Mortgage Monday: More Estimates

Whenever work needs to be done at the house that is beyond my limited capabilities, it is rarely a simple process to get that job done. Early last week I was finally able to set aside the time research some of the contractors and other service providers in the area. Home Advisor was actually a pretty useful tool for this in addition to work of mouth and local publications. We have had our project list pulled together for some time now and I did receive a couple of estimates for a few things that we need done but I am never one to settle for a single quote. So, with a break in the chaos of the week, I pulled together a list and got on the phone making dozens of calls and leaving a multitude of messages. With all the research done and calls placed, the rest of the week was filled with fielding responses to my queries.

The first set of calls that I placed was to some of the reputable tree service companies in the area. There are at least three trees that need to be taken down around the property and probably a few others that will need to come down in the near future. Heading into this initial investigation I knew that this is an expensive proposition as a couple of the trees are at least a hundred feet high and not in an easy location on the property. Additionally, at least one of them is so far gone that scaling in the trunk is not going to be a possibility. Of all the companies I called I was only able to get a hold of one of them who stopped by the house on Friday and delivered an unofficial estimate at a figure that I was in line with my thought process.

The next call was to a company to replace our garage doors. While one is still serviceable the other door is useless at this point and given the age of both it just makes sense to replace the pair (as well as the motors). Again, I already have a quote for this project but it is definitely one that I believe can be beat by, hopefully, a significant margin. This is one of the companies that I will have stopping by the house this week.

The last group of correspondences were to a few of the recommended general contracting firms and smaller craftsmen in the area. The one recommendation that I did receive to install some doors to my office was booked… and when I say booked I mean that he didn’t have an opening in his calendar until February 2017. A couple of the other companies I contact gave me a call later in the week and will be coming out to the house this week as well. It is definitely going to be busy around the house with all of these people coming and going but at least I will have a few sets of numbers to work with.

Don’t Mind The Cannon Fire

I can’t recall the last time that I took an entire week off from work like I did last week. While I did work from home and been out of the office for an extended period of time I was nevertheless still working. It was quite the shock to the system getting up this morning and having to drive to the office rather than the next place to visit. It was equally a drastic change to leave my son for the day after being able to spend a week and a half together.

However, I can’t say that I complete cut out work for the week. While I didn’t receive the deluge of emails that I usually sift through each day, I still had to reply to a number of requests as well as keep current on the plethora of projects always in the rotation in one form or another. And, of course, there were the calls that I had to either listen in on or provide direction on certain weekly campaigns. Thankfully no one seemed to mind the cannon fire in the background. I may have been on vacation but, as it turns out, I was still able to put in a fair amount of hours into each of the accounts.

Thankfully, I was able to schedule much of the needed work activity into small breaks throughout the week or while walking from one place to another. That is really the only way to do it as this was first and foremost, family time and I wasn’t going to ruin it for everyone else because of my corporate addiction. What really struck me about this was a conversation I had with my dad toward the end of last week when I had to stop and answer a few emails before dialing into a weekly call. In response to apologizing for the distraction his said “been there”. As if I needed the proof… I have finally turned into my father.

While it was a bit of a pain jumping back and forth at times, it paid off today as I was up to speed in about an hour rather than falling a week behind. The other benefit is that I am reaping the rewards of taking those calls and reading those emails because I am able to resume keeping work at the office and focus all of my attention when I get home on my wife and son. It may still be far from ideal and the whole thing may not seem like its balanced but it actually is working out well. 

Technically, I Didn’t Miss Lodge

Just some random Masonic art found on the internet. 

I was originally planning on heading over to the lodge after work yesterday but, as has become common place, those plans were changed. Fortunately, it was not my doing this time around. With another event taking place within the district, the usual fellowship meeting was replaced and the brothers that are usually at the lodge for additional training, education, and fellowship headed over to Conshohocken for a meeting.

It really would have been nice to attend with them but I can’t commit the extra hours in the evening at this point especially with my wife and son not feeling 100 percent. I was at least able to spend some time in Ardmore this weekend (at the blood drive) so my absence wasn’t as long as it could have been. However, it will be nice once we are able to arrange our schedules and get everything back on track… I miss the weekly evenings with the brethren.

Of course, there are still plenty of things that need to get done and I am slowly sifting through each of them trying not to let one or another fall too far behind the rest. There are items that need to get picked up (I should really ask my assistant for his help on that one), things that need to get ordered, checks that need to be signed, calls that need to be placed, requests that need to be made, and a notice that needs to be drafted, printed, and mailed. Oddly enough, this list is only slightly longer than my usual monthly routine.

All of these tasks are simply to prepare for the next stated meeting. And now, after a few phone and email conversations, there are a number of other things that I have to make sure get done. While not an issue in the past I seem to be struggling a bit lately and even the smallest additions are delaying other, more pressing, priorities. I guess, when you look at it, it might be a good thing that I wasn’t at the lodge last night… or it could be a really bad thing. I’m not going to know until next month.

So, right now, the plan is to be back at the lodge next week. Hopefully, there will be a few things that I can tie up in person. After that I hope to be in Ardmore a few times in May but I am not going to finalize that for now… it will all come down to how things play out the rest of this month. I guess we will just have to see what happens.

Changing the Schedule

I try to keep a pretty accurate schedule as there are a lot of things that I have going on at any given time. Events, calls, and appointments are all planned out but I also have to track my hours and keep to my check list throughout each day or things are missed. It is by no means a 100% reliable system but it has worked thus far and it keeps me, more often than not, from having to push things off or reschedule certain tasks. Of course, as I have written about before, sometime I get behind and there is no other alternative than to shift things from one day to the next.

Those moments when I realize that things need to be moved is not a very pleasant one as I know at the very least it is going to ripple across my week if not the entire month. Some things, like taxes, have even been pushed back several months. Even with all of these things that have been transitioned to other dates and times, there have been a few things that have been cancelled altogether. This mostly applies to lodge activities and events but it still opens up my calendar just a little bit so that there is some hope that I can get caught up sooner rather than later.

Lately in particular there has been a lot of shuffling going on in my calendar. Some things are unavoidable as schedules and situations change but, in the end, it all works out. My work, lodge, and personal calendars have all been in flux with events being cancelled, appointments rescheduled, and calls rearranged. Oh well, such is the nature of work, life, and the lodge.

So, as I write this post, I am finally up to date on most things but by the time you read these words I am, most likely, way behind and trying to do whatever I can to catch up. There will have been things moved, rescheduled, and cancelled. I guess this is why I can never give a definitive answer as soon as someone asks if I am free as even when I think I know the answer and that slot may have been open yesterday, it doesn't mean that I am still available to attend or get on the phone.

Thankfully, the adoption of a new phone has been a huge help in keeping things organized as I have been able to sync all of my calendars to a central location/device. I never gave too much thought in the past to the importance of this simplicity but it has made a huge difference in my ability to get things done and accurately plan for future days and weeks. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a bit of a cluster but at least it is a bit more manageable.

Early Morning Phone Calls

 

Still groggy from my unfulfilling sleep last night, I woke up this morning moving a little slower than usual and not completely processing everything efficiently. By eight o’clock I was getting ready to get out the door when the phone rang. I noticed that it was maintenance and, knowing exactly what it was about, I let it go to voicemail. I will pick up my apartment key when I get home after work.

Five minutes later my phone rang again (I really have to remember to turn the volume off at night). My initial thought was that maintenance was calling again so I slowly made my way to the annoying noise and looked at the screen. Well, it wasn’t maintenance and it wasn’t a number I recognized. I figured it was probably a really ballsy solicitor so I let it ring through, put my phone in my pocket, and walked out the door. Thirty seconds later my phone vibrated again. I guess they weren’t selling something. Whoever it was left a message so I pulled my phone out and hit play.

I was originally skeptical when I heard the recorded message and even more so when I was asked to call back the number. It just seems like a scam when you get an automated call telling you that there might be a fraudulent purchase on your credit card. So, I quickly looked up the number on the internet and it seemed like it was a legitimate call. Still wary of the number in the message, I pulled out my credit card and called the number on the back.

Well, turns out that someone decided to put an $85 purchase on my Cabela’s credit card on the Sports Authority website at around midnight last night. I know that it wasn’t me because I don’t shop at that store and my Cabela’s credit card has been paid off for months now. Needless to say, I immediately denied the charge and had the number deactivated. Thankfully, the transfer to a different account (closing of the old one and opening a new one) is taken care of in house and is not reported to the credit bureau keeping my credit score intact.

So, that was not a fun start to my day but at least Cabela’s gave me a call and let me know of the suspicious charge. While it is not a lot of money to some people it is still $85 out of my pocket and it was also only the very beginning. So, thank you Cabela’s for making sure that this is taken care of properly. While your prices may be high, your customer service/support is pretty darn good.