#old construction

[bears-wolves-dragons]

Watched a friend try and pull down a 1930s Era shed today (rotten floor, bad shape) and apparently it decided to just roll instead.

[bonnie-is-bumbling]

I regret buying a house. And it it's just cause of my own entitlement, so be it.

So I said in my introduction that I regret buying a house. And while I do LIKE my house, let me tell you why I'm not happy with having bought it...

When I bought my house, I was in a great spot financially, as my job during 2020 actually picked up and... Well, I made a lot of money! I was working for the railroad, and often going days without being home. (Oh no, I sense an incoming blog later about that job...) I was very pressured by my Boomer parents to buy a house while the gettin' was good. And on some fronts, they were absolutely right.

On the other fronts, they were balking at prices. They bought their house in 2004, and while prices weren't particularly excellent then, they were still a bit shocked. However, we moved on from that, and my dad, a master electrician with skills in plenty of other trades, helped me to find a house that was at least close to worth what it was listed for.

Living in rural Wyoming USA, my choices were especially narrow. But here's how I saw it- I had no partner. But I had a good job, everything I needed, friends and family around... I, at the time, had been comfortable with the idea of becoming a homeowner and settling myself. I was 24 years old, felt somewhere around 34 in honesty.

I settled on a 3 bed, 1 bath craftsman, built in 1900. Now, I DO love old houses. They're made of strong stuff, and often have unique architecture that's no longer put on new homes unless you pay extra money.

My father ran over this house with a fine tooth comb. And while I'm currently a little salty at my parentals (for reasons I won't elaborate here,) I'm incredibly thankful for my dad in this case. He told me the electrical, plumbing, and general structures looked fine, aside from some of the wallpaper, the back porch, and a beam in the attic. The beam had to be fixed shortly after I bought it, but it was handled by the seller.

The monthly payments and utility bills weren't all too bad. It was honestly made to sound like it would overall be cheaper than the apartment I lived in at the time. But oh man, that is not the case. Especially when the railroad would slow and I wouldn't be guaranteed work or a paycheck...

It took two bloody pay periods. I fell behind one time. I used my credit card to pay my bills, and so the dominos fall. As we know, 2021 introduced the start of the insane inflation we see in 2023. This didn't help. Breaking my leg didn't help. Being scammed by someone I thought was a friend and allowed to use my basement for a few months didn't help. Being a doormat and not charging fairly didn't help either.

I had set rent low, because I understood and still do understand that shit. Is. Hard. And it got harder.

My current roommate/tenant actually had to convince me to charge a little more, as I went months falling further behind and scrambling to keep the house, keep my truck, keep the lights on, keep trash service, internet, water... Essentially, my plate was full, and now late charges and collectors were coming my way, because even after getting and keeping a job, full time, I couldn't catch up.

This is the first month that I'm not paying mortgage twice in the month, and while it provides some relief, the honest truth is that the house has been the absolute bane of my existence. Maybe I'm not responsible enough. Or maybe I wasn't as ready as I thought.

I still don't have trash service. I take the trash to my dad's dumpster when a bag gets full. (That said, I'm lucky to have a roommate who, like me, doesn't tend to make a lot of trash. Between the two of us, we might make a bag a week. ) I almost lost both water and electric this month, but I managed to scrape by. Barely. It threw my bank into overdraft.

Had I not been destroyed by the addition of overdraft fees in the previous two years, I guarantee I'd have had the money to pay and maybe even do some work on the house... Speaking of the house! Let's just say two years of financial and mental health troubles will do a number on a yard and on a house. While relatively clean indoors, the carpet on the front porch is coming up. I don't particularly dig outdoor carpets, but I digress. It was there before I was.

The back porch, I'm terrified to let my 10 pound pekepoo go onto. But I don't have much a choice as it's the only way to the back yard. There's a tree looming ominously over my roof, which although only one, a shingle was blown off of. My yard looks like utter crap from the former friend's incessant littering... While he was removed in November, a rough winter hasn't helped. The man made up to three bags of trash a week on his own. And when you don't have trash service, it's a problem. It caused an earwig problem... while he did admittedly try to help fix a drain leak in the kitchen, he sort of made it worse. I still associate the space beneath the sink with the mold and earwigs I came home to. Even if it's clean now.

Earwigs are spooky. I don't do bugs.

So that's another thing potentially on my plate again this year, although his garbage is gone. But probably what scared me the most came up in March... Now, I'm aware than in the colder months, old houses are prone to a little condensation, as they just don't ventilate as well. And while I'm about 99% sure it was only because it was cold outside and Roomie and I were cooking, I'm terrified that the roof may not have been properly handled. I didn't get indoor drippings the last two winters, albeit they were mild, and this one was very much NOT mild.

This winter is one where my GMC Yukon with a V8 got terribly stuck in the bloody driveway, and the snow was up past my hips at times. I'm about 5'6"... Non Americans, please use google to translate that if it matters to you how tall I am. This winter is one that shut down an entire Wyoming town because the snow was too deep for our local plows to safely handle and they called in the highway plows one or two times. This winter damaged homes and cars.

One minor damage I did fix was when the cold made my outdoor water spigot so brittle that it cracked open, causing a nice watery issue on that ever so "stable" back porch. Thankful that it was nowhere near a door, but I panicked because at the time, I had four dollars in cash to my name. I was going to use it for snacks at work until payday, as I couldn't actually afford enough food for meals. I ensured my dogs could eat, and I always will.

Thankfully, that $4 was enough for what I needed. This was icy, cold, wet, unpleasant, and... I'm small. My body doesn't like to build fat or muscle. Not eating didn't help. I was rejected for SNAP. I hardly had the strength. While I got everything off the pipe with relative ease, it was taking the two faucets off of the old T-joint that I wound up having to call for help with. My dad sent his apprentice (who is both a neighbor and a friend in small town life) to help me with a tool more proper for the job at hand than my tiny adjustable wrench that was all I had.

I bloody hate asking for help. I feel so guilty and like a user, even if I know better.

There has been no further condensation in the door jamb that scared me, but I still intend to find a ladder tall enough for my little hiney to get to the attic, where I will brave the spiders and bugs to check on my roof. I'm not thrilled for it, but I know it's my responsibility. It makes me itch all over to think about it.

But in the end, the watery mess was stopped and dried. As weather has eased, I've taken my little yard tiller up to the job of a rake to help me clean up the front, back, and side yards. I'm working with what I have and... I have to keep reminding myself it's okay. My parents did offer me a bigger rake. With my roommate and I both working at night (he works 16:00-00:00, I work 22:00 to 06:00) it makes it hard to plan yard work together, but he is willing to help.

I'm going into Spring of 2023 with a LOT on my plate, and a lot ahead. I want to move to Colorado with my boyfriend. But when I bought the house, I promised the ghosts (whom I do believe are real, and do not believe to be malicious in any way) that I'd take care of the house. And damn it, I do want to! It was a victim of the "Landlord Special" plenty of times. I want to give it... Not the landlord special. Something I'd be proud to call mine is what I'd like to make that little, beat up old craftsman into.

I'm starting with the yard. My goal purchase is a new lawnmower, and I might know an electrician or two that can make me an outdoor outlet that's actually up to code so I can get one of those electric ones.

I've got a very basic smart home system, mostly just lighting and music so far thanks to a Google Nest device in my room, and one in Roomie's bedroom, and six, thus far, smart lights. I suppose my dream would be to keep the 1900 looks but throw in the technology and lighting of today. Maybe I can transform my regret into something I love, and feel good about either selling or renting... And while I'm here... Something I feel good about living in!

[bondibee]

Redraw of this GLaDOS piece from 2019! ❤ I was feeling kind of down because I thought the original still looked pretty good, but it turns out I have improved after all!

[hotcinnamonsunset]

something something baby shark, right??🦈

[sjincer]

my friends made a silly little au where autobots are humans and decepticosns are cybertronians who should be scanning the planet for resources and any useful information

but it looks like they all end up smooching humans oh no.

had to draw constructicons (as holoforms) and prowl (police officer paul lol) tho. he thinks he’s going insane at this point

oh yeah and quote by @countkeny about them because i just can't

[so-very-small]

a group of old man borrowers who live together. they don’t interact with the giant much. except for every time the giant does some home repair or DIY, then the tiny old men line up on the nearest high surface to watch like this

[zytes]

dusk over skyline drive; 2.14.24

[laithraihan]

My character Salmon Nicotine (or Saumon Nicotine idgaf) (name can also be shortened to Sonya)

