Although most of my plans have gone about like all of my plans (ie. not as planned) I have managed to reduce my random stuff in storage by about half and trash or donate the rest. Now I just have to figure out where to put it all... There was still a lot more than I had hoped to have.
Saturday we couldn't go see the Gorge because Chama is burning so the steam train is on a break for fire season. That's okay, it was nice to hang out with friends anyway. We went shopping :) I got to go to all of my favorite stores that don't exist in Boston, especially CostPlus World Market and Jackalope (no, I'm not paid to say that...I just happen to really like the stores).
Sunday I spent about an hour looking for my keys so I missed church. I did manage to go to the lavender festival.
Monday I got my first look at the storage unit and about freaked out. I spent about 3 hours tearing apart the storage unit in the sunniest part of the day and was almost wiped out before Thea came to help me organize. We spent another couple of hours putting things to rights and got done JUST before the rain came. It's not just fire season, it's also monsoon season. It had stopped though by the time I went to Irish set dance.
Today I finished the storage unit and got my artwork shipped to Boston. Although Thea's driving my stuff out for me, it's an uncovered, open trailer and neither of us thought that it would be alright to put my paintings with the rest of my boxes. I was supposed to go watch HEPA, which is a Polynesian festival with hula lessons and a renowned Hawaiian band, but I was too whiped for any of that. Instead I went back to Thea's and sorted through garb for the even this weekend. Turns out I've got a bunch of stuff to wear, but Gerd doesn't.
So tomorrow I'm sewing. I'll go down to the Gila wilderness on Thursday night, via Silver City, if all goes well. I'm really looking forward to the springs, even if it does mean a long drive and a lot of naked people.
Well, that's about it right now. It's a pretty productive trip so far, and yet it has also been relaxing. New Mexico is always beautiful, but it's particularly beautiful this time of year (at least in my opinion). I'm trying to soak it all up as much as I can.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Flying
YEAY!!!
I get to go to New Mexico, I get to go to New Mexico!!!!
In less than 10 hours I'll be back where I belong, in the desert. Well, at least I'll be there for 10 days!
Saturday: Train ride along the Gorge (I think)
Sunday: Visit my last church, buy Gold Rush tea, Jackalope open? Lavendar Festival @ Los Poblanos
Monday: Pack boxes, Irish Set Dancing
Tuesday: Pack boxes, HULA music and dance at AMP
Wednesday: Hot Springs!
Thursday: Sew like a banshee. Blues concert at the Outpost
Friday: Pick up hubby, go to zoo? then move out to camp site, Toga party
Saturday: Battlemoor, do Siege cooking, attend belly dance workshop, drumming class, watch heavy weapons tourney, join in at the game tent, stargazing, and Hafla party
Sunday: Battlemoor, card weaving, watch more heavy weapons, attend court (watch SCA brother get knighted), Outlands party
Monday: Pack up and go home!
Yes, I'm aware that I'm going to be more tired after vacation than before...but it'll be worth it!
I get to go to New Mexico, I get to go to New Mexico!!!!
In less than 10 hours I'll be back where I belong, in the desert. Well, at least I'll be there for 10 days!
Saturday: Train ride along the Gorge (I think)
Sunday: Visit my last church, buy Gold Rush tea, Jackalope open? Lavendar Festival @ Los Poblanos
Monday: Pack boxes, Irish Set Dancing
Tuesday: Pack boxes, HULA music and dance at AMP
Wednesday: Hot Springs!
Thursday: Sew like a banshee. Blues concert at the Outpost
Friday: Pick up hubby, go to zoo? then move out to camp site, Toga party
Saturday: Battlemoor, do Siege cooking, attend belly dance workshop, drumming class, watch heavy weapons tourney, join in at the game tent, stargazing, and Hafla party
Sunday: Battlemoor, card weaving, watch more heavy weapons, attend court (watch SCA brother get knighted), Outlands party
Monday: Pack up and go home!
Yes, I'm aware that I'm going to be more tired after vacation than before...but it'll be worth it!
