insideEricsHead

Still moving stuff

2005-05-31T00:59:00.000-04:00

Just like in the real world, I'm still 'unpacking' things from my old site to this new home. I imagine that most people are seeing this new site for the first time today as I've cross-posted this entry to both sites. For those checking my Blogger journal, know that this will be the last post I make here - from now on everything will be gathered together at insideericshead.com.So far I have

The world around us

2005-05-10T23:34:00.000-04:00

The world is an amazing place. I encourage everyone to get out there and explore it.I have just returned from an incredible weekend in San Francisco, California, where I had the chance to experience the wonderful west coast culture... but that's another post altogether. What I'm writing about tonight is the differences in housing from place to place to place. As you can see from the photo above,

Six months!

2005-04-28T23:09:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that I've been here six months - to the day today - already. Time has certainly flown by. Looking around the neighbourhood, things have changed quite a bit. With the warmer weather here (more or less), construction has started up again all around me. Foundations are being dug behind me; the townhouses across from me are almost finished now; homes along the surrounding streets are

And you thought eMail spam was bad?

2005-04-19T23:37:00.000-04:00

Who needs a mailbox these days? I think my day would be more productive if I put a garbage bag at the front door instead... at least it'd save me the trouble of throwing out every little piece of junk mail I find tucked in my door frame, door knob, or even taped to the door itself. Apparently, buying a new home is like a giant neon “please try to sell me stuff” sign, blinking away day after

I'm no Robin Hood, but...

2005-03-29T11:58:00.000-05:00

Sorry for this being so short, but (a.) I need my sleep; and (b.) I didn't want to go two weeks without posting!Let this photo be a warning to anyone coming to my place - and going into the basement - from now on. I have put up my old dartboard... right next to the bottom of the stairs. While my aim isn't that bad, I can't promise the same accuracy from any of friends. So, if you're coming

My first carpet stain

2005-03-15T00:02:00.000-05:00

Why must I love mustard and why must smoked meat go so well with it? Why, out of everything I was carrying, must it have been the “doggy bag” from dinner that crashed to the floor. And opened. And spilled out. Onto the ground. And why did that one piece of mustard covered smoked meat find its way to the carpet and not stay on the tile like all its friends?It had to happen eventually, In

What is the new "black" then?

2005-03-08T22:05:00.000-05:00

Below is a photo of my kitchen (long awaited, I know). However, I'm not here tonight to talk about my kitchen. In fact, I'm here to talk about my “great room” (aka: family room)... or more specifically, what is not in my great room. You see, Ikea has failed me.“What?!”, you exclaim in disbelief.Yes, it's true. The Swedish grandfather of entry-level and university/dorm furniture everywhere could

Buy in bulk and... waste?

2005-02-22T22:14:00.000-05:00

Let me start by saying that I've been very good about not eating fast food/take-away every meal, every day... but very quickly you can see why people start doing just that. Why is it that you can't buy just enough food for one or two people at the grocery store? Why is it that everything - no matter how perishable - comes in “family size” amounts? To anyone who is just moving into a place, know

Bits and pieces

2005-02-08T13:27:00.000-05:00

Wow! How did I manage to go this long without writing something here? I must be getting old. But, without anything concrete to say today, let me entertain you with a little of this, and a little of that. The car wash: As promised, I took my camera with me to the car wash a few days ago and got some shots from the inside. While it didn't seem to be as cool this time, and the photos are nothing

My neighbourhood

2005-01-26T13:05:00.000-05:00

Despite the snow that just keeps falling and falling around me, the houses seem to just keep growing and growing. Actually, it'd probably be more accurate to say, “appearing and appearing”. As you can see from my posts between July 2004 and October 2004, I had the opportunity to drive out to the site, see my home being built, week-to-week... first the foundation, then the walls, then this and

What else could go wrong?

2005-01-19T13:22:00.000-05:00

Buying a new house certainly has its perks: the new house smell, the brand new carpet, the brand new tile, the brand new... well, everything. However, life in a new development (at least one still under construction) has very few benefits - at least none that I'm aware of at the moment. “How so?” you ask? Well let me tell you about my day so far (it is, after all, only 1:00pm). Last night the

Life in the kitchen

2005-01-17T13:00:00.000-05:00

Cooking is not one of those things that I have a lot of experience with. Not because I'm a guy, but because I've never really had to do much cooking. Living at home with my parents for the last few years, I was lucky enough to have most meals prepared for me. I did help clean-up afterwards, but with a dishwasher going, that didn't amount to too much work. So, now what? Well, I'm not completely

Momentum lost

2005-01-11T23:35:00.000-05:00

I was going to talk about being sure that you've informed everyone about your new contact information as my MasterCard bill is still being sent to my parent's house... but I think I've complained about this before. I was going to ramble on about how I haven't finished moving all my stuff out of my parent's house to my place (e.g., Transformers, Star Wars, board games)... but I think I mentioned

Going through the car wash

2005-01-03T10:29:00.000-05:00

I don't honestly remember the last time that I went to the car wash. It must have been at least ten or twelve years ago. As long as I remember, we've been a family that gets out the ol' hose and bucket on a sunny day and washes their own cars. But, as I'm still finding, I don't have all the right tools for every job yet. In this case, the distinct lack of a hose and soap would be the culprit. (

Snow day!

