There is no excuse I find more contemptible than the statement “we’re only human” as justification for negligence, incompetence, or people who are otherwise integrity challenged. “Get with the program” is another phrase I cannot stand. There must be a new step in the program which allows being human to be the catch-all lame excuse.
Three Easy Steps To Home Buying
1. Set reasonable expectations for quality and service.
2. Reduce by 50%.
3. Lower another 20%.
Now you are ready for the home buying experience.
On the day we chose the home we would purchase, a subcontractor for LBJ Infrastruction Group pushed a barricade into a driving lane and caused over $8,000 worth of damage to my son’s vehicle. We are thankful no one was injured. Oddly enough, it turns out that road construction and home construction companies are very much alike when it comes to the techniques they use to keep from being accountable for poor workmanship and negligence.
These are commonly referred to as a first world problems. The implication being that unless we are one of the twenty percent of humans on the planet who are living on less than a $1.25 a day, our problems are trivial.
Think Warren Buffett doesn’t have a staff attending to his first world problems? Think Bill Gates is camping out in a shanty town? No, a person’s own health and wealth are paramount obligations, and for good reason. The day first world problems prevent us from having resources to contribute to third world problems, we will all be in a world of hurt. That’s right, all of us, because what that means to people who are NOT mega rich but who try to be responsible with their personal resources is that slugs and slackers who don’t give a damn about the damage they do will have taken over the world.
I do not like to be asked if I am liberal or conservative. I strongly dislike being labeled. When I pour myself a glass of wine, I am liberal. When deciding on a hemline, I am conservative. When giving time and money to causes I believe in, I am liberal. When turning the other cheek to people who treat me badly? Well, I don’t do it more than once.
My perspective belongs to me, and unless someone can convince me to do otherwise, I will continue to decide for myself what is important. I think purchasing a home should be an exciting event. It should be a time to celebrate how fortunate we are to have the means to provide comfort for our family. I believe anyone looking to purchase new construction should skip the humans and look for an extraterrestrial builder.
Finals are next week!! See you again soon. DFW Painting delivered exceptional quality. I couldn’t be happier with the service they provided. Here are the colors I chose.
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Honie Briggs 
Lovely colors! Good luck with finals!
Thanks. Final final was tonight. I am very happy to have this semester behind me!
The extraterrestrial builder sounds like a perfect plan.
I hear they guarantee your house will be out of this world.
I’ve been missing your posts lately, Honie. Without a lie, I thought to myself a week or so ago “Honie hasn’t posted in a while.” and suspected that my subscription must’ve gone haywire ….. But, surprise surprise …. You landed in my inbox today ….. I hope all has been going well.
One more week before the semester is over, and all will indeed be well. I will have time then to settle into my new house and begin working on installing garden beds just in time for summer. Planting may get delayed if it heats up quickly like it usually does, but with the raised beds in place I can at least dream and scheme a little.
I was 80% lucky with the company who built my house. Unfortunately the electricians and plumbers they subcontracted to put in those essentials were… morons. I consider myself to be wholly human. These others, not so. Good luck, and I hope you end up loving your new house as much as I [have ended up] loving mine. 🙂
I’ve come to think that the sub in subcontractor stands for substandard. I know exactly what you mean. I can picture the builder on a stump shouting, “Whoever will work for the least amount of money, you’re hired!” The best thing we did was to hire a home inspector. The worst thing we did was close before all of the deficiencies he found were corrected. I hope to write a post soon about how much I love sitting in the swing on my screened porch, having coffee and listening to the birds. It will happen. I’m sure of it. First I have to screen the porch and buy a swing!
Ah yes, the old possession is 9/10ths of the law. Once they possess your money they don’t want to know you. You’ll get that swing, and porch soon, I’m sure of it. 🙂
I love those colors. Yes, exactly on how to define ourselves, always it depends. I have a subscription to Angies List, it is my life line to all things home repair, home upgrade and other things home related, I can’t say enough good things about it.
I too love the colors. The crew did an amazing job. Not one single complaint from me about the paint. It’s important to get a good reference when looking for someone who takes pride in their work, shows up on time, works while they are there, and cleans up before they leave.
Great choices on colors—soothing (yeah, it will come to pass). Good luck with your claim.
Thanks, Allan. The color samples don’t do them justice. “Carnelian” is deep purple. I put “contented” in the laundry room. HA! Never happier than when I’m doing laundry. 🙂 The claim. Yes. Gotta love insurance. The one thing I didn’t include in the post is that my son had a rental car for almost a month and the day before his car was ready there was a hail storm here and the rental car company “claimed” $7,000 in damages. It was badly damaged, but seriously, seven thousand dollars? But you’re right, it will pass.
This claim puts a different accent in the word ‘Hail”, as in “Oh, Hail no!”
Carnelian=Purple, I bet that looks great with the other choices.
It’s only on one wall, but it makes a bold statement.
Love the colors! I’m a big fan of greens and earth tones.
“When I pour myself a glass of wine, I am liberal. When deciding on a hemline, I am conservative.”
HA! Never thought of it that way, but I like how you roll.
The colors in every room make me happy. I swear less when I’m happy. 😛
I don’t think having $8,000 worth of damage done to your son’s vehicle is a first-world problem. A first-world problem is losing Internet connectivity for five minutes or receiving the wrong tea bag for your hot tea. Sorry you’re facing these frustrations. Especially so close to finals!
That’s just it. They are frustrations.We have clean drinking water. Tanks aren’t rolling down my street. Yet, I feel something very important is being lost. More and more I am encountering people who do not honor their agreements. Integrity is sorely lacking everywhere I turn. I’ve been up to my “hemline” in alligators lately. The move, school, dealing with repairmen. Yes, repairs on new construction. GAAAHHH! Still, I feel fortunate, and I’m sure we will enjoy our new home as soon as the dust clears!