forward to it. There were about 10-12 people at the crawl when I arrived and I knew like 4 when we started. By the end we had added like 6 more people and I met them all.

I actually ended up meeting this guy, Bertucci. He's 30, single, manages a Bertucci restaurant. Nice, funny, cute and a superb kisser. I had way too much fun making out with him (in the bar and in the street and against the glass door of a closed restaurant). I enjoyed him completely. He basically promised me the big O if I went home with him. But, I don't do that. Not the first time I meet someone. He did give me his number.

I did a bunch of drunk texting that night. Who knew that it could be almost as embarrassing as drunk dialing. I totally texted Allen saying I missed him and needed him to tell me to go home. IT was a bit nuts. COme to find out -- he was half asleep. I totalled texted him an apology the next day. I also texted an old boyfriend from college that I have been keeping up with. The old boyfriend, Indiana, actually kept texting me all weekend. And on Sunday night, he propositioned me. Of course, he's 700 miles away.

So, it was a bit of a crazy night for me, but still fun.

posted by Corona Red @ 11:07 AM 3 comments

Renovation Hell - First Crisis

Well, I've arrived at the first big problem of my renovation experience. I got a call from the general contractor and he told me the kitchen guy hasn't ordered my cabinets yet. I think my "WHAT" could be heard halfway across the building. The contractor says the kitchen guy called him yesterday and said he was waiting on a signature from the contractor. My contractor didn't realize the kitchen guy was waiting on him.

So, now it's three weeks after I thought we had settled the cabinet order placed. So, now we are weeks behind.

I was steaming about this yesterday. I specifically told the kitchen guy on July 6 that we were not waiting on the contractor and he could order the cabinets with my signature. I don't understand the problem. And the kitchen guy cashed my check -- so it didn't appear he was held back from that.

So, I waited to call until today. So, I call and he doesn't say anything about the cabinet order. I ask if it was true they weren't ordered until yesterday and he says yes he was waiting on the general contractor. I told him I thought we had settled this and now I may owe financial penalties to my general contractor for holding up the schedule. I told him I wasn't happy and that I resented him for not calling to tell me about a problem in the past three weeks. He didn't really have much to say. I was so ticked. But, I stayed calm. I told him that I expected to hear right away as soon as he knows anything. I asked how long before the cabinets arrive. He says 5 weeks - that is minimum. At 5 weeks, we are about a week behind schedule. I told him to be sure to contact me if there are any further delays. He just says okay.

What the hell? I am paying good money to these people and I expect better service.

I will be sending a letter at the end of this process to the company detailing my issues.

posted by Corona Red @ 10:11 AM 3 comments

Week 1 - 3 (Continued)

Okay...the blogger wouldn't let me post all my pictures. Let's try again. Here's the first blog entry.

Now, here's looking from the back door into my living space.

At the back door from my living space.

And finally from the living room into the old kitchen. Can you believe how small it looks even with the walls missing and the fridge pulled out? Where these studs are now, there used to be walls.

My contractor said in the next weeks, the outside will be finished and close in inspection should be by the end of the month. I would like to be back in around 8/12/06. We'll see what happens. I'll keep you posted.

posted by Corona Red @ 3:11 PM 3 comments

House Renovations Weeks 1 to 3

Well -- here are the pictures I promised on the renovation...

Holes, Holes and more holes -- these are for the foundation piers.

And what is inside those holes? At first -- just lots of water from all the rain.

Now the third week, we saw some progress. The ledgers starting going in.

First, we have the view from the back of the house.

Here's the view from the side.

And the view from the front.

Now, to see the results of the destruction work!!

Here's the view of my new "living room." The microwave is tucked on the other side of the bushes - I'm lucky I didn't gain a million pounds sitting 5 feet from the fridge for the past week.

And it won't let me put any more pictures. Let me try another post.

posted by Corona Red @ 2:30 PM 0 comments

Renovation Update

Well, things never go as they are supposed to.

Construction has finally started at my place. The contractor has, in the past two weeks, finally begun work. The rain put a stop to it for awhile. It's a bit frustrating. I do have a Port a John in my driveway along with a big dumpster.

Already, I spoke with the contractor about the workers leaving trash in my yard. Just a few plastic bottles so far, but I don't want them to get into the habit.

So far, they have dug about 8 holes and put concrete in them. That's it.

My friends came over on Saturday. We ripped out the walls in the living room, tore down most of the walls between the dining room and the kitchen and removed about half of the kitchen cabinets. I'll have some photos soon. I'll post them. We tore down the drywall and removed all the studs that weren't supporting windows or electrical equipment. Interestingly, there was absolutely no insulation in the walls of the first floor. The place must have been leaking air like crazy - no wonder I could regulate the temperature very well. I have some lovely bruises to show off.

The contractor also changed the schedule twice since my last post. First he says it'll be about 3 to 4 weeks after they start that I will need to move out. And then, late last week, he says he needs me to move out by the 17th. Quite a change in some ways. I checked the calendar -- the 17th will be three weeks after they started, but like I said all I have today is like 8 holes. So, this was the pace they were expecting?

So, I'm almost done prepping the house. I have to take down the ceiling in the kitchen, pull the final cabinets (including the kitchen sink), and pull up the flooring in the kitchen. That should do me for demolition work - we'll see.

I spent several hours last week just window shopping for the things I have to buy:

I've already picked out my appliances. I have a relative at Whirlpool -- so I get them as much as half off the retail price. Those will be ordered with my next paycheck. I have selected the following:

The Whirlpool GS773LXS stove -- It's a 4.7 cubic feet gas range with Accusimmer burner, baking with Accubake heat distribution system. Seems pretty cool.

The Whirlpool GU3600XTR dishwasher -- it's dishwasher with concealed controls and a stainless steel interior -- with SheerClean wash system that keeps the water clean throughout the entire cycle and Accusense which can actually determines the load size and dirtiness of the dishes itself.

The amount of decisions to make is a little daunting, but I am getting there. It's just a lot to figure out. I'll keep you posted.

posted by Corona Red @ 2:23 PM 1 comments