Richard’s Personal Blog

Producing only one blog entry per month on my Richard’s Ramblings blog for several months in a row has been an unfortunate side effect of being busy preparing the two rental properties. Gladly, both are now rented, and my time is now spent catching up on the myriad other things that fell through the cracks during that time.

I have a few significant things in the pipeline:

• Finish and publish the rrEasyTooltips Library which, as aptly named, allows developers to easily add tooltips to their web applications. I’ve got about 500 lines of code to refactor and a few methods to add before I’d feel comfortable sticking my name on it; it is kind of like an online resume, after all.
• Finish and publish the next version of the MagicKeywords plugin for WordPress. I started working on this before the acquisition of the rentals. I have a feeling that a lot of the work I did was over-thinking to achieve only marginally better results, and I may end up scrapping some of what I’ve done.
• Home/rental accounting. Boring, but necessary.
• Clean up the tornado that was once my office. And the garage.
• 999 other things.
• Relax. Lowest priority.

Well, if Ryan Seacrest deserves a star on the Walk of Fame, why not honor a monkey with one?

OK, there’s always more than two:

• purchase/replace door stop at front door ($10)
• install fire extinguishers
• replace weather stripping around doors in garage
• clean out weeds in side/back yards
• create and have approved long-term architectural plan for back yard, required by CC&Rs

A much nicer, more manageable list.

• purchase/replace front door bell button ($5)
• fix leaking sprinkler valve ($25)
• replace broken sprinklers in front yard ($10)
• replace broken sprinklers in back yard ($25)
• paint “salmon-colored” exterior doors ($20) (LATER)
• replace 5-ton air conditioning condenser ($3200) (LATER)
• fix fence ($75)
• powerwash exterior
• dismantle what’s left of the condenser unit
• find lock already purchased for garage back door and re-key/install it
• patch holes in garage wall and ceiling
• finish stapling up wires in garage ceiling
• sweep/wash garage floor
• install fire extinguisher in garage
• purchase/program 2nd garage door opener
• purchase/replace blinds in laundry room ($18)
• paint laundry room
• paint formal living room
• list drapes, ceiling fan, smoke alarm on Freecycle
• replace dining room chandelier ($250+ labor)
• paint dining room
• paint family room
• clean chimney ($90) (LATER)
• adjust blinds in family room
• purchase/replace vertical blinds (80H x 72W) ($100)
• purchase/replace back screen door ($50)
• purchase/replace four-gang Leviton plate ($10)
• paint kitchen
• purchase/replace two filters for stove vent (10.75 x 11.75) ($20)
• adjust blinds in kitchen
• purchase new refrigerator (37W x 72H x 25D) ($850) (LATER)
• purchase/replace oven element (GE J KP65W0P1WG) ($40)
• mount dishwasher properly
• research water filtration services for kitchen (LOW PRIORITY)
• caulk kitchen sink
• replace splash guard on disposal ($20)
• clean cupboards and kitchen cabinets
• install backsplash
• patch holes in master WC
• clean vent in master WC
• purchase/install storage cabinet for master WC (examples: A, B, C) ($80)
• patch holes in master bathroom
• purchase/install adjustable gang box for master bathroom ($10)
• install light fixture in master bathroom
• fix shower door in master bathroom
• paint master bathroom (LOW PRIORITY)
• install toilet paper holder in master bathroom
• fix outlets/covers in master bathroom ($5)
• caulk shower in master bathroom
• purchase/install shower pan grate ($7)
• install fire extinguisher in master closet
• install 3 remaining shelving brackets in master closet
• patch holes in master closet
• cut poles for master closet
• screw in poles in master closet
• prime/paint over old master closet bracket holes
• paint master closet (LOW PRIORITY)
• purchase/install stud-mountable old work gang box for main bathroom ($3)
• replace mirror holders in main bathroom
• install light fixture in main bathroom
• caulk bathtub in main bathroom
• caulk sink in main bathroom
• fix towel holder brackets in main bathroom
• replace faucet in main bathroom
• fix GFCI outlet in main bathroom
• touch up paint on outside of main bathroom door
• caulk sink in downstairs bathroom
• install light fixture in downstairs bathroom
• clean bathrooms
• install linoleum under sinks (LOW PRIORITY)
• fix outlet in master bedroom
• touch up paint on ceiling of “boys” room
• replace ceiling fan bulbs in “boys” room ($3)
• fix ceiling fan in “girls” room
• clean carpets ($150) (need RFQ, watch ads in area)
• clean windows
• paint upstairs hallway

And that’s just the list of things we have have left to do. The list of things completed during the past month of weekends seems just as long. The goal is still to complete as much as possible by the end of June / beginning of July in order to get it rented out as soon as possible.

Breakfast: V-8 vegetable juice, 50; cereal with milk, 175; tea, 175
Lunch: hamburger, 550; fries, 380; lemonade, 150
Dinner: steak, 320; rice, 180; corn, 90; root beer, 170
Dessert: ice cream sandwich, 100; rice cakes, 140
Total calories: 2,480