rad

Rad is our new contractor. Rad has a masters in social work, but found school administration too much to handle. Oh, and he makes more as a contractor than a special educator.

We hired Rad after our last contractor, Bud (who wore jean shorts and t-shirts with the sleeves cut off and had chronic cough), well, Bud acted like a contractor- days to return calls, small parts of the job unfinished, etc. We hired Bud because he cost nearly 3k less than the other contractors, which we remind ourselves of as we try to pull outlets forward from the drywall, or caulk gaps around the windowsill. We hired Rad because he returned my emails and wrote out a plan. he had me at The Plan.

Rad lives a few blocks away but is always late. ok.

Rad has one leg significantly shorter than the other, and one arm in a constant spastic fist.

Yet, single-handedly, he is tearing down the walls of our dining room (i use the word "walls" loosely- its crumbling plaster covered in masonboard covered in wallpaper covered in high-gloss beige paint) and hanging new drywall, installing new mouldings around the doors and windows, and putting up a chair-rail. impressive.

HOWEVER

Rad was supposed to work Friday, and something happened, so he didn't start til Saturday. Then Sunday Rad was supposed to be here by 2, and we never saw him (he claims he showed, no answer at the door, blah blah blah) so he has been here everynight this week. 530-8.

Today was the "dust day"

"guess i should have told you that," Rad said to me as I stood in my kitchen, its maroon trim now a shade of dusty rose, tracing my fingertips on the white countertops (our countertops are black).

let me explain in pictures:

exactly.

"i guess i should have told you"- ummm YES YOU SHOULD HAVE! we quickly covered the majority of everything with bedsheets,

but our nice crystal that we had put in the kitchen to avoid the dirt in the dining room (ha) is COVERED. the new upholstered chairs (see previous post about the man hours to pick those out)- COVERED.

yeah rad, I guess you should have told us!! i could have covered things last night. or...opened the windows, closed inside doors. i "guess" that might have been helpful.

my initial response is to.... ha. ok.... i cry. i freeze. reg hugs me. ugh- nothing works. i cant breathe through it and i CANT relax. an old boyfriend used to tell me to "settle" UGH!!!! NOTHING infuriates me more.

I dont know if I can describe it- or if the pictures do. The ENTIRE house- including my nightstand- a full 15 steps and multiple turns away from the dining room- is completely whited out with a thin coat of dust. Nothing Mary Poppins fun about it. only im having a "spoonful" of pinot grigio to help the ...well....everything, go down.

All I can think is- oh. my. god. The Cleaning.

luckily, being blessed with the most amazing husband in the world, we quickly kicked in an action plan and were able to laugh. sort of.

alright there are terrible things going on in the world. racism, healthcare, the sudan, don draper still cheating on his wife. its just some dirt. and i promise, im honestly calm about it now....

but does anyone know a good contractor????