May 4, 2006 :: Financial Reflections & Plaster Dust Hallucinations
It looks like this is going to be my schedule for a while.... work on the house one day, then maybe do something again a week later. That's until June. Starting in June, work (HP/Compaq/Foxconn) changes to mandatory 7-day work weeks (rather than 6-day). For 2 and a half months. Not that I can get much done on my days off anyway. I work 3rd shift. By the time I wake up after work, it's time to talk to Sian. After I talk to Sian, I have maybe 3 hours to work before I have to be quiet so as to not disturb the neighbours. They don't obey that, but it IS the city ordinance, so I try to.
What I am really hoping for is a new job. Yes, I'm tired of bouncing around from job to job (the curse of being an I.T. Contractor), but this job pays a lot more, is 5 days per week, a normal schedule, and is actually something I enjoy - web design, graphic design, and web development. The normal pay rate for this job is the same as my overtime pay rate at HP. I should know reasonably soon, I hope. I'd like to have a continuous period of employment when the "financial support" part of the Fiancee Visa comes into play.
Back to money....
I was thinking about this today after reading a topic at the
Enon Hall message board. I read blogs of people from all over the country. Lots of them are from areas where the average income is substantially higher than here. (The average income in Putnam County Indiana is around $28,000.) Yet, the things they buy cost the same as they would for me. So, when I see someone from D.C. or such post about buying this lovely porch light for ONLY $400, I wonder what planet they're from. $400 is pretty much an entire after-taxes weekly paycheck around here.
As such, I've had to realize that there just isn't any way that I can restore my house in the same fashion as someone from an area with a higher average income. It just ain't possible. So, I will continue to do all of the labour myself (and with help from Bri and Chris), buy the nicest items that I can afford, and not worry so much about it. Well, until it's window-buying time. For authentic reproductions of my windows, the cost is $1200 each. That's just less than half-a-month's income. I have 15 windows. You do the math. This leads to my post on the
TOHJ message board about probably having to use generic replacement windows for now. I just can't afford "real" windows, and my current ones are mostly too far gone to save. Plus, there's natural gas prices to consider....
Well, I didn't mean to make this sound like a long lament about money. It wasn't, really. It was me coming to the realization that due to where I live, I just can't buy some of the things that I read about others buying. It isn't a big deal, really. But it was something I hadn't really taken into consideration when I started my restoration project. As such, the restoration project is now more of a renovation project. That'll make it a little easier on me....I don't have to worry so much about being "correct". lol
Now for today....
Today has been spent ripping out the ceiling in the master bedroom. I love plaster. When it's bagged and in the back of my truck, that is. I was filthy. Not just dirty, I was completely, disgustingly filthy. I had to take a break after getting only half of the ceiling ripped down so that I could breathe for a little while and rinse the black dust from my mouth. That turned into a full shower, followed by a much-needed scrubbing of the bathtub. Now I'm loathe to change back into dirty clothes and start bagging up the plaster. However, I gotta do it. I can't go any further at the moment because there's plaster and lath everywhere, and no room for the ladder. I hope Sian can live with the horrid wallpaper and crumbling plaster downstairs for a while, because I don't want to touch plaster again for a while.
There aren't any pictures to show you right now. I escaped from the bedroom as quickly as I could. I'll post an update later, after I venture back up there to start disposing of the debris.
Actually, there IS one picture.... I'm not too keen on posting it really, but I will anyway. This is me immediately after coming back downstairs.
See why I didn't really want to put that on here? LOL