[the-kipsabian]

saw a take so fucking rancid on twitter i almost deleted the entire app from my phone jesus fucking christ

first of all ao3 is an archive site. this is like going to the library and saying "oh i dont like this" on every piece of media you find that you dislike and thinking they should be stamped with some sort of a marker just cause you didnt like it

you can always click back and leave. fic writers owe you nothing to explain themselves and their creations. if they have mistagged or miscategorized fics, then i understand, however there are report tools for that instead of yelling at the artist tbh

im not saying free works arent necessarily above criticism. but this is just. fucking wild. its common courtesy to just enjoy stuff (or fucking leave if you dont, the back button is free) and if the artist specifically asks for critiques, then give one - constructive that is, shitting all over someones work is not proper criticism, mind you

i just find it fucking wild people are treating art and archive sites as social media these days like this and everything needs to be policed and ~catered to the algorithm~ like. no. ao3 doesnt have an algorithm. you should be able to fucking tell what you like and what you dont like and steer away from that kind of content and let people fucking be with their art. they dont owe you anything (except trigger warnings i'd argue, but i know some people disagree with that as well for some reason), and imagine how much more energy you'd have if you only engaged with things you liked and spent time looking at instead of going to places where you dont enjoy yourself. let alone spending time telling other people you dont enjoy what they enjoy. what a fucking life

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

Concept: In The Burning Maze, I think it would have been cool if one of the crossword puzzles in the labyrinth had been a mathematical equation.

Specifically, a mathematical equation on mathematical logic, such as negations.

Why? Because Apollo is the god of mathematics and I think it would be funny if Grover and Meg were standing there, staring with horror at:

~(~(p^q))

"What is this nonsense?" Asks Meg, a literal sixth grader who has never before encountered college-level math.

"I...I don't know!" Responds Grover, anxiously wringing his hands. He also has never come across something like this before. "I never went to high school!"

"Is it code for something?"

"The little carrot there looks kinda like a Greek Delta- is Daedalus related somehow?"

"A carrot-what?"

"The carrot!" Grover points at the symbol between the 'p' and 'q'. "It looks like the Delta symbol!"

"Oooh. Okay."

The sentence below the odd thing reads;

Solve my riddle,

Or play second fiddle,

You can find me in education,

For I am the ________!

"...What does that mean?" Grover whimpers.

Meg looks stumped.

"...negation," Apollo's staring at the strange equation. "'Solve my riddle, or play second fiddle. You can find me in education, for I am the negation!'. That's the missing word in the rhyme."

They stare at him. "How do you know that?" Grover bewilderedly asks. "It makes no sense!"

"Math logic," Apollo simply says. "This particular one is...about first, second-year level in college, I'd say."

Grover closes his eyes, muttering; "No wonder I couldn't solve it." as Meg stares first at the equation, then at Apollo.

"What even is a negation?"

"That," Apollo points to the squiggly lines. "It cancels the truth values out, giving you the opposite of what's inside the parathesis."

"...What?"

Apollo huffs. "The 'p' and 'q' both represent something, like two parts of a sentence. The carrot can be upside-down or right-side-up, representing 'or' or 'and' in that sentence."

"Which way is up when?" Grover looked to be on the verge of tears as the realization math did not, in fact, end with numbers or numbers and letters.

"Uh..." Apollo made a 'V' with his hands. "If it's like this, it's 'or'. If it's like this," he made a tiny pyramid with his hands. "It's 'and'. Imagine a line through the center, like an 'A'. That's 'and'."

Grover rubbed at his eyes. "Too much," he whimpered. "Too much."

Apollo gave him an awkward pat on the shoulder. "In this case," he said. "It's saying 'and'. The negation, well, negates their values, so it becomes-" he pats his pants and looks in his pockets. "Anyone have a pen and paper...?"

Blank looks met his. "Okay, then...then just imagine a squiggly line in front of the 'p' and 'q'. That's what the first negation does. Then the second one negates that negation, taking the squiggly lines away."

Breathing in, he finished with; "So our mathematical answer would be, 'p and q', written with the carrot right-side-up- like the 'A'."

The tunnel was silent.

Then it was broken. "How do you know all that?" Meg demanded, looking extremely confused. "That makes no sense. I thought there were numbers."

"There are," Apollo patiently explained. "But this is a logic problem, and they don't do numbers."

"Never before have I been grateful to not to have to go to college," Grover rubbed at his temples. "Algebra was bad enough. Now this?"

"Hey!" Apollo looked slightly offended. "It's all quite fun, really, when you figure it out! Besides, we didn't even have to solve it!"

"Then why did you?" Meg asked.

Apollo stared at her. "Because you asked me too-!"

"Nope." She blew a raspberry. "None of us did."

