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Apr. 15th, 2015 10:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vicarzToday started with a meeting with my boss who noted her boss likes and trusts me (who I then mocked relentlessly), being given my 20-years of service pin, got an award from an arbitrator 100% accepting my arguments and denying the Union the requested attorney fees, and then I got a text from my contractor noting that my house has passed all inspections and it's go-time! I meet with Jordan and Scott Friday.
I'm exhausted, which is partly because of, and why I haven't posted, the following story:
http://vicar.livejournal.com/photo/album/4838/?page=1
I have had some luck on auctions lately, getting an aeron chair for <$200, and 2 ped-files I mentioned earlier. Then I got cocky and made the following mistake - buying 2 pieces of stained glass artwork without noting the measurements or scanning them at inspection. Granted, I bought one for $1.25 and the other for $3.
I planned to leave work during the day, pick them up, and be back in time for lunch. Arrived, the things were not just bigger than my car - 5' x 6' each (my car hole is only about 4' if that between the seats) but they're SCREWED TO THE WALL from about 4-10' in the air. That's ok - I thought it may be on the wall so I...brought a 2 step stool.
I sent out some panic-texts, got good advice but mostly just confirmation of my situation as a self-inflicted snafu. People got back to me, but other than advice on how to move the things I didn't get help (in the middle of a workday, duh), someone with a giant truck, or knowledge of a great company that would fly out and rescue me, for pay, at little notice. Who knew.
I was super nice and got some help holding one of the 2 mammoth stained glass pieces up while I unscrewed the 6 screws that were holding the thing up. That was hard enough - but I was LUCKY that they let me use a tall ladder; as the ladder was one of the items they sold. Also, they're not supposed to help me so I was very fortunate that someone did. I got the screws out and we gently lowered the thing to the ground. I measured and confirmed no way in hell that was fitting in my car, so I started panic texting.
3 of the staff of the Italian Cafe was there - the girl mopped up when thawing coolers leaked water. I found out they were open the day before - one of them gave me a cannoli.
The framed poster was hanging in the bathroom. Of course it was. However, like I expected it was merely hung, and came down easily. Unexpected was it was just an inch or so too big to fit through the car hole, so it too got to lean against the wall. It is a nice, if large, quality poster. Creepy Italian clown I will enjoy (I tested and found I could get it in the car if I tied the trunk down and tarped it).
I then climbed on counters to reach the 2nd one, and found it had hex-bolts at the top; and even of them one of them had "sunk" so it was pressing in the wood. One of the employees brought me a ratchet set - I think they sold that as well so I was both grateful and rushing in case the owner showed up. Only with more help by 2 men, and the ladder, and the ratchet set, was I able to get the thing off the wall and gently down on the floor.
I should mention besides being 5x6', or more, each weighed about 100 lbs. The wooden frames holding the glass were significant and sturdy if not fancy.
I then trolled people there for other things as possible (paid) help to get the things to Arlington, helped everyone move things when I could, but other than a comedic foreign national guy with a pickup truck, nobody could or would help me. The old man with the van was going south, a group from Hard Times Mananas was there, both unwilling to help and heading south (but 100% nice). The girl that worked there called a friend who did moving, but he didn't call back. I asked where there might be a u-haul, not sure I could really handle it AND whether the giant stained glass things could possibly survive. I got convoluted directions to u-haul on rt 1 which I promptly mostly forgot.
I briefly met a woman who was buying things for her Caribbean cafe, who was accented and interesting, but driving a car.
I then drove away - not sure I'd return, and negotiated sort of roads that might sound familiar. It turned out I was lucky to find route 1 after all. I went one way to find a u-haul, saw nothing, gave up and asked a gas station attendant...who pointed and said something about aldi, but I wasn't convinced I understood him as we smiled and nodded our heads at each other in our masks of comprehension. I turned around.
On the way back, I hit a home depot which had trucks for rent out front. I stopped in and was told by a customer service desk attendant they only rent if you buy something you need to take home...I started to walk off, but thought about how I might need to protect the items anyway...so I returned and asked if a piece of plywood fit the bill - yes! So I went to the plywood isle, chose instead a piece of styrofoam insulation, and grabbed some twine while I was at it. However, when I got to the counter, I was asked for my DL, cc...and proof of insurance. I pulled out the insurance info I have in my wallet, but it was undated. I went to my car and dug through the glove box...finding the certification expired in March (the car is insured, but the documents only show to March 2015). I drove off back hoping to find U-Hauls.
