let the games begin

so today is my first full day of home ownership and it has been back to back work meetings. turns out, owning a house does not mean you get to work less (bummer). yesterday was crazy! and it still feels pretty wild to own a house. lindsay and i went over there late last night after meeting the newest member of the fRamily (thanks tomicah and sarah) and having a delicious stuff manacotti dinner prepared by our very own italian iron chef dinna. it was fun to finally show the house to lindsay. she helped me get super excited about getting it fixed up and, of course, had awesome ideas.

so now it is time to figure out how much of this renovation i will do myself and how much i should hire out. the next few weeks are set aside for bids. then once i get bids on my projects and feel comfortable with various workers, i will start hiring people.

and that is where you come in, especially you in dc. i am looking for:

• plumber
• electrician
• roofer
• fireplace installer
• exterior (point and seal)
• exterior painter
• interior painter
• HVAC
• flooring
• carpenter
• green energy consultant

if you know any people like this you can recommend, please send those recommendations my way.

i keep wanting to take the blog on a tour of the house and everytime i am there i forget to take photos...stupid!

delta's final response

today i close on my house. it is kinda a nail-biting closing, because the title company has yet to provide the "HUD-1" i need to know all the closing costs and stuff... but whatev. it will happen. the seller (who is a bank) chose the title company, so if this doesn't work today, they are going to be out the taxes i would have had to pay for feb. ha ha. so, part of me wants it to wait until monday, and part of me is really just hoping it is over today.

that said, delta responded to me and this is what they had to say...do you think it is enough? i still kinda think no. but maybe this is really all they can do. i spent so many miles getting mikki to jo'berg and back, seems like the least they could do was reimburse some of those miles? maybe i am over the top. i want to know what you think.

p.s.
homeownership is kinda nerve racking.

Dear Ms. Teabelly:

Thank you for your email to Mr. Richard Anderson and Mr. Ed Bastian. They have forwarded your concerns to Mr. Lee Macenczak, The Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing. I am his assistant and he has asked that I reply on his behalf.

We realize our passengers expect their flights to operate as scheduled, and your disappointment with Delta is certainly understandable. However, in the process of operating scheduled service over many different route segments each day, an occasional mechanical malfunction, adverse weather and other interruptions to routine performance plans are unavoidable.

However, the way we handle the situation is what will ultimately determine how our customers will feel about us. Our people should be responsive to the needs of our customers, particularly when schedule interruptions occur. This includes furnishing courteous, understandable explanations and doing everything possible to hold inconvenience to a minimum. From your description, we did not do a very good job in this case, and for that, I apologize. We are concerned to hear of your report and I have sent a copy of your email to the appropriate department heads for review in order to prevent something similar from occurring in the future.

When our service does not meet our customer’s expectations, we feel it is important to acknowledge this. Our records indicate that you were given one of our electronic Transportation Vouchers in the amount of $250.00 plus twenty thousand bonus SkyMiles were added to your account. I realize incentives may not erase the impact of your past experience, but I hope that an immediate recognition of it will symbolize our commitment to a future partnership. What we have given is more than what we normally give. Therefore, we must respectfully decline your request for additional compensation. While we would like to offer special consideration in your case, we are simply unable to do so and honor the requests that we receive from others with similar circumstances. We established and adhere to a consistent policy that ensures Delta is fair and equitable to everyone who travels with us.

Ms. Teabelly, thank you again for writing. Please forgive us for the poor impression you received and we hope you will grant us the opportunity to serve you again in the near future.

Sincerely,

Greg Ingram

Executive Assistant

(404) 773-5784

Norfolk Winter Wonderland

Kimberly is much too busy with her house to waste time blogging, so I, D, will have to assume the duties of telling the world about our weekend in Norfolk.
First of all, we drove up in this:



The heater and seatwarmers worked the whole 7 hour drive, which is nothing short of miraculous, considering the odometer hasn't worked since 167,000 miles.
Who knows how many miles she really has?