Conversation with an Immigrant
I often get so caught up in my own point of view that, even when I'm trying to remain open, I often fail to see the other side of the argument. I was once fairly conservative, have a ultraconservative father, and once I was won over to the liberal side I discounted many ideas I considered ideal, but flawed.
Helping those in need for instance. Heaven forbid you start a conversation with my father about welfare. Anybody, he thinks, on welfare is a worthless human being. The government shouldn't help those that can't help themselves. I of course, working with children from all backgrounds, see a different story. Maybe they should pull themselves up by the bootstraps, but poverty has a tendency to beget more poverty. It's hard to improve your life if a) you've never seen success stories outside of military or sports advancements or b) you social and education skills are so low that you remain disadvantaged.
BUT, on Tuesday night I had a conversation with a first generation immigrant, and one off-handed comment that she made keeps on percolating through my brain. Her fiance who is doing doctoral work in Germany wants to come to the states and she's concerned that his name, Jafar, will cause red flags to go up, even though he isn't Muslim. When asked what they would do if he was denied a visa she said she just didn't know. She wants to live in the U.S. because it is so open and accepting.
Open? She's worried about her fiance's visa because of a name, and a heritage. But yes, she replies, the US is far more open than Germany, or in her native Albania. Within her 20 years in the country she's managed to study hard and graduate from Princeton. Although she could live in Germany, her station would probably not have improved. She'd remain at immigrant status, probably indefinitely, and her children would also be considered immigrants. She's a U.S. citizen now and, although she immigrated here as a child, she views herself as an American.
And this is the comment that stuck with me. Perhaps, she says, America is so open because it's based on merit. If, she says, we had universal healthcare and all the other perks that Germany has, we wouldn't feel so benevolent to immigrants. Because everyone has to, and can, work to get ahead, discrimination falls away in light of an individual's abilities. If you can make it, she says, your unusual name is no longer a big deal.
I wonder how her brother feels. He apparently didn't make it through the system unscathed. He graduated from a GED program (one of the better ones) and is now trying to put his life together better.
So I value her conversation, and wonder if a part of our openness is based on merit. But I do have to add that I think her case is not necessarily the norm for most immigrants. I think she's got the advantage. First, even if her parents weren't well educated (which I suspect they were) they placed a value on education. Second, she appears white and speaks English fluently with only a slight accent. Finally, her parents came here legally, which many immigrant child have no choice or say about, yet must live within a vastly different lifestyle as a result of their parent's secrecy.
To be clear, I'm not endorsing illegal immigration, just suggesting that it's far more complex, with far more rippling effects than is often discussed openly.
I think what I got from the conversation, after a lot of thought, is that she's right. We want a society that is open, and based on merit. We value self-reliance as one of the greatest assets a person can have. But if we expect people to pull themselves up, we have to accept that there are those who can't, or won't rise to the occasion. In fact, we have to assume that MOST people won't make it to the top, because success in this country is a pyramid.
So, my liberal side comes out once again. If many people aren't going to make it, even to middle class, shouldn't we ensure that everyone has at least minimal degree of safety and security? Or would that just mean more people would continue to move here? I don't know the answers, but I think the idea is worthy of rumination.
Helping those in need for instance. Heaven forbid you start a conversation with my father about welfare. Anybody, he thinks, on welfare is a worthless human being. The government shouldn't help those that can't help themselves. I of course, working with children from all backgrounds, see a different story. Maybe they should pull themselves up by the bootstraps, but poverty has a tendency to beget more poverty. It's hard to improve your life if a) you've never seen success stories outside of military or sports advancements or b) you social and education skills are so low that you remain disadvantaged.
BUT, on Tuesday night I had a conversation with a first generation immigrant, and one off-handed comment that she made keeps on percolating through my brain. Her fiance who is doing doctoral work in Germany wants to come to the states and she's concerned that his name, Jafar, will cause red flags to go up, even though he isn't Muslim. When asked what they would do if he was denied a visa she said she just didn't know. She wants to live in the U.S. because it is so open and accepting.