To my joy, I found a gas station with u-haul trucks (did I mention I used to work in a u-haul?) They rented me a truck, I risked no insurance, picked up blankets while I was at it, and hit the road with my little honda waiting at u-haul gas station, US Rt 1. It was probably around 1 at this point...I had neglected many things, lunch being one of them.
I got back to the auction pick up place, and parked the truck nearby...someone else was in the way of the loading dock. I started helping an azn group load chairs and tables, as I would need help loading my u-haul. I ran off to get string...found laundry lines for sale in a CVS and bought 2 of them (50' each). When I returned, one of the employees (who gave me the cannoli) was voicing his discontent with the azn group for blocking the loading dock despite him saying not to. I also noticed some bottles of rum moved from the counter - not sure the issues were related, not sure they weren't. By this point I seem to have won the dreams of the staff, who also told me that the giant stained glass items were bought by the owners from another dying restaurant auction when they were opening the place. I walked the creepy italian clown poster to the truck. I then folded and laid out a furniture blanket on the floor to be the soft base of the windows.
Shahim? I think the man's name was (boy? 20? 25?) had helped me the most with holding up and lowering the ... let's call them windows now. He started in on a lunch from Roy Rogers, so I told him not to interrupt that as he had a long day. When he finished, I enlisted him again and we walked the windows out to the truck. On the first one I strained my back, though I didn't notice it at the time. I survived enough to do the 2nd one...but as we went back inside, I asked Rakim? if he was being paid - he said he didn't think so, and I tipped him $20 for helping me...he started to wave me off and said it was nothing, but I said "Dude you've helped me like 4 times today and I don't care if you're being paid or not, please take it." Hashim and I shook hands when we had the last items in the truck.
Did I mention how gorgeous these things were!? They appeared to be of good quality, with support bars built behind the glass, and some sections made of translucent but not transparent glass. The auction described them as slightly damaged, but the only defect I saw (besides some food particle splatter, minor) was some cracking and bunching at the bottom of one of them. I should mention at this point I paid $3.00 for one, and $1.25 for the other. The large creepy clown cost me around 5, so with markup and tax I was still only around $10.
I put blankets between everything, and then twined the fuck out of the items to hold them to the truck walls (my god those support rails are handy). I grandmother-drove back home. "Was that a rock hitting the wheel well or a shard of glass flying across the truck bed?"
To my luck, shock, and utter joy - when I pulled up my friendly maintenance man was right outside the boiler room (where I already have some stuff stored). However, we were both concerned about getting items in there, so at his suggestion I pulled up to the management office where he helped me bring the things into it and lean then against the wall. It took 2 tries but I fought through his manners to also tip him $20.
Also to my luck, joy, and perhaps patience...I managed to get them home without any damage.
I was done around 3, and quickly dove into my work desk to catch up and do a conference call I had to do at 3:30. Finishing that, I took the truck back to Rt 1 Alexandria and collected my sad little honda.
Now this doesn't mean I know what I'm doing with them. They are stunning - gorgeous. I love them and would really love them in my home...but how? Do I blot out the front windows? Do I have them professionally hung on the brick wall (is there room, if so what about the tv)? Can I hang them on the dining room part of the wall (drywall)? Would I be better served making something so they can have light behind them, or allow the light to show patterns behind them? What about the bedroom, with it's doghouse windows?
Edit - I'm less enamored with them now that I've seen them under calmer conditions. I wrote this earlier and am just now posting.
Should I sell them? I found there are stained glass makers/repairers in DC. For all I know it's valuable, easily worth thousands, but perhaps worth tens of thousands with patience and the right buyer?
Edit - try thousands. The welds are obvious and the 2 pieces are identical. It might be the stained-glass version of hotel wall art.
For now, I can't believe I pulled this stunt off. I got away with it, but at the same time, it's really worth making sure I don't take on such disasters for the sake of a bargain. I lost 6 or more hours of work time, $40 in tips, about $70 for a u-haul and gas, some minor injuries, and...my sanity.
On the plus side, I now know getting a u-haul is fairly easy to do. I may collect an on-call hauler for next time OR possibly consider not buying things just because I can.