2004-12-23T14:34:00.000-05:00

[ Okay, so I've back-dated this post... I'm trusting that you'll all forgive me in the name of a fun photo. ] It took me about an hour and a half to clear my driveway. This is a quick photo I took while taking cover in my garage before heading inside to rest. While it may be hard to judge the amount of snow from the photo, let me assure you that it was at least a foot deep when I started

Blackout!

2004-12-21T09:30:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's true. For the second time in a week, there was a blackout at my place. In fact, this one - which started at about 5:30am today - was almost enough of an excuse for me to call in “late” sometime around noon. But alas, after an hour of semi-consciousness and checking my Palm's World Clock application to make sure that I didn't miss my ride, I'm up and here at work. As a kid, we all loved

List of lists

2004-12-15T11:42:00.000-05:00

Tonight I hope to impart a little advice to all my readers... after all, that is one of the goals of this blog. Be organized. I don't care how, whatever works for you is good, but get organized and stay organized. While I've always thought of myself as a bit of a planner, I took the extra step of picking myself up a Palm Tungsten|E about five months ago. I wanted to be as prepared as I could be

Two outta three installed

2004-12-07T23:24:00.000-05:00

Okay, so it's not the water softener as promised, and it's probably not a photo that you'll treasure for years to come, but I present to you: my new washer/dryer! Awesome, eh? In case you hadn't noticed yet, buying a house makes you think weird things. I am excited about a washer/dryer. What is going on. But let me - just for a minute - tell you how awesome this pair (or, “team” as they call

Soft water weekend

2004-12-03T08:50:00.000-05:00

Okay- just a quick update on a cold Friday morning: Tomorrow is all set. My dad is coming over and we're going to tackle this whole “water softener” thing (and the washer/dryer... but that's just a matter of tools). 9:00am he's going to arrive and we'll get started. From the look of my water lines, I'll probably be serving soft water to my backyard, however, it'll make for a much easier install.

It pays to be handy

2004-11-28T22:04:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I finally received the last of my major appliances: a washer, a dryer (don't worry... until now I've been washing my clothes at my parent's house), and a water softener. When I bought these pieces from the salesperson, he asked if I'd like to include installation with my purchase. It was almost $200 to have it done. I declined. Was it the money? In part (see below). But it was also a

See'n the Tower

2004-11-20T01:54:00.000-05:00

Yes, the time stamp on the post is correct. It's almost 2am right now. I just returned from the a night out in Toronto. Apart from the almost two hours in Friday night rush hour traffic it took to get there (ugh) it was a good night. But what hit me was the fact that I miss being so close to the city. It's not like I went to a lot of sporting events, or concerts, or whatever down there, but it is

Damn the (phone) man!

2004-11-15T23:42:00.000-05:00

Awhile back you might remember that I was cursing the local phone company because they seem to think that I'm living out in a field in the middle of nowhere. Why it's taken them almost a month to send someone out here to charge me about a billion dollars for what will probably be five minutes of work I'll never understand. Nor will I understand why the closest thing to competition for the phone

Snow glad to be home

2004-11-08T18:38:00.000-05:00

I had all of last week off to move. My dreams of having a few days off to relax and catch-up on some personal projects were just that: dreams. So, like it or not, I went back to work today. The drive is much longer than me previous trek, however, I'm already used to the trip from all my efforts moving so it wasn't too bad. Getting up in the morning about an hour earlier than previous... that

One week anniversary

2004-11-07T23:45:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that I've already been here a full week. Or maybe I just can't believe that I have to be awake again in six hours to go back to work. Let me give credit to anyone who manages to move over a weekend... really, in anything less than a week. I don't know how you did/do it. With everything that I have had to change, plus all the little things that I've had to run out and get, it's

Wonderful in white

2004-10-28T22:53:00.000-04:00

No photo to post tonight, and I really should be packing more stuff into boxes, but I just wanted to post that when I dropped by to pick up my keys and officially take possession of my place today, almost everything from the PDI had been completed... including the bathroom. I have to admit that I was a little scared to look in the room when I got there today, but when I did it was all white. So,

My second floor bathroom

2004-10-27T23:38:00.000-04:00

I never thought that I'd be posting a photo of my bathroom - unless it was a joke or as part of a house-wide tour - but this was what led me to the whole “Don't move” post yesterday. You see, yesterday I had my Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) which is meant to give the home-buyer a chance to see their new house before moving in... identify any small (or large) building defects or errors on the part

Don't move

2004-10-26T16:23:00.000-04:00

Don't move. Don't ever move. Be happy where you are right now. In a house, in a townhome, in a cardboard box. On your own, with a friend, with family, with family-in-law. Doesn't matter. Don't move whatever you do. Stay right where you are, right now. It is so much easier that way. (Just my two cents after a long day... I'll try to elaborate later. For now, I have a beer or two to finish.)