Open? She's worried about her fiance's visa because of a name, and a heritage. But yes, she replies, the US is far more open than Germany, or in her native Albania. Within her 20 years in the country she's managed to study hard and graduate from Princeton. Although she could live in Germany, her station would probably not have improved. She'd remain at immigrant status, probably indefinitely, and her children would also be considered immigrants. She's a U.S. citizen now and, although she immigrated here as a child, she views herself as an American.
And this is the comment that stuck with me. Perhaps, she says, America is so open because it's based on merit. If, she says, we had universal healthcare and all the other perks that Germany has, we wouldn't feel so benevolent to immigrants. Because everyone has to, and can, work to get ahead, discrimination falls away in light of an individual's abilities. If you can make it, she says, your unusual name is no longer a big deal.
I wonder how her brother feels. He apparently didn't make it through the system unscathed. He graduated from a GED program (one of the better ones) and is now trying to put his life together better.
So I value her conversation, and wonder if a part of our openness is based on merit. But I do have to add that I think her case is not necessarily the norm for most immigrants. I think she's got the advantage. First, even if her parents weren't well educated (which I suspect they were) they placed a value on education. Second, she appears white and speaks English fluently with only a slight accent. Finally, her parents came here legally, which many immigrant child have no choice or say about, yet must live within a vastly different lifestyle as a result of their parent's secrecy.
To be clear, I'm not endorsing illegal immigration, just suggesting that it's far more complex, with far more rippling effects than is often discussed openly.
I think what I got from the conversation, after a lot of thought, is that she's right. We want a society that is open, and based on merit. We value self-reliance as one of the greatest assets a person can have. But if we expect people to pull themselves up, we have to accept that there are those who can't, or won't rise to the occasion. In fact, we have to assume that MOST people won't make it to the top, because success in this country is a pyramid.
So, my liberal side comes out once again. If many people aren't going to make it, even to middle class, shouldn't we ensure that everyone has at least minimal degree of safety and security? Or would that just mean more people would continue to move here? I don't know the answers, but I think the idea is worthy of rumination.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Freewrite
I don't know where to begin. It's hard to cram so many activities and emotions in just a few days, let alone one blog post, but everything seems to need to come out.
Saturday was a productive day, which is pretty rare. I usually feel like collapsing and it takes until noon to get anything done. Once again my potatoes are knotwood free, my garden is weeded, and I sang at a funeral for a church member (I didn't know her, but based on her speakers, I wished I had). But all of this was before lunch! I even managed to rescue my sourdough starter before it puttered out.
We went for our first sailing lesson Saturday afternoon, and thought it was going to be a one hour class. We were there for 4 hours practicing rigging a dingy and hanging out with other people we met at the club. I think I'm going to like sailing, which is a HUGE surprise for me. I figured I'd be terrified on the water, and while I still might be (we didn't actually go sailing) I think I'm going to have fun instead.
Sunday became a fiasco. We went to pick up my new Mini and I was SO excited. It's SO CUTE. If it would run. Just as we were about to leave the car salesman/mechanic warns us that the locks need to be keyed. Uh. We live in Boston, without a garage. This is not a car that blends in. At the last minute we decided to go drop it off at Mom's house for the time being until the locks could be fixed.
Unfortunately for us, the car began to die along the way. First it stuttered like there's dirt in the fuel line, then it died when at a stop sign. Finally it started making a squealing noise as we made a left turn. It's in the shop now getting a diagnosis.
So we left to go get the car around 2:30 on Sunday, picked up the car (and bought some of his meat) and left around 6. We should have gotten to Mom's house by 8, but it took about 4 hours to get to GF. Missing work wasn't an option, so we woke up at 4:00 to drive home.
Monday I found out that the two employees that got laid of by our "charitable" organization didn't receive any form of severance package. They've worked here for 30 years, and while I might have wished they'd retire (they weren't the best employees in the world), I'm a little stunned that they've been given 2 weeks notice with no incentive for early retirement or relocation within the Boston branch. I mean, this is not a small organization we work for, but apparently there isn't a "bumping" system in place to protect the older workers. They're on their own, even if they were only 3 years away from retirement. Still, I'm grateful to have a job.