I'm exhausted, which is partly because of, and why I haven't posted, the following story:
http://vicar.livejournal.com/photo/album/4838/?page=1
I have had some luck on auctions lately, getting an aeron chair for <$200, and 2 ped-files I mentioned earlier. Then I got cocky and made the following mistake - buying 2 pieces of stained glass artwork without noting the measurements or scanning them at inspection. Granted, I bought one for $1.25 and the other for $3.
I planned to leave work during the day, pick them up, and be back in time for lunch. Arrived, the things were not just bigger than my car - 5' x 6' each (my car hole is only about 4' if that between the seats) but they're SCREWED TO THE WALL from about 4-10' in the air. That's ok - I thought it may be on the wall so I...brought a 2 step stool.
I sent out some panic-texts, got good advice but mostly just confirmation of my situation as a self-inflicted snafu. People got back to me, but other than advice on how to move the things I didn't get help (in the middle of a workday, duh), someone with a giant truck, or knowledge of a great company that would fly out and rescue me, for pay, at little notice. Who knew.
I was super nice and got some help holding one of the 2 mammoth stained glass pieces up while I unscrewed the 6 screws that were holding the thing up. That was hard enough - but I was LUCKY that they let me use a tall ladder; as the ladder was one of the items they sold. Also, they're not supposed to help me so I was very fortunate that someone did. I got the screws out and we gently lowered the thing to the ground. I measured and confirmed no way in hell that was fitting in my car, so I started panic texting.
3 of the staff of the Italian Cafe was there - the girl mopped up when thawing coolers leaked water. I found out they were open the day before - one of them gave me a cannoli.
The framed poster was hanging in the bathroom. Of course it was. However, like I expected it was merely hung, and came down easily. Unexpected was it was just an inch or so too big to fit through the car hole, so it too got to lean against the wall. It is a nice, if large, quality poster. Creepy Italian clown I will enjoy (I tested and found I could get it in the car if I tied the trunk down and tarped it).
I then climbed on counters to reach the 2nd one, and found it had hex-bolts at the top; and even of them one of them had "sunk" so it was pressing in the wood. One of the employees brought me a ratchet set - I think they sold that as well so I was both grateful and rushing in case the owner showed up. Only with more help by 2 men, and the ladder, and the ratchet set, was I able to get the thing off the wall and gently down on the floor.
I should mention besides being 5x6', or more, each weighed about 100 lbs. The wooden frames holding the glass were significant and sturdy if not fancy.
I then trolled people there for other things as possible (paid) help to get the things to Arlington, helped everyone move things when I could, but other than a comedic foreign national guy with a pickup truck, nobody could or would help me. The old man with the van was going south, a group from Hard Times Mananas was there, both unwilling to help and heading south (but 100% nice). The girl that worked there called a friend who did moving, but he didn't call back. I asked where there might be a u-haul, not sure I could really handle it AND whether the giant stained glass things could possibly survive. I got convoluted directions to u-haul on rt 1 which I promptly mostly forgot.
I briefly met a woman who was buying things for her Caribbean cafe, who was accented and interesting, but driving a car.
I then drove away - not sure I'd return, and negotiated sort of roads that might sound familiar. It turned out I was lucky to find route 1 after all. I went one way to find a u-haul, saw nothing, gave up and asked a gas station attendant...who pointed and said something about aldi, but I wasn't convinced I understood him as we smiled and nodded our heads at each other in our masks of comprehension. I turned around.
On the way back, I hit a home depot which had trucks for rent out front. I stopped in and was told by a customer service desk attendant they only rent if you buy something you need to take home...I started to walk off, but thought about how I might need to protect the items anyway...so I returned and asked if a piece of plywood fit the bill - yes! So I went to the plywood isle, chose instead a piece of styrofoam insulation, and grabbed some twine while I was at it. However, when I got to the counter, I was asked for my DL, cc...and proof of insurance. I pulled out the insurance info I have in my wallet, but it was undated. I went to my car and dug through the glove box...finding the certification expired in March (the car is insured, but the documents only show to March 2015). I drove off back hoping to find U-Hauls.
To my joy, I found a gas station with u-haul trucks (did I mention I used to work in a u-haul?) They rented me a truck, I risked no insurance, picked up blankets while I was at it, and hit the road with my little honda waiting at u-haul gas station, US Rt 1. It was probably around 1 at this point...I had neglected many things, lunch being one of them.