It snowed non-stop the first 36 hours we were in Norfolk.
As if it isn't picturesque enough already...

This is Jake's Place, where Annie and Vint let us stay.
It has a fireplace, comfy beds, and a skylight.
Lindsay plans to retire to Jake's Place.

This is the home of Annie Garrels and Vint Lawrence, of Norfolk, CT.

Annie and Vint have enrolled us in the "hoods to woods" program, of their own invention, to teach us the magic of nature. Here is Kimberly showing her "hoods" roots.

tha' lil' gangsta.

Snowy roads, mittens, tea.

Toby pond had 8 inches of snow, and a foot of ice underneath it.

I fall on the ice, and I turn it into a sexy dance.

I'm being held up by one foot of ice.

Kimberly marking the lake.

The snow angels that KTK and I left on Toby.

Nerd.

Poetry in motion.

Yay for a half-hour outdoors!
Now we can stay inside and do nothing the rest of the afternoon with impunity.

The view out the kitchen window.

Annie, Lindsay, and I gear up for cross-country skiing across a meadow.
We had to steal skis from all sorts of members of the extended Lawrence family.

Vint and Annie, our completely charming instructors and guides.

Kimberly is a natural!

She's also the number one smiley student.

Vint waxing up Lindsay's skis. Lindsay making the wax look good.

On the trail.

Annie and Vint have a constant stream of dinner guests, and serve them well.

This house is so inviting on a cold night.

Bamboo ski poles, that KTK borrowed from an in-law of a cousin once removed.

Vint and KTK waxing up the skis before another trip into the woods.

KTK, Lindsay, and Vint trekking through the woods.

Good form from the rear for the whole team.

We travelled through the woods 'till we reached Toby Lake.
Lindsay is about to follow Vint onto the ice.

Nerds on ice.

Team leader.

Vint and KTK, stretching out across the lake.

Despite her parents' best efforts to keep her away from the corrupting influence of skiers,
Lindsay is a complete snowbunny.

Clearly I'm in last place on this trip because I keep stopping to take pictures.

Lindsay and Vint tear the lake up as we head for home.

Kimberly has fallen in love with cross-country skiing.
She's already looked online for skis on sale.

She also loves Obama. She did a lot of Obama proselyting this weekend.

We are totally sore!!!

i got it!

i am about to be a home owner. they accepted my bid. i am so excited! it is awesome.

there is much much much more to say about my lunes gigante. i just wanted to make sure my blog friends knew.

me, liz, mayor fenty, and obama -- triathletes for change

today liz drug me from my sick bed to see the openning of obama's campaign office just a couple blocks away from my house. it was a beatiful day and i was excited to see what it would be. i have never been to any type of political rally -- though i have seen one on tv -- so i really didn't know what to expect. thankfully i brought my camera.

they gave us signs right when we got there.

i left my house with wet hair.
i am still mad i did this!

nerds for obama

the diversity of the crowd was inspiring

all the people at the rally were this beautiful!

this guy is probably my favorite of the whole morning
people started cheering "we want change" and
he came out of the building he was working on
grabbed a sign and started cheering ¡si, se puedes!
i loved that guy.
when the cheering stopped, he went back inside to keep working

mayor fenty arriving and concerned for america
and dc
he was the first mayor in america to endorse obama (july)
and when he talked to barack before the endorsement he said
"you know i am a one issue guy. can you promise to support dc's right to vote"
obama agreed without any hesitation

i had awesome "seats"

i started to worry about getting on t.v. though

after it was all over, liz and i, and a new friend alexis went into the office to get yard signs. we talked to the mayor and i shared some ideas with him. lets just say there is more to come. and don't be surprised if you soon see photos of me and the mayor on a bike ride.

front row: me, alexis, another awesome triathlete whose name i forgot, and liz
back row: mayor fenty, his training buddy george

team for change!

here is the washington post article . . .