So I'd like to have some common thread between the past few days, but if there is one I don't see it. Perhaps if anything I could say that life if a crazy, exciting, sometimes disappointing, but overall worthwhile cause.
Saturday was a productive day, which is pretty rare. I usually feel like collapsing and it takes until noon to get anything done. Once again my potatoes are knotwood free, my garden is weeded, and I sang at a funeral for a church member (I didn't know her, but based on her speakers, I wished I had). But all of this was before lunch! I even managed to rescue my sourdough starter before it puttered out.
We went for our first sailing lesson Saturday afternoon, and thought it was going to be a one hour class. We were there for 4 hours practicing rigging a dingy and hanging out with other people we met at the club. I think I'm going to like sailing, which is a HUGE surprise for me. I figured I'd be terrified on the water, and while I still might be (we didn't actually go sailing) I think I'm going to have fun instead.
Sunday became a fiasco. We went to pick up my new Mini and I was SO excited. It's SO CUTE. If it would run. Just as we were about to leave the car salesman/mechanic warns us that the locks need to be keyed. Uh. We live in Boston, without a garage. This is not a car that blends in. At the last minute we decided to go drop it off at Mom's house for the time being until the locks could be fixed.
Unfortunately for us, the car began to die along the way. First it stuttered like there's dirt in the fuel line, then it died when at a stop sign. Finally it started making a squealing noise as we made a left turn. It's in the shop now getting a diagnosis.
So we left to go get the car around 2:30 on Sunday, picked up the car (and bought some of his meat) and left around 6. We should have gotten to Mom's house by 8, but it took about 4 hours to get to GF. Missing work wasn't an option, so we woke up at 4:00 to drive home.
Monday I found out that the two employees that got laid of by our "charitable" organization didn't receive any form of severance package. They've worked here for 30 years, and while I might have wished they'd retire (they weren't the best employees in the world), I'm a little stunned that they've been given 2 weeks notice with no incentive for early retirement or relocation within the Boston branch. I mean, this is not a small organization we work for, but apparently there isn't a "bumping" system in place to protect the older workers. They're on their own, even if they were only 3 years away from retirement. Still, I'm grateful to have a job.
So I'd like to have some common thread between the past few days, but if there is one I don't see it. Perhaps if anything I could say that life if a crazy, exciting, sometimes disappointing, but overall worthwhile cause.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Shopping
I'd say my husband and I are a lot alike in some ways, but where we're different, we're really different. When it comes to money it's like apples and oranges. I keep telling him he's lucky he didn't fall for me 6 years ago, pre-India trip and pre-Iraq. Seeing the world and all the people without bare necessities has toned down my own commercialism quite a bit.
That being said, I still enjoy spending money (most of the time). When I decide to buy something, and I actually find it, the right thing, that which I had hoped to find, in the right color, size, shape, etc., I'm happy when I make my purchase. My husband has a different reaction. Even when he's planned to buy something, the actual purchasing (of anything really) seems to feel like a punch in the gut. Even when it costs less than expected or will be a long term investment. He just hates to spend money.
Now, I'm not saying that I can't budget money or anything, because I consider myself fairly conservative with money. I certainly don't go out shopping every day, and when I do I try to limit my expenses to a reasonable sum. While I am a guilty fritterer, I don't spend large quantities of money without the same scared gut feeling that my husband gets. I'm just saying that I like to be able to buy things. I think it makes me feel affluent. Yes, I realize I'd be MORE affluent if I bought less, but there you have it.
Unfortunately I've started to feel guilty when I buy things. I start thinking, if I were living on my budget, without Gerd to support me, would I spend that much on a dress? Usually the answer is no, but sometimes it's yes. Likewise, sometimes I buy it anyway and other times I decide to hold off. I've never had comingled money before and we've yet to work out all the kinks. Gerd's budgeting method is to spend as little as possible. It works for him because he hates spending money, but it certainly doesn't work for me.
I want to KNOW how much I can spend, but that's completely foreign to him. I mean, if you goal is to NOT spend money, why would you set aside money specifically to spend?