He closed his eyes, as if praying for mercy.

"Anyway," Apollo gave both of them the stink-eye. "Math and music were quite intertwined back in the day, so the Muses and I are quite adept at it- Thalia's the geometry queen, and whatever you do, do not say 'Bet you can't solve this in a minute' to Urania. She will make you look stupid."

"Bet that's not hard."

"Oh, shut up."

insert cackle from Meg

"ANYWAY," Apollo gives her the stink-eye. "Ancient Greece was a breeding ground for mathematical minds- Pythagoras, for one, who was my son to boot! Even Hestia enjoys looking over Hephaestus's construction equations in her spare time."

The other two stared at him, as if shocked the gods would find math, of all things, fun.

Apollo awkwardly glanced away from them. He didn't know what their reactions would be if he told them of the many contributions he has made to the world of mathematics. For some reason, silly mortals didn't seem to appreciate the hard work put into them!

Sighing, he said; "Uh, Labyrinth, the answer is 'negation'. We got side-tracked there for a bit."

One hallway in front of them glowed with the answer. Without another word, they quickly speed-walked down the passage-way.

[journalbye]

has this been done already

[marzipanandminutiae]

"Traditional European ArchitectureTM is the best! modern architecture is degenerate!"

"alright, well, putting aside my strong disagreement on the philosophical/ethical undertones of your statement- I do love old buildings! you must be a big proponent of paid apprenticeships for preservation students"

"um what?"

"well, people have to know how to preserve these buildings. and as it stands now, only those willing to go into student debt or with family money to fall back on while they study can afford to learn the techniques involved (unless they're lucky enough to be born into a family with their own preservation contracting business). young people aren't going into these fields even if they want to, because they can't take the financial hit"

"yes but why should anyone have to pay them to learn? they should pull themselves up by their bootstraps!"

"...right. well, what about preservation grants? nationalizing historical site museums?"

"government handouts! no way!"

"preserving and revitalizing traditional forms of building craftsmanship, like decorative masonry or plasterwork, stained glass, tiling, clockmaking, etc?"

"those things cost too much and will hurt the building company's bottom line!"

"talking about the people whose labor made these incredible works of architectural art possible?"

"woke history!"

"adaptive reuse, like letting businesses rent historical buildings with appropriate restrictions on modification?"

"ew! not in my backyard!"

"traditional buildings in styles from other parts of the world?"

"no, no, no! everyone knows western art is the most ~highly evolved~!"

"so, let me get this straight: you just want grand old buildings to be there, and stay perfectly intact, unused for anything, with no effort whatsoever. and you want new buildings to happen in that style but somehow as cheaply as throwing up a glass-and-steel skyscraper that starts falling apart in six months? also only western-style buildings, and we should only talk about very specific people who occupied them?"

"yes!"

"my guy, you don't actually love old architecture"

[redthepear]

There's a sun shining in the sky

But that's not the reason why I'm feeling warm inside

The answer isn't classified, it's my heart

[bunnieswithknives]

Was thinking about Jack Pumpkinhead in terms of Wicked and I tihnk I have come up with the funniest possible idea for him.

[arc-hus]

La maison Becleu Extension, Pléneuf-Val-André, France - Dominique Rouillard & Alain Guiheux

[hometoursandotherstuff]

What a bargain- beautiful original 1954 mid-century modern home in Indianapolis, IN has 3bds, 3ba, $275K.

Isn't this nice? The original fireplace is the focal point of the room.

Large living room, open concept layout, and the large fireplace acts as a divider.

Behind the fireplace is the space for the dining area. I'm going to steal that look of identical vases grouped together.

Entrance to the kitchen from the dining room.

It's sort of a galley kitchen, as is typical of MCM homes, but it's larger.

I don't think it's too narrow. Look at the cool cabinetry- it has a built in cutting board and utensil drawers. The original cabinets are walnut.

Beautiful sun porch.

Plus a very large sun room with 3 large skylights.

Stairs behind the dining room and hallway to the bedrooms.

The primary bedroom has so much storage, all built-in, including night tables. There's also a door to the sun room.

The matching en-suite also has cabinetry with storage.

The owner was a well-known photographer and there's a dark room in the cellar.

Plus a workshop.

The sun room is attached to the house, but very private. Has some possibilities. 0.79 Acre lot

https://www.zillow.com/homes/5350-Cheviot-Pl-Indianapolis,-IN-46226_rb/1140457_zpid/