Re-visiting the punchlist

OK, so, I have a new daughter. Its been really, really awesome.

And, the two days before she is born, my work decides to lay me off.  Real great, right?  A newborn child with no parents working.. this is off to a running start.

Well, its a cold world. If I've learned anything by living on this planet for the last thirty-six years, I'm not really that surprised.   It's a game called capitalism.  Thus, conventional street wisdom prevails:  don't hate the playa, hate the game.  Truer words have never been spoken.

Let's get real: its all been a blessing. I get to spend time with my family and recoup from my trip to hell and back.  After not sleeping for a few months, this is a welcome change.  And, now that we have zero income, we have better health insurance than when we were slaving away at our crappy 9 to 5s 8 to 8s every day.  So what if I've had to visit the south branch of the department of welfare three times last week? ...I don't work anymore!

Well that's not entirely true.

I'm brushing up on my coding skills.
Python
Django
South
Postgre
Node.js

Seriously, I hope I never touch Java or Microsoft/.Net stuff ever again. What a waste.

I have a couple ideas that I'm working out-- and there are a lot of great things happening in the world of open data.  I'm actually working day and night on them. Maybe I will post them here if I ever finish, but I may just start a new weblog for these endeavors.  Even though one of my main goals is to bring more useful data/info into the jobsite, my current efforts remain in the open data realm.

Flip phone archives: built in in semi-completed state.
I just wired the thing finally the other day, the front-and-center lamp is my electrical tester (not its real placement).  It has seven duplex receptacles. I bet I use one of these outlets once.

Then, there's this house.. which is in a livable state, but still has a lot of work. Let's revisit the impossible punch list from 12/12/2013 and see how I did in just two months of work (with only two days off from work!)

Here is the list, with some updated comments where applicable:

Hallway

·                     Remove wallpaper

·                     Restore walls and ceiling

·                     Wainscot on west wall (abandoned)

·                     New trim

Back bedroom

·                     Remove wallpaper

·                     Re-frame ceiling

·                     Strap ceiling (I also set up strapping as naliers for crown molding)

·                     Rough-in new electrical

·                     Restore walls

·                     Sheetrock ceiling

·                     Crown molding

·                     New trim

·                     Built in over radiator?

Living Room / Dining Room

·                     Cut out pass-through from dining room to kitchen

·                     Re-frame ceiling

·                     Strap ceiling

·                     Rough-in new electrical in living room and dining room (also removed all old knob+tube)

·                     Restore walls

·                     Sheetrock ceiling

·                     Build new ornamental pass through, to divide living room and dining room (abandoned--I realized this was overkill after I mocked up the built-in)

·                     Build tall board and baton wainscot, east wall of dining room (link)

·                     Build radiator covers (link)

·                     Build cabinet + bookshelf in living room (link)

·                     Install at least three (3) piece crown, both rooms (link -- 4 piece crown in dining room, three piece in living room / built in)

·                     New trim (link)

Bathroom

·                     Re-frame bathroom walls and ceiling (link -- I also insulated)

·                     Rough-in new electrical, GFCIs  (the electric is live in this room, with lots of future wiring still embedded in the walls)

·                     Sheetrock walls and ceiling 

·                     New trim

Really, not a bad showing in two months. Honestly, I have been taking it easy in my last five weeks of NOT working, and I still feel like the walking dead. I physically feel like the cruel hand of death has crushed whatever life force was left in me.  It's not possible to describe Dec 2013 and Jan 2014 in words, but I will try right here: It was hard.

Take some advice from an expert idiot: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TAKE ON A PROJECT OF THIS MAGNITUDE IN A COMPARABLY SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.  Honestly, I plan to put a hyperlink to this website on my futuristic tombstone in the epitaph spot reserved for 'cause of death'.

OK-- that's it.

It has been amazing to sit in a somewhat-finished house, not a jobsite, and enjoy time with the girls.  I'm still in shock.  So, this is how the other half lives?

Loyal reader, I know: I owe you some before and after pictures.  They are coming.  Be patient, I'm an unemployed loser with other things to do right now.  Stay tuned.