Pardon me, I'm stressed

2004-10-19T14:57:00.000-04:00

The countdown is on. All the things that I've been putting off (or didn't know I had to do) are crashing down around me. And on top of all this, I'm sick (as demonstrated by my lack of updates). But never fear, right? This is the digital age and we can do everything on-line now. I should be able to order my new phone line, cable tv, broadband internet, etc., and set-up my utilities with just a

The first mistake

2004-10-10T15:28:00.000-04:00

It continues to amaze me how our minds work. I wasn't looking at pictures of my house, and I wasn't thinking about my upgrades, but somehow I realized this: The top is a photo that I took last weekend when I was checking out the place. Looking through the kitchen windows towards the front foyer... everything looks good, right? It did to me at the time. Never thought anything of it. Until last

Getting there

2004-10-04T20:32:00.000-04:00

Okay, since the outside looks just about the same as it did last time I showed it, I've decided to stay inside this week. And if I do say so myself, I've done a pretty good job of recreating the photo from last weekend (not that I was trying to!) It might look like my carpet has gone in, however, you're still looking at the wood flooring (no, not hardwood). My bathroom and foyer tile is in; so

Shopping for furniture

2004-09-26T22:16:00.000-04:00

This is probably more of a “Wednesday” post, but since I don't have much of a “Sunday” post to write (I didn't visit the site this week), it'll have to do. Shopping, on its own, isn't one of my favourite things to do. I am a text-book “guy shopper”. I know what I want, where I'm going to get it, how much it'll cost... I go to the store, head straight for the item, get it, buy it, and leave.

A first look inside

2004-09-19T20:42:00.000-04:00

As expected, I was away enjoying a wonderful weekend out-of-town these last two days. And now, as promised, a look inside my soon-to-be home: When you can only shoot through first-floor windows, you don't have a lot of choices or angles to shoot. That said, when you're buying a house of this size... well, you can pretty much do the “first floor tour” with this shot. The big thing for me was

Maybe I spoke too soon...

2004-09-16T13:02:00.000-04:00

Not that long ago I remember thinking to myself, “It'll be ready on-time... er, this time” because really, what else could go wrong? Lesson #1039 - Never Assume: Yes, I thought that it'd be smooth sailing from here on out. With only 6-7 weeks left to the close, everything must be ordered, shipped, and ready to be installed. After all, the exterior is done, so it's down to the painting, flooring,

Locked out!

2004-09-12T23:19:00.000-04:00

Yes, it's true. Development is so far along at this point that I'm now locked out of my own house. But, I shouldn't complain; have a look at how far along things are! Everything except for the siding/brick at the front of the house, second floor, has been completed. Looking at the last photo I took, it's come a long way over the past three weeks. Most of what is left at this point is interior

Counting the weeks... again

2004-09-08T23:48:00.000-04:00

When I started this blog almost four months ago, my intention was to look at the “ups, downs, and bills that come with the experience” of buying a new house; or, in my case, a first house. While I've done an excellent job of following the construction of my place, I haven't said too much about how I'm dealing with it all! So, these mid-week posts will try to accomplish just that. And what better

Rain, rain, go away

2004-08-29T22:28:00.000-04:00

Rain, rain, go away. Come again on some weekday. While usually I don't mind the rain so much (hey, it's not snow), I have to say that it managed to ruin a few plans I had for this weekend, including a visit to the site. With all the construction, bricking, roofing, and such happening so fast these past few weeks, I'd hoped to get back out for another look. However, having tried to take photos in

Second floor: bedrooms and baths

2004-08-22T23:24:00.000-04:00

What a difference a week makes. Each week this all gets a little more insane for me. I've been living with the “I'll be moving soon” philosophy for awhile now. What I have to realize is that the “soon” that I keep talking about is coming approaching very quickly! As for the street, both of my neighbours-to-be have brick on their walls and shingles on their roof. In fact, things are moving

First floor: foyer, great room, and kitchen

2004-08-16T20:54:00.000-04:00

Of all the days that I had to be in a hurry, this past Saturday was one of them. My usual detailed investigation of the house, dirt, neighbouring residences, etc., was reduced to little more than a drive-by (photographic) shooting. But look what I found: my first floor! Without the time to really have a look at everything, I don't know what else to say really. I'm super-excited to see

Monday already?