I got back to the auction pick up place, and parked the truck nearby...someone else was in the way of the loading dock. I started helping an azn group load chairs and tables, as I would need help loading my u-haul. I ran off to get string...found laundry lines for sale in a CVS and bought 2 of them (50' each). When I returned, one of the employees (who gave me the cannoli) was voicing his discontent with the azn group for blocking the loading dock despite him saying not to. I also noticed some bottles of rum moved from the counter - not sure the issues were related, not sure they weren't. By this point I seem to have won the dreams of the staff, who also told me that the giant stained glass items were bought by the owners from another dying restaurant auction when they were opening the place. I walked the creepy italian clown poster to the truck. I then folded and laid out a furniture blanket on the floor to be the soft base of the windows.
Shahim? I think the man's name was (boy? 20? 25?) had helped me the most with holding up and lowering the ... let's call them windows now. He started in on a lunch from Roy Rogers, so I told him not to interrupt that as he had a long day. When he finished, I enlisted him again and we walked the windows out to the truck. On the first one I strained my back, though I didn't notice it at the time. I survived enough to do the 2nd one...but as we went back inside, I asked Rakim? if he was being paid - he said he didn't think so, and I tipped him $20 for helping me...he started to wave me off and said it was nothing, but I said "Dude you've helped me like 4 times today and I don't care if you're being paid or not, please take it." Hashim and I shook hands when we had the last items in the truck.
Did I mention how gorgeous these things were!? They appeared to be of good quality, with support bars built behind the glass, and some sections made of translucent but not transparent glass. The auction described them as slightly damaged, but the only defect I saw (besides some food particle splatter, minor) was some cracking and bunching at the bottom of one of them. I should mention at this point I paid $3.00 for one, and $1.25 for the other. The large creepy clown cost me around 5, so with markup and tax I was still only around $10.
I put blankets between everything, and then twined the fuck out of the items to hold them to the truck walls (my god those support rails are handy). I grandmother-drove back home. "Was that a rock hitting the wheel well or a shard of glass flying across the truck bed?"
To my luck, shock, and utter joy - when I pulled up my friendly maintenance man was right outside the boiler room (where I already have some stuff stored). However, we were both concerned about getting items in there, so at his suggestion I pulled up to the management office where he helped me bring the things into it and lean then against the wall. It took 2 tries but I fought through his manners to also tip him $20.
Also to my luck, joy, and perhaps patience...I managed to get them home without any damage.
I was done around 3, and quickly dove into my work desk to catch up and do a conference call I had to do at 3:30. Finishing that, I took the truck back to Rt 1 Alexandria and collected my sad little honda.
Now this doesn't mean I know what I'm doing with them. They are stunning - gorgeous. I love them and would really love them in my home...but how? Do I blot out the front windows? Do I have them professionally hung on the brick wall (is there room, if so what about the tv)? Can I hang them on the dining room part of the wall (drywall)? Would I be better served making something so they can have light behind them, or allow the light to show patterns behind them? What about the bedroom, with it's doghouse windows?
Edit - I'm less enamored with them now that I've seen them under calmer conditions. I wrote this earlier and am just now posting.
Should I sell them? I found there are stained glass makers/repairers in DC. For all I know it's valuable, easily worth thousands, but perhaps worth tens of thousands with patience and the right buyer?
Edit - try thousands. The welds are obvious and the 2 pieces are identical. It might be the stained-glass version of hotel wall art.
For now, I can't believe I pulled this stunt off. I got away with it, but at the same time, it's really worth making sure I don't take on such disasters for the sake of a bargain. I lost 6 or more hours of work time, $40 in tips, about $70 for a u-haul and gas, some minor injuries, and...my sanity.
On the plus side, I now know getting a u-haul is fairly easy to do. I may collect an on-call hauler for next time OR possibly consider not buying things just because I can.
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no subject
Date: 2015-04-16 01:57 pm (UTC)Is there anyplace in the layout where an interior hallway might benefit from some transmitted light without giving up privacy?
no subject
Date: 2015-04-16 02:06 pm (UTC)Not sure they're pretty enough or my taste, but they are unique-ish and innocuous making them both inoffensive for me and for future buyers. Huh.
no subject
Date: 2015-04-21 04:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-04-21 04:16 pm (UTC)Thanks - hey I'm thrilled you read it at any time :D
no subject
Date: 2015-04-22 05:42 pm (UTC)