Jacksonville

Communication

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“What we got here is a failure to communicate”

A memorable line from the classic film, “Cool Hand Luke”, it keeps replaying in my mind as our house makeover proceeds. It seems the more technology enters into our most simple, everyday tasks, the more complicated it becomes. The more we let it replace direct interaction with one another, well, it seems like we end up with just a plain, hot mess. Today was my Waterloo.

20150403_2286Everyone working on our project has been great. From the flooring guys that have tackled a nearly impossible job to the electricians and carpenters, all have proceeded as smoothly as possible while trying to complete a not small project in a specific time frame. It is the coordination that is starting to drive me crazy.

We could have avoided most of this angst by just hiring a “Big Box” store to act as General Contractor. We are buying many of our materials from them. But, the labor costs of them acting as the GC is quadruple what the individual tradespeople charge. So, frugality and sensibility take precedence over ease. Up to now it has been o.k. But, the kitchen project requires the efforts of several tradespeople so the designer/cabinet maker is coordinating, more or less, that part of our project. He says he likes to communicate mostly by email and text and voice mail – as well as some face-to-face, of course. It is here that the bogeyman of technology raises his ugly head. Examples: Wednesday, 8:00 p.m. The Redhead gets an email from the kitchen guy: “Electricians will be at house tomorrow”.  Foolish me asks the Redhead, “what time”? She says, “I don’t know. I’ll email him back”. Hmmm.

Thursday, 7:15 a.m. I’m in the shower singing my third rendition of, “I Left my Heart in San Francisco” (I’ll learn the real words, someday). The Redhead yells into the bathroom, “The electricians are at the house and can’t get in ’cause your not there”.  No kidding. Who needs to rinse off, anyway? And breakfast? Ha!

And so it went all day. Emails to the Redhead from the kitchen guy’s staff: “Plumber’s coming Friday or Monday. Need toilet and valves”. Message duly given. Foolish me asks, “How can the toilet go in when there is no drain yet”?  Or walls? Or floor? Just small details, I suppose.20150402_2276There’s more. But, you get the idea. Technology is fine. To a point. But, can an I Pad really replace a,”My Pad”? All the numbers, names, notes and dates you could possibly want or need – all at a fingers touch!

Bill's My PadBill’s My Pad

Not all is lost or gloomy, though. Far from it. Thanks to the Redhead’s vision, the most beautiful house we could have imagined will soon be our home. 20150402_2277

In the meantime, can somebody just pick up a phone!

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A Closing

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Most cliches have some element of truth or wisdom.

“When one door closes, another door opens” is one that is true for us. Tomorrow will be the day we “close” on our new home. We will soon be saying goodbye to the apartment that has been our safe haven during our transition period here in Jacksonville. Living here has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience and a wise decision for us. We explored nearly every area of this city…and beyond. Our feelings and ideas of where we wanted to settle changed several times over the course of the nine months since we arrived here. From the convenient area in which we now live to the funky Riverside area to the Beaches and back, again, over the Inter-coastal Waterway, each area had its draw. But, in the end, we were finally able to zero in on what it was we really wanted in a house and neighborhood. To feel being part of a community, close to the water, has been a constant for us. As far as a particular house – we knew we would know it when we saw it. Or, rather, when we felt it. We spent a lot of time trying to imagine ourselves in a lot of houses. With this house, we did not want to leave the very first time we saw it. It was love at first sight – warts and all. Actually, blemishes and all. It was, too, the house sister Linda saw in her “vision”. Another story and a true one.

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We will have a view of a pond. There will, of course, always be room for family and friends. My initial idea of having a library for our books and music has been replaced with an open floor plan with books and music everywhere – exactly as it should be! Our winding street has sidewalks on which people actually walk – often and at all times of day. It is only a 7 minute drive to the beach and stores and restaurants are within 5 minutes by bike.

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This week we will begin our updates and renovations. We have our list and, hopefully, at least most of it will be completed before we leave our current apartment in June. We have found, rather quickly, that it pays to do a lot of leg work yourself – searching out the best and most reliable tradesmen and suppliers. More about this later, perhaps.

And, so, our new life together begins another chapter. It is a Southern Life Redeux.