The Oppenheimer Report 3-22-10

We have spent a good part of the past week cleaning this log home, and we are far from done. Feeling a bit like Sisyphus pushing the rock uphill, I persist. You might ask me what took us so long, given that we have been living in the house for the better part of a year. In fact, until very recently, there was still construction work going on here, and it’s useless to do a real clean until all the saws are out of the house. For a long time, they were using chainsaws IN the house; thankfully, those days are over. Chainsaws are obnoxious enough outdoors, but when they are used with the confines of an enclosed home, they become infinitely more annoying. Frankly - and I think I speak for anybody who has built a house from the ground up - there are pros and cons to being present through the entire construction process. On the plus side, you are apprised of any and all complications, and privy to decisions that are made. Believe me, there are ALWAYS problems. On the down side, you are constantly bombarded with the ever-present invasiveness of a construction project. I distinctly remember watching as the hole was cut out of our living room wall to make room for the chimney flue. Watching the carpenter chain saw a four foot hole in the tallest log wall in our home, I cringed. What is it they say, you’ve got to break a few eggs to make an omelet? In fact, I am thankful to have had the privilege to watch this house being built, from beginning to end … and I have no desire to EVER do it again.




As I begin writing this week’s report, we have hired a company  that specializes in vacuuming out heating ducts, because there is an enormous amount of construction debris that ends up in those ducts. Not only is this bad for the furnaces, but it means that dust blows up through the vents every time the furnaces kick on. Of course, in our infinite wisdom and sense of organization, we waited through almost an entire heating season before doing this, thus allowing all that debris to be spread throughout the house. This duct vacuuming is more complicated than I thought it would be, and to properly remove all the sawdust, screws, etc. requires a serious vacuum as well as a pneumatic device to blow all the crap from the upstairs vents down to the basement. Luckily the weather has been remarkably mild, and we won’t freeze because of windows that must left open to allow for air hoses to be passed through from the van outside. Hopefully, when this procedure is completed, we won’t have so much dust accumulating in the house. We’ll see.



In the soft news department, “Outlaw” biker star Jesse James apparently cheated on America’s sweetheart and recent Oscar winner Sandra Bullock. Is nothing sacred … I thought those two were so happy together? Tiger Woods has completed his obligatory three months of public contrition and has now announced he will return to the PGA tour. Record-busting swindler-turned-convict, Bernie Madoff-with-the-money, was reportedly beaten up in prison a few months ago, to almost everyone’s approval. The irony of his assault is that it will probably necessitate some kind of special prison treatment, and this will likely cost John Q. Public even more money than this putz has already squandered. A moment of righteous indignation … sometimes, just sometimes, I long for the good old days when blatantly guilty wrongdoers were boiled in oil. Talk about your ratings booster … give me a thirty-second spot on that T.V. coverage! When I think back a few centuries to all those innocent women burned at the stake in Salem, and here’s Bernie complaining because his chipped beef is cold. I suppose a slow death in prison is about as much justice as we can expect, after all this IS a civilized society, right? Hmph. President Obama’s big health care initiative has come down to the final vote, and as of last Friday there were only ten votes needed to kill his bill, with thirty-five votes still undecided. While I applaud the noble intentions of universal health care, I wonder if any emphasis is being given to enforcing pro-active, preventative medicine. If we are going to make health care coverage mandatory, is it not also fair to enforce a “Twinkie/Marlboro Tax” on all the apathetic slobs who so willingly disregard their own health to the considerable expense of their recently appointed “comrades” … and yes, I’m cynical. We just built a house.



Go Leafs.



Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2010 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED