Building a house in Yorkville, Pt 3 July 11, 2005. "The horror..."

Hi Everybody,

Things are starting to move quickly, perhaps too quickly: Kitchen cabinets, floors, oven, placement of toilets, phone jacks and the woodstove, even grout colors (grout colors!); all the decisions are being made fast and furious. Decisions that we will have to live with, right or wrong. The 5:30 AM panic attacks, the anger at the architect for putting the wall and the exterior window in the same spot in the master bath. Oh wait, I'm the architect, damn it. It's tough yelling at yourself.

On the plus side, it is gratifying to see the shape emerge, and look pretty nice for an amateur design. We invited a few neighbors over to tour, now that the rooms are taking shape, and had quite a positive response. I had some moments of doubt- invite people over, give them wine and have them fall off the edge of the partially built house; does my insurance cover that? Will I be asking everyone who visits to sign a waiver so I won't get sued? Is this what home ownership feels like? (Aside from the nagging feeling that you are in debt forever. I know, EVERYBODY does it, I just didn't see myself as anything other than a terminal renter.)

Now that the house is starting to take shape, I envision it being completed without having any utilities hooked up. After some extensive delays, PG&E finally sent a contract for the trench to bring power from the Shaws, our closest neighbors. I looked at the column of numbers, and couldn't get them to add up, but what does it matter; if a state supported monopoly like the power company says you have to give them $6000 for a drawing, a meter and attaching two ends of a cable, then you do it. There is no shopping for another bid. Now it's the phone company (TPC to all you 'President's Analyst' fans) that won't return my calls. The water guy is a gem; I knew the minute I had him out to look at the spring and he started dowsing I had made the right choice.

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