2004-08-09T16:55:00.000-04:00

Okay, last week I posted on a Monday because it was a long weekend for me, so that's just when I got to see my place. This week? Well, it apparently just slipped my mind... the posting a new blog entry that is. I intentionally didn't make the trek this past weekend on account of my “fire break theory” (read the comment I posted against my previous entry). So, that said, I didn't go this past

I feel cheated!

2004-08-02T13:39:00.000-04:00

Hey... what gives here, eh? Have a look for yourself (below) -- do you see what I'm talking about? As I said a few weeks back, they (the builders) seem to be building the walls from the top of the street down (unlike the foundations which they poured from the bottom up). So, my neighbour to the LEFT has his walls up... and my neighbour to the RIGHT has his walls up... so what gives? They

Another no-show

2004-07-25T22:36:00.000-04:00

This time I'll keep it quick. I didn't visit "the site" this weekend based on some recent intel. As of Thursday night, my neighbour had walls (hooray for them!), but I didn't. While I agree that there is always the chance that I might have seen some progress, my day/weekend was busy enough already. That said, next weekend is a must-go weekend. The thought of walls... how cool.

Stood on the porch

2004-07-18T20:32:00.000-04:00

Yes, it's true. Without risking life nor limb jumping across the ditch surrounding my basement walls - because the ground is level now! - I finally got to stand on my porch. Since I hope that this is something I'll be able to do on a regular basis do I consider this a big step forward. Oh, and there is enough wood sitting around my foundation to, well... build a house (or at least get started

Time for a break

2004-07-11T20:28:00.000-04:00

To paraphrase my dad from earlier toady, "they can build the house without your constant supervision you know". So, without something else to do out that way, and other things on the go today, I somewhat reluctantly have passed on my weekly visit this... er, week. And now I just have to wander around for the next seven days hoping that they don't go and build the whole thing on me! But I'm not

Not rain nor sleet...

2004-07-04T23:22:00.000-04:00

...well, at least not rain, managed to keep me from checking in on my new home today. I was going to put it off on the count of Canada Day this past Thursday (maybe they didn't work the week, whatever), but I found myself out that way for something else so how could I not look in on the progress? And I wasn't disappointed: The basement walls have now gone up! I wanted to try and look down

Official beginning

2004-06-27T18:23:00.000-04:00

Sure, I had a ditch last week, but now I have something more. I have a foundation! As expected/hoped, things have been moving well in the development. The photo above shows that my soon-to-be neighbour has just recently had their basement poured, so I have little doubt that I won't be looking at the same in seven days time. I wanted to look up the street again to see what, if anything, had

And so it begins...

2004-06-20T22:20:00.000-04:00

Woo hoo! I really can't explain how excited I was today to see this... Okay, okay, okay... it might not look like much to you, but it means that I now own a hole! Yup, that's my hole (some might call it a "ditch", but I've decided to call it a "hole"), just this side of my neighbour's foundation that has finally been started. Until now, I'd just signed a bunch of papers, watched a bunch of

Finally Happened

2004-06-04T14:42:00.000-04:00

Well, it finally happened. No, they didn't start working on my home (more on that in a second)... I allowed more than a week to go by without adding anything to this. I know that the hordes of people who are following my every word must have been crushed. Yeah... whatever. Anyhow, for the sake of the record, my friend who already lives in the area where I'll be moving too happened to drive by

Why a blog?

2004-05-27T23:02:00.000-04:00

It's been awhile since I last wrote anything here. Now, given that I am probably the only person reading these posts at the moment, it is unlikely that my absence was missed. On the other hand, I didn't start this blog so that I could extol the wonders of my daily life, and I kept from playing about with one for so long because I feared that I start using it as an excuse not to eMail my friends (

I need a weekend...

2004-05-22T12:24:00.000-04:00

I need a weekend. Lucky for me, one came along! But why do I need a weekend you ask? Well, I got "the letter" from my builder last night (registered mail... guess they want to ensure that the bad news gets to you) and not only has it been pushed back without much of an explanation, but my home will no longer be built in a factory (this new-fangled "modular construction" technique that is

Three Month Delay?!

2004-05-19T15:51:00.000-04:00

I was going to be moving this summer... now I'll be moving this fall. I just called my builder wondering why, with less than three months to go to my original closing date, I still didn't have a basement. Apparently they've "had to" move back "a few of" the closings for my development. But three months? Ugh. A letter is coming in the mail... guess I'll have to see if it offers any more

My First Post

2004-05-16T17:39:00.000-04:00

I don't really know what to write for a first post, but here it is.