Vindication...

Today, the drywall guys were supposed to come fix the damage that has occurred to my house due to the movement. I was hesitant about this as the house is still moving, which means more damage will occur. Whether he planned to or not (I was pretty strong in my suggestion that he come out today not just for the inside, but the outside as well), new Warranty Guy came out as well. Thank heavens he did. He's got 15 years experience with the builder, plus he's built homes in the past. He's gotten a lot of mixed information (and told me that previous Warranty Guy had resigned, which didn't surprise me as this is a lot more than I'm sure he thought it would be).

He had a copy of the most recent engineers report; the engineer was back out about two weeks ago. Based on that and the damage he saw, he knew immediately that the house is still moving and repairing anything would be somewhat futile. I said I was fine if he wanted to call the drywallers off. He was happy about that as that is exactly what he was thinking. Finally a guy who is not just spouting the company line of "don't worry we'll fix it." His words to the drywaller: "there is a boatload of work to do out here, including possibly some re-sheet rocking." Ya think? I'd been trying to tell him that, the drywaller that, even previous Warranty Guy. But, now that he's seen it, Warranty Guy knows there is a lot that will have to be done.

And, what did the engineer's report recommend. A geotechnical investigation to determine the potential and likelihood of future movement. Basically, it means they'll test the soil in and around the foundation.

They were doing two houses today up the street and there is a third on my street as well. I don't feel quite as bad about my house now that I know I'm not alone, though I'm sorry it's happening to others.

End result is I can't sell my house as it is. I think I knew this. I'm still calm. By the time it's been fixed and ready for repair on the inside, I should be moved out. Which, in my opinion, will make it easier for them (and me) to repair. I won't have to worry about moving my stuff and they'll be able to see everything that needs repairs. The good thing is once it's fixed, there will be a 20 year warranty for the new owners. And, hopefully, there will be new owners. I'd really rather not lease. I'd like to just be in my new place without any ties to the old. A clean break so to speak. Except for my friends. No breaks with friends; just property and state.

Embracing the wanderlust....

Well, sorta. As many of you know, my current job has been less than good. I may write more about that later, but it was far from a good fit. I think I knew this before I moved, but attributed it to cold feet about buying the house. Always, always listen to your little voice.

So, I've looked at jobs off and on, but sorta told myself I'd try really hard to make my next job a return to Civil Service in my current profession. I'd seen postings here and there, but most weren't good fits or were in areas I didn't really want. Well, I've accepted a Civil Service job in an area that wasn't on the list, but I think it will be fine. It's a tentative offer and I'm waiting on the official, so I guess it could go belly up. Assuming it doesn't, I'll be headed for Annapolis, MD and a job with the Navy. I'm scared and excited at the same time. No, I won't be buying a house anytime soon, basically for the "escape fast if you need to" card. I don't think that will be the case, but I didn't think that a year and a half ago either. My goal is to settle in there for many years. I've moved a lot, but I also settled once before. Hopefully, it will happen again.

Experimenting...

For some time now, I've wanted something outside the standard Blogger templates. Namely, three columns. I've got a lot of tags and they took up a lot of column space. Then this week, another blog turned me on too Blogger Buster, a blog with news on templates, hacks to try, etc. After spending hours culling through various templates and trying a few (someone which didn't work), I settled on this theme. Oddly, it's a three column version of an existing template, one I didn't think I'd use.

I toyed with a label cloud, which I decided I didn't like. I toyed with a label drop-down, which I decided I didn't like either. So, the long list of labels is still there. But, with the extra column on the right, it's not so bad. Eventually, I'll probably try something else, but for now I think this is it.

I will say, I tried the two label hacks and was successful, so that made me happy. There are ton of templates out there. I realized that Girly generally means it's more frilly than I want. Some, the columns were two narrow and my existing posts didn't look right. There is is also a hack for not losing widgets, but I decided to use this experiment as a way to evaluate the widgets that were on my blog and some are now gone. They may reappear, but for now, I'm going with this. I hope everyone had a good weekend.

Did a little traveling...

Almost a month ago, I took a short trip to Spokane, WA. I was considering a job there and wanted to look the place over - again. I also got to visit with a friend, DR, that I hadn't seen in just about 10 years. I splurged a bit on the hotel, but it was worth it. I hadn't truly been on a trip, aside from visiting my Mom, in a couple of years. It was nice to go away, even if just for three days.

DR picked me up at the airport and chauffeured me practically everywhere, something for which I am eternally grateful. We also had some very good food. I'm a huge muffin fan and can attest that Perkin's makes really good ones - or at least the Peaches and Cream was really good. One of the places he took me was a drive up in the mountains. We were also seeing how far we could go before we were blocked by snow. He's ready to go camping, but alas, we couldn't get as far as he needs to for the camping. Bonus, though, was I got to see some of Idaho in the process. Shortly after our turn-around spot, I took this picture. So, while I'm tempted to say this is from Washington state it's actually Idaho. Gorgeous drive.