So why am I yammering about money? Because last night I decided to go on a spending "spree", and even though I didn't spend too much, I still feel guilty. I went to my favorite store ever, Anthropologie, and everything fit. Perfectly. So I bought a shirt because it's timeless and I love it, and it costs far less than the dresses, but I put aside two dresses that I couldn't decide between. I've decided to make Gerd come look at them with me and let him decide which I buy. Maybe he'll tell me I should buy both :) (but probably not).
That being said, I still enjoy spending money (most of the time). When I decide to buy something, and I actually find it, the right thing, that which I had hoped to find, in the right color, size, shape, etc., I'm happy when I make my purchase. My husband has a different reaction. Even when he's planned to buy something, the actual purchasing (of anything really) seems to feel like a punch in the gut. Even when it costs less than expected or will be a long term investment. He just hates to spend money.
Now, I'm not saying that I can't budget money or anything, because I consider myself fairly conservative with money. I certainly don't go out shopping every day, and when I do I try to limit my expenses to a reasonable sum. While I am a guilty fritterer, I don't spend large quantities of money without the same scared gut feeling that my husband gets. I'm just saying that I like to be able to buy things. I think it makes me feel affluent. Yes, I realize I'd be MORE affluent if I bought less, but there you have it.
Unfortunately I've started to feel guilty when I buy things. I start thinking, if I were living on my budget, without Gerd to support me, would I spend that much on a dress? Usually the answer is no, but sometimes it's yes. Likewise, sometimes I buy it anyway and other times I decide to hold off. I've never had comingled money before and we've yet to work out all the kinks. Gerd's budgeting method is to spend as little as possible. It works for him because he hates spending money, but it certainly doesn't work for me.
I want to KNOW how much I can spend, but that's completely foreign to him. I mean, if you goal is to NOT spend money, why would you set aside money specifically to spend?
So why am I yammering about money? Because last night I decided to go on a spending "spree", and even though I didn't spend too much, I still feel guilty. I went to my favorite store ever, Anthropologie, and everything fit. Perfectly. So I bought a shirt because it's timeless and I love it, and it costs far less than the dresses, but I put aside two dresses that I couldn't decide between. I've decided to make Gerd come look at them with me and let him decide which I buy. Maybe he'll tell me I should buy both :) (but probably not).
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Decision Made
Our school is moving. We've known for a while that the move was going to happen, but didn't have dates or locations for the move. We have three weeks to move the school to a building in Dorchester. Oh, and I'm taking vacation one of those weeks.
Actually, two weeks is plenty of time to pack up my room at least. There's not much to pack. But I am a little upset about the room, although I'm trying to keep an open mind. First, we may have to share our room with an evening program. If that's the case, I'm not really thrilled about leaving my printer out. Since we don't have enough computers to go around, right now I use my personal laptop and personal printer rather than try to squeeze into the student computer lab. Also, I'd hoped to set up a reading area with lots and lots of books, maybe even a couch, and an area for coffee. The rooms are supposed to be twice as big as our current place, so I could have room to do a lot.
But my biggest frustration is the new commute. It could be far, far worse. Originally they were talking Jamaica Plain, which is completely out of my way. The traffic is so bad there that we threw it out as a viable option when we were looking at houses. But the location in Dorchester is the lesser of two options (from my standpoint). It's not really close to a T, and commuting will be annoying. I could walk 20 minutes to the T and THEN take a bus,or take a bus, transfer to the T and then walk another 15 minutes, or I could take a bus and transfer to another bus. No matter what I choose the commute will be 45 minutes. It's an hour walk if I just walked, or a 20 minute bike ride. I'm guessing I'll be driving or biking most days. Just when I've been getting used to taking the bus...it's nice to read on my way home.
I guess we'll see how it feels. Maybe 45 minutes won't be so bad, but honestly, transfers are bad. If you miss a bus your commute is so much longer, if it's raining you're out in the rain until the next bus comes, and it's not a solid 45 minutes of just relaxing and reading a book. Sigh. I guess I had it pretty nice for a while, at least I'm still employed.
