Finally, more money

Brad and his wife have this odd communication pattern: they won’t respond to my inquiries for days and weeks, until they need something (in particular money). So I called them every day since last Friday, and no word from them until Wednesday. I needed to know whether to go for anodized or painted screens, and now the order is delayed by a week thanks to the duo.

Well, I get a call back with “everything is A-OK!” But we need more money to buy a bunch of supplies. Crap stuff, like light bulbs, smoke detectors, etc. But of course (despite my putting already over $6,000 on a cash account at the local construction supply store) they are going for “Marco buys!”

No news is bad news

I’ve tried to get in touch with my contractors in Hawai`i over the weekend. I have a quote for the screens outstanding (anodized or painted?) and wanted to wish Brad a happy birthday on Sunday. Called several times, left messages, heard nothing back.

I know the pattern – not the first time it happens. Whenever there are bad news to report, I hear nothing from them. What could it be this time? Most likely the plumber can’t come to get final for another couple of weeks, and they don’t want to tell me.

DIY Mudding

Given that the timing is tight and I need to do something useful, I started helping with the mudding of the walls. Do you know what that is? I didn’t, hence I’ll explain it to everyone that doesn’t know either.

The process of putting together a wall used to entail, in the old days:

• bricks
• mortar
• plaster

You’d take the bricks, put them together with mortar, and then add plaster on top.

State in Emergency

Amazing and hard to believe, but global warming has the strangest effects in the islands. The papers are full of stories about the storms that have been hitting Oahu in the past week, all mentioning how nobody has ever seen this kind of weather. More and more blame it on the ability of winter storms to reach farther down to the tropics, and consequently to the islands.

Fortunately things are calming down, and we are enjoying a gorgeous Hamakua day around here. The wind is blustery, but who cares considering it could be raining? The sun is out, even here in Ninole, and being inside the house is amazing. Let’s hope the weather stays this way until tomorrow, when I’ll be able to go to the beach for the first time.

Rain, Rain, Rain

Back in Ninole, where life is good. I finally have Internet connectivity (thanks to a Verizon card), which helps a lot. Still no kitchen, though, or potable water, so I still drive to Hilo in the morning.

Work on the house is slower even than feared. There are a few drywalls in, the staircase down is closer to final, and the inspector had only three things to complain about:

1. The bannisters of the main lanai were spaced too far apart (but he’s essentially complaining that the building code is too lax in the matter)
2. The master bathroom has no ventilation (which then turned into not enough ventilation)
3. The windows of the master bedroom are too low and it’s too easy to fall out. He requires screens to be mounted and screwed in place to prevent a fall

That’s all good. The mountain is still white in snow, the weather is dreadful