Category: Life

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First World Frustrations

David Rakoff is the author of the new book Don’t Get Too Comfortable: The Indignities of Coach Class, The Torments of Low Thread Count, The Never-Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems.

This book delves into the hypocritical aspects of American life, the luxuries many of us take for granted and the absurdities we simply ignore. And, once again, it got me thinking about how good everyone in America has it compared to the rest of the world despite our frustrations at home and work and our self commitment to a never ending rat race. I looked up some encouraging facts any westerner should pay attention to if you ever feel like you’ve got it bad:

1. If you woke up this morning with at least $350 US dollars in the bank you are in the wealthiest 8% of the world’s population.

2. If you consider yourself a somewhat healthy American then you are far ahead of the 1 million people in third world countries that will die today because they lack access to basic amenities you take for granted – like vitamin A in their food.

3. If you’re religious and you feel free go to your place of worship regularly in America you’re way ahead of the almost 2 billion people who are assaulted, arrested, incarcerated and tortured each year for attempting to worship or participate in their religious beliefs.

4. If you woke up this morning and took a shower or used a toilet then congratulations, once again you’re ahead of approximately 2.6 billion people, or 40 percent of the world’s population, who lack access to basic sanitation.

5. If you put gas in your car recently, at any price, think about this: in a passenger car, for example, typically only 10 percent of the oil’s energy actually moves the car. Of that, only about two percent actually moves the passenger. So you are wealthy enough to afford an energy resource you will only use at 2% efficiency to haul you down the road. The rate of cars being built now exceeds the rate of growth of the world’s population*. And you are fortunate to be among the 28% of the world’s population that owns them.

6. As of 2004 the impact of the average U.S. citizen on the environment is approximately 3 times that of the average Italian, 13 times that of the average Brazilian, 35 times that of the average Indian, 140 times that of the average Bangladeshi, and 250 times that of the average sub-Saharan African.
Source: UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children

So don’t be surprised to find me laughing at anyone who is about to bust a blood vessel because they forgot to put ketchup in the bag at the drive-thru.

*NOTE: To clarify this is growth rate based upon percentage. From 1974 to 1999 the number of automobiles manufactured per year increased 44% and the world’s human population only increased 16%. As of August 2003 there was 1.9 cars in America for every licensed driver. – Source: Transportation Alternatives, NYC

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The $tate Fair

So I broke down and wagered Connor’s college fund against the NC State Fair yesterday. Mostly just to see his face when he rode the flying Bumble Bee’s and kiddie swings. And I committed a serious sin that almost ruined it for Amy – I did not remember to bring a camera. But seriously – I got away lucky and only spent about $60 in just under four hours! Let’s recap:

Parking – $5
Admission (2 adults) – $12
2 corn dogs – 1 hotdog – 2 drinks – $12
Fried Dough w/ strawberries – $8
20 ride tickets – $15
Cotton Candy and Candy Apples – $7

Total financial impact for 4 hours of traffic, heartburn, crowds and 2 rides = $59. But Connor loved the rides and Cotton Candy so I officially declare it justified.

It’s easy to see that the amount of time that can be spent at the State Fair is directly proportional to the depth of one’s wallet. $59 could have almost gotten us into Busch Gardens because Connor’s admission is free!

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One busy year.

I just realized this blog turned one today. I was cruzin’ through it to recap some of the events that took place because this eventually turned out to be one of the best years ever (despite a rough start and Dubya being re-elected):

This is a whole lot considering just two years ago Amy and I were living in an apartment on a college campus and I was playing the drums in a steadily performing band until 3am several nights a week. Now if we don’t get to bed by 11 the whole next day is shot to hell.

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Look who’s two!

imageOn Friday the deed was done, or at least transferred. Amy and I now own 1404 Raybon Drive in Wendell, NC. but we didn’t get to spend much time out there this weekend because our little man Connor turned two the very next day! And his party was better than any I ever had when growing up. All his little friends were there – Andrew, Maeve, Charlie, Megan, Skylar, Hannah, Jacob and plenty of adults. All of the food was eaten – every last thing.

imageConnor was wiped out by this afternoon. He had his party on Saturday and explored his new backyard all morning on Sunday. And now comes the fun part. As soon as he gets up from his nap we’re heading to Home Depot for paint and about four million other things. Tomorrow I’ll spend the whole day painting and then I’ll be off to buy a new refrigerator and microwave to install over the stove.

By Friday we have to be moved out of the house in Raleigh. Buying new furniture will have to wait until next weekend. Today it dawned on me that this is the first time I have taken off work in over four years that hasn’t been medically related.

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David Joyner??? – Work Under Way To Promote Toll Roads Statewide

WRAL.com – News – Work Under Way To Promote Toll Roads Statewide

This article says “To help sell the idea, the state has hired public relations veteran David Joyner to lead the North Carolina Turnpike Authority.”

Is this the same David Joyner who leased my old band our rehearsal room off capital Blvd. I certainly hope not. That would be quite strange because he owns a downtown real estate company. Not a public relations company. Just read about one of his properties: Fox Ridge.

It must be someone different. Gotta be. I might email WRAL to find out.

UPDATE: It’s not the same Joyner (thank God). This David Joyner is the founder of State Capital Strategies in Raleigh.

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What the ????

imageLast night I went to Taco Bell to get our dinner. I go two combos and a soft taco for Connor. I must have won the grand prize on that visit: A lifetime supply of Taco sauce. I thought the bag felt heavy but 38 packs of mild sauce?

Not funny ha, ha. Funny queer.

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The Seller’s Response

It appears the seller has agreed to have everything fixed that was disclosed in the Inspection Summary and a Structural Engineer is scheduled to go out later this week to look at the questionable foundation columns. The seller states that he had the house inspected at the time he purchased it and the county had to inspect it the first time the house was sold and the columns and girders presented no problems either time.

As long as I can get a statement from an Engineer proclaiming the foundation safe then we’ve bought a house. The underwriting mortgage company called me today and the rate’s been set so all that’s left is the repairs and the closing. Looks like we’re moving in a month.

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Inspection Day

imageNow I know why thorough inspections are required when buying a house. One of the first things I found looking around the yard were three of these black and yellow Argiope spiders (an orb web spider). They were huge but didn’t even scare my niece’s, Hannah and Skylar, because they looked so peaceful hanging out in their cool webs. They may have been the best thing I saw yesterday. From there it kinda went down hill and got discouraging.

imageWe found several little things like this broken toilet tank, excessively hot water (140 degrees) and leaky outside water spickets. None of these things are really big or expensive problems for the seller to take care of. In fact, under the terms of the purchase contract they don’t have to repair such small things unless all repairs exceed $1500. But unfortunately not everything was a small problem.

imageThey also had a few mid-range, somewhat expensive problems to address with the air conditioners. The downstairs air condenser had a rusted drip pan – no biggie. But the upstairs condenser had a broken PVC drain pipe thanks to someone throwing luggage on it when they used the condenser access area as storage. Yikes. The big problem is the water leaking from the broken pipe overflowed the drip pan which saturated the sub-flooring. Luckily it hadn’t soaked through to the ceiling below. We brought this to seller’s attention immediately so he could get it fixed quick.

imageBut the real problem, and possible show-stopper, is the foundation. The first time we looked at the house my dad noticed the floor seemed to sink towards the center of the house. I couldn’t tell very much but did notice it felt like I was waking down hill in the entrance foyer. But according to Don, my inspector, this was just “the tip of the iceburg.” As he was describing the problem I quickly recalled from my experience framing houses during college that a floor girder must be located in the center 1/3 of a foundation support column.

As you can tell by this photo one girder of this house is clearly located on the right 1/3 of the support column and is even hanging off a little bit. Why is this a big issue? Because as the house settles the support column will settle to one side creating dips in the floor system as the floor joists bow. And it’s already starting.

So now we have to get a structural engineer to look at it. If he recommends fixing it then the seller will need to hire Ram Jack or some other foundation specialists to make the repair by setting another column. That won’t be cheap and it will be interesting to see if they’ll actually pay for it or back out of the sale. They might as well fix it because any future inspector is going to find the same problem.

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