Actually, two weeks is plenty of time to pack up my room at least. There's not much to pack. But I am a little upset about the room, although I'm trying to keep an open mind. First, we may have to share our room with an evening program. If that's the case, I'm not really thrilled about leaving my printer out. Since we don't have enough computers to go around, right now I use my personal laptop and personal printer rather than try to squeeze into the student computer lab. Also, I'd hoped to set up a reading area with lots and lots of books, maybe even a couch, and an area for coffee. The rooms are supposed to be twice as big as our current place, so I could have room to do a lot.
But my biggest frustration is the new commute. It could be far, far worse. Originally they were talking Jamaica Plain, which is completely out of my way. The traffic is so bad there that we threw it out as a viable option when we were looking at houses. But the location in Dorchester is the lesser of two options (from my standpoint). It's not really close to a T, and commuting will be annoying. I could walk 20 minutes to the T and THEN take a bus,or take a bus, transfer to the T and then walk another 15 minutes, or I could take a bus and transfer to another bus. No matter what I choose the commute will be 45 minutes. It's an hour walk if I just walked, or a 20 minute bike ride. I'm guessing I'll be driving or biking most days. Just when I've been getting used to taking the bus...it's nice to read on my way home.
I guess we'll see how it feels. Maybe 45 minutes won't be so bad, but honestly, transfers are bad. If you miss a bus your commute is so much longer, if it's raining you're out in the rain until the next bus comes, and it's not a solid 45 minutes of just relaxing and reading a book. Sigh. I guess I had it pretty nice for a while, at least I'm still employed.
Made in America
I've started looking at everything I buy, searching for that "made in..." sticker. More often than not it's made in a foreign country (usually China). Today, however, when opening my new toothbrush package, I noticed that it was "Made in the USA". My husband bought a different toothbrush brand (I think he liked the color), so I quickly checked it as well. Also made in the US. Interesting. I wonder where they make toothbrushes in America.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Stumble
Walking along Harrison Street, at the corner of Union Park
I saw a woman, smooth skirted, carrying her coffee,
stumble
Brick walkways are tricky for pedestrians,
and for a moment she was nothing but a
smudge.
It took her a second, but no longer, to readjust owlish sunglasses,
and tuck a strand of chestnut hair behind her ear.
Slyly,
she wisked herself away, leaving behind a broken Dunkin Donut's cup,
and a stain no worse than those left by drunks who live nearby.
Slowly,
our penetrating summer rain worked to wash away the traces
of her misstep, and all the other foul odors on the
street.
She might as well have walked gracefully by, for all I could see,
she and the street looked the same as before the fall.
Except
for that coffee lid caught in the gutter, and the intermittent
tap of rain on plastic as it stands, stuck, likely there until
September,
when street sweeping starts again and schools are open. Perhaps then
a student pause and pick it up, as children often do,
always
noticing the things we loose or leave behind, and wonder what to do with it.
If someone should notice that last bit of trash, will they say, what a
shame,
that piece of litter on the street?
I saw a woman, smooth skirted, carrying her coffee,
stumble
Brick walkways are tricky for pedestrians,
and for a moment she was nothing but a
smudge.
It took her a second, but no longer, to readjust owlish sunglasses,
and tuck a strand of chestnut hair behind her ear.
Slyly,
she wisked herself away, leaving behind a broken Dunkin Donut's cup,
and a stain no worse than those left by drunks who live nearby.
Slowly,
our penetrating summer rain worked to wash away the traces
of her misstep, and all the other foul odors on the
street.
She might as well have walked gracefully by, for all I could see,
she and the street looked the same as before the fall.
Except
for that coffee lid caught in the gutter, and the intermittent
tap of rain on plastic as it stands, stuck, likely there until
September,
when street sweeping starts again and schools are open. Perhaps then
a student pause and pick it up, as children often do,
always
noticing the things we loose or leave behind, and wonder what to do with it.
If someone should notice that last bit of trash, will they say, what a
shame,
that piece of litter on the street?
