There are many things to appreciate about urban living, including not having to drive every day (I work 3 miles from home and can take a multitude of public transport to and from work, walk or ride my bike), convenience to entertainment, parks, museums, the like. However, there is a serious drawback to urban living to consider. Everything seems to be much more expensive and we tend to live right on top of one another. My current quest is to rid our little corner of the world of a rat infestation, that stems from an illegally built trash shelter (interesting combo of words) that was built two years ago on public space. There is a multi-unit apartment building that is adjacent to our back yard and the management one day just put the structure up, sent us a letter saying that we’d get a key to the illegal gate they installed (again on public space) and they now store their industrial sized trash cans (4) for residents just feet away from our back yard. I’m on a rampage because we’re about to drop a serious amount of $$ to redo the landscaping (actually “do” is more appropriate since I currently mow the crab grass) and rats aren’t part of the plan nor is large amount of trash attracting flies and other vermin.
I’ve so far had a decent phone exchange with various divisions within the DC government, including the Rat Abatement woman (named Doreen), a woman at Solid Wasts Education and Enforcement Program (SWEEP) who gave me the run around about not having jurisdiction over commercial property (who kept saying how she COULDN’T help me so I finally asked her how she COULD help me), a very nice helpful woman at DCRA who called me twice to get details surrounding the situation and promised to have an inspector out there this week, and my savor at Tommy Wells’ (our ward council member) office who helped resolve a DMV issue two weeks ago. I am determined to resolve this once and for all. The rats (who previously went unnoticed by me since I don’t spend much time in the back yard) now taunt me…I see them whenever I’m out there checking on the holes that Doreen covered (after inserting poison bait) and while up on the roof this morning (a totally different story) saw the warren of holes in our neighbor’s yard and one brazen rat just chillin’ on a rock. The NERVE!! I will end up like the grounds keeper in Caddy Shack making molded animal “friends” out of plastic explosives and you may read about the result on CNN or Fox News.
The HVAC issue is something no one ever intends to deal with but having central heat and air requires that you pay attention to the thing that provides that creature comfort. We had our roof replaced recently when the bucket brigade got to be too overwhelming and the interior damage started to threaten the integrity of the walls. In the process, we (well, more like J) disconnected the unit so the crew could move it since it sits on our roof (on some wooden props). We then reconnected it and hoped for the best. It was working for some time after we reconnected it, but we were also out of town quite a bit and didn’t really use it much. Last night, it when completely kaput! J (having the connections he does) called an HVAC person to come diagnose the issue and I went to keep the guy company while he diagnosed the problem. It seems that the compressor is burned out (no explanation as to why) and we could either replace the compressor or the entire unit. Either way we’re looking at either $1,300 or closer to $5k in repair/replacement. This is why one should have a Home Equity line of credit. Its a simple way to take care of unexpected home repairs, deduct the interest from your taxes (like your mortgage interest) and keep your cash working at a higher rate of return (now I’m slipping into high finance). Suffice it to say that there are many home front issues facing us at the moment including installing new windows that we must deal with as they present themselves. The joys of owning a home. The fun never ends!
