Home Improvement

Now that we are in the second year of home ownership, the charm and newness of our home just doesn't seem to be enough. We have all these things that we want to fix, add, change or even destroy (interior wall...You're goin' down!!). Up until a few weeks ago, we hadn't really done any of these projects, but that has changed. Now that there are a few in the works, more seem to be coming out of the woodwork (pun intended).

Home improvement is mostly just home maintenance. In that way, it is like personal fitness improvement. If you aren't improving your home, it will likely have health problems. At the other extreme, you could spend every waking moment improving your home. You could make a career out of it. They're called developers. They used to call those people flippers, but now those people are called broke.

My neighbor Vlad (he's Ukrainian) has a career in construction. He currently has removed all grass, bushes, etc. from his yard in an effort to change the drainage, but only after he has replaced the driveway. Why is he replacing the driveway?...there are a few cracks in it, of course. He built a vinyl deck, which will never rot (unlike my deck), and is planning a new fence between our yards. I'm tempted to ask how I can help in this endeavor, but I don't really want to go "halfsies" on this project. I mean, the guy doesn't go halfway on anything. It could end up as the Great Wall of the Skag. You just never know.

We both have simliar houses and so I can't help but compare my measly projects to his. However, the problem with this is that he does this for a living. It would be like playing Michael Jordan in a pickup game at the local Y. You know he is going to annihliate you, but you play anyway because it is a pickup game and you should be able compete in a pickup game. Seriously, it's at the Y!

If he was ever balancing his checkbook in his backyard....I could totally kick his ass!!