Monday, June 7, 2010
Lost Opportunity
Over the weekend our water heater died. It led a good long life, although not as long as we'd hoped it might. It was 12 years old, and that was borrowed time according to our initial home inspector and our latest plumber.
I figured we might be able to get a solar water heater installed when it went. It was, after all, a perfect opportunity to replace the unsustainable with the sustainable. After a weekend without water, however, we're back to square one.
Fortunately for us we have a home warranty that covers the water heater. It was likely the nicest gift our realtor could have given us. They will replace like for like, or give us a cash settlement. My plan was to take the cash and then head over to the solar store. But before I asked for cash I called up the solar water heater place and asked what to do.
I figured we would be living without water for a while if we had a solar water heater installed, and I wanted to get a timeline. I even went out this weekend and bought a camp shower in preparation for the water experiment. When I called the green plumbers, however, they suggested we replace the water heater we already have.
Apparently Massachusetts will give a green tax incentive if you install an electric backup solar water heater, but not if it has a gas backup. If we want to get the tax credit we have to switch our tank over to electric (which can be done) but the cost of installation will be about $9,000. With the credit it would run around $5,000 to $6,000. But that quote was on a normal roof. When I mentioned that we have a slate roof the green guys started to stammer a little. They wanted to make sure they warned me that the cost would be significantly higher. They would need to come look at it to see what needed to be done...and they could do so in 2 weeks.
The good news is that they can attach my gas water heater to solar panels and reroute the backup through our current gas line at any time. That means that we can get our water heater replaced and then later on down the line spring for a solar upgrade. We can still get the tax credit because we're upgrading to solar.
So we're no more green than we were before. But instead of spending around $8,000, which is my own guess (based on the words significantly more expensive) we're only out $95. If we'd asked for cash instead of a fix we might have received $800, but it would have taken 3-4 weeks to get our water back and cost an additional (approximate) $7,200. Did I mention we have a bunch of other projects we're supposed to be working on?
And still I feel a bit guilty. I was completely ready to rough it for a month. After watching No Impact Man (lame as I feel the guy is sometimes) I was ready for some radical. But practical me wasn't up for the challenge, especially considering how long it takes for us to get anything done around this house.
I figured we might be able to get a solar water heater installed when it went. It was, after all, a perfect opportunity to replace the unsustainable with the sustainable. After a weekend without water, however, we're back to square one.
Fortunately for us we have a home warranty that covers the water heater. It was likely the nicest gift our realtor could have given us. They will replace like for like, or give us a cash settlement. My plan was to take the cash and then head over to the solar store. But before I asked for cash I called up the solar water heater place and asked what to do.
I figured we would be living without water for a while if we had a solar water heater installed, and I wanted to get a timeline. I even went out this weekend and bought a camp shower in preparation for the water experiment. When I called the green plumbers, however, they suggested we replace the water heater we already have.
Apparently Massachusetts will give a green tax incentive if you install an electric backup solar water heater, but not if it has a gas backup. If we want to get the tax credit we have to switch our tank over to electric (which can be done) but the cost of installation will be about $9,000. With the credit it would run around $5,000 to $6,000. But that quote was on a normal roof. When I mentioned that we have a slate roof the green guys started to stammer a little. They wanted to make sure they warned me that the cost would be significantly higher. They would need to come look at it to see what needed to be done...and they could do so in 2 weeks.
The good news is that they can attach my gas water heater to solar panels and reroute the backup through our current gas line at any time. That means that we can get our water heater replaced and then later on down the line spring for a solar upgrade. We can still get the tax credit because we're upgrading to solar.
So we're no more green than we were before. But instead of spending around $8,000, which is my own guess (based on the words significantly more expensive) we're only out $95. If we'd asked for cash instead of a fix we might have received $800, but it would have taken 3-4 weeks to get our water back and cost an additional (approximate) $7,200. Did I mention we have a bunch of other projects we're supposed to be working on?
And still I feel a bit guilty. I was completely ready to rough it for a month. After watching No Impact Man (lame as I feel the guy is sometimes) I was ready for some radical. But practical me wasn't up for the challenge, especially considering how long it takes for us to get anything done around this house.
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