So it turns out that sometimes it doesn't pay to be nice all the time. Some of you know I have been frustrated by the lack of progress on our house, and it kind of came to a head a week ago when I confronted my realtors to get some answers. What I found out was productive and a little frustrating. It turns out that the builder had been experiencing some manning issues on his framing crews and did not prioritize my house (the paying customer) over the model home. We have seen some significant progress on the house since that meeting. Pictures of the state of the construction from a little over a week ago and just this past weekend are included below.
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| This picture shows the house on May 19th, and May 12th, and May 5th :( |
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| Progress after meeting with the builder and realtors! Now we're moving again. |
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| The roof adds a lot to seeing how it is taking shape. Now it looks like a house. |
The builder assures us that the 12th of July is still going to happen. I have my doubts. There seems to be a lot of work to get done by then, and the county still hasn't approved the plans for the entire neighborhood, so we don't have a street name and address, yet. Without that info the bank cannot lock in our rate. I guess this is the price we pay for getting in early and having our pick of lots and plans.
I have been getting out to ride quite a bit this spring. Weather has been cooperative - just need to dress in layers to ward off the morning chill. This past weekend I made my way south towards Portland to grab a couple of dams. The day started off poorly when my bike wouldn't start - dead battery. I probably should have seen it coming. I have had a few warning signs but ignored them. I went ahead and took off thinking that the battery would recharge during the ride. My stop for gas proved otherwise. I wound up having to get a jump start three times throughout the day.
That wasn't even the worst part of the day, though. While riding in the mountains around Mt St Helens, I came through a curve and hit a large rock that was hidden in the shadows. It could have been worse, but I still bent my fornt rim. Luckily, the front tire wasn't damaged and held pressure for the (slower) trip home. Definition of anxiety: a possible flat tire and dead battery in an area without cell coverage and very little vehicular traffic. I scrubbed plans for the other dams and limped home.
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| The Mompano Dam spillway. |
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| Looking into the Columbia River Gorge near Portland. |
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| My bent rim. BMW price to replace with a new one - $895. I will try to get it straightened! |
