The Doctor Is In

About a month ago, I got an e-mail from my neighbor across the street. He had attached a few pictures, and asked would I please look at them and give him my honest opinion as to whether or not his house was falling down. The photos were of some cracks in the concrete slab in his family room. He also had a concern about some squeeky subfloor upstairs.

It so happens that he and I live in the same model house, and I have cracks and squeeks identical to his. I went over and paid a house call, looked at everything, and pronounced the house in no mortal danger; a diagnosis at which (more on that later) my neighbor was greatly relieved.

I wondered to myself afterwards how anyone could look at those things and be worried, since they were pretty simple signs of a middle aged house to me. The more I thought about it though, that didn't seem fair. I mean, I've been tearing houses apart for over twenty years, and that certainly informs any opinions I have. I'm not sure I was ever taught in a formal way how to look at something and tell whether or not it's serious......after all these years, I just know.

When I put myself in my neighbor's shoes (or any of my clients, for that matter), I realize that things which seem patently obvious to me are anything but to them. I'm guilty of occasionally lapsing into "contractor speak" and being maybe a little glib at times, and this encounter with my neighbor made me realize that a little bit more. This was brought home to me in a more pointed way the other day.

When my family and I were at the beach last week, I sprained my ankle....nothing too bad, just a little sore. Anyway, the other day, I was sitting at my desk....doing nothing really, and all of a sudden, my ankle began to hurt like hell, WAY more than it had before. I mean, it hurt to a point that walking was not easy to do.

My wife, bless her, kept saying I needed to get it looked at, and I kept saying "Stop worrying, I'll be fine....jeez." In the back of my mind though, I was a little worried; not that I would tell my wife that.

We went out to dinner that evening, the ankle still hurting, and as we came home and pulled up to our house, my wife turned not into our driveway, but our neighbor's.....he of the squeeky floors and cracked concrete. My neighbor, you see, is a trauma doc.

He may not know everything about houses (that's my job, after all), but he does know about things that get twisted, mangled and broken.

I limped up to his front door and rang the bell. My neighbor sat me down, poked and prodded a little bit, told me to wrap the ankle, ice it, stay off it as much as possible, take 800mg. of ibuprofen, and go see someone if it didn't feel better in a few days. Bing-Bang-Boom. No big deal. A diagnosis at which it was my turn to be greatly relieved. Just to make sure though, he rang my doorbell the next morning to check on "his patient". You can't buy neighbors like that.

We all have our purpose in life. I am grateful to live in a place where I know and truly like my neighbor (and neighbors), and where my purpose and his can cross paths......and give me a little more perspective!

Thanks, Doc!

Licenses

Lesson for today: If you ever get a contractor's license in DC, don't EVER let it lapse!

A few years ago, I realized I wasn't getting any work in DC, and had plenty in Montgomery County. So, when the time came to re-up, I just let it slide.

Fast forward to this year, where I am interested in projects wherever they are, including our nation's capitol.

I have been trying off and on for the last few months to renew my license there. I am amazed at how many hoops you need to go through. My first task was to re-establish my corporation. Some hundreds of dollars in registration and late fees, and that was done. I am in the process now of gathering the other requisite paperwork.

Most of it is pretty straightforward; things like passport photos and their charming one page triplicate contract form, which they tell you is the ONLY contract that is valid in the District of Columbia. My lawyer gets a chuckle out of that, but you do what you have to do, right?

Two things however, are killing me. DC requires a criminal background check, and a certificate of good standing (meaning you don't owe DC any money for any past omissions or misdeeds). Here's the trick: both have a valid period of one month. I was naive enough to send away for the background check and good standing certificate at the same time; assuming that both would take a few weeks to get, and thus be concurrently valid.

Not so much.

Maryland got me my background check in short order. DC cashed my check....a month ago. As of today though, no certificate. So, today, I decided to brave 941 North Capitol St., and see if I could pick it up in person.

Aside from being reamed for $20 to park my truck, things went well enough. I waited an hour or so for my number to be called, and then had a nice conversation with a surprisingly pleasant woman, who looked up my company, verified that I was indeed in good standing, printed out the certificate, and then told me to head down to the cashier, pay my $15, and bring back the receipt, at which point she would hand me the certificate, and I would be on my merry way.

Generally, the cashier is the fastest process at 941 North Capitol St. Whatever flaws DC has, and there are many, it can generally be said that they are efficient at parting people from their money.

Not today.

The cashier's station was down to one working computer for awhile and what normally would have been a 5-10 minute in and out, became an hour and a half standing in line. To pay $15.....again.....for something I have already paid for. Ugh.

Eventually, I made my way to the cashier, paid my money, went back to the nice lady, got my certificate, and headed on home. Save for a $25,000 bond and an insurance certificate, I think I now have everything I need. For the finishing touches, I have hired what is known as an "expediter", who takes all my myriad papers, submits them and greases the skids, as it were.

I'm told I'll have my license a month or so after everything is submitted, so I guess we'll see.

I'll tell you one thing though, once I get licensed this time, I won't give it up until I'm cold in the ground!

Cleaning House

This weekend, my wife and I looked around in our basement, and were amazed at the things we have kept over the years….some that have followed us from apartment to town house to house without ever being used.  We agreed that some stuff had to go. 

In the past, I would have thrown some stuff in the truck, and headed down to the dump.  Recently though, I’ve become reacquainted with freecycle (www.freecycle.org).  If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a list serve, where people post items that they either no longer need, or requests for things that they DO need.  The only requirement is that, in both cases, the items offered or requested be free.  If you want to sell something, you can always head over to Craigslist. 

Freecycle’s goal is to keep items out of landfills, and you’d be amazed at how eager others are to take your unwanted stuff.  

A few years ago, we gave away a bunch of my wife’s old shoes to a woman who “just looooved shoes!”  OK, everyone has their fetish, but really, it was great for us both.  We got rid of something we no longer needed, and she got something she really wanted.  We posted some stuff over the weekend and, within hours, had multiple e-mails asking when they could come by and relieve us of our burden.  Some of the stuff got picked up yesterday.  

Not only am I helping keep stuff out of the landfill, I’m saving the gas to get there.  Another plus is that I’m saving my back…..they come to ME! 

All in all, I think freecycle is a great idea; and something I plan to use a lot more.  I’d encourage you to visit their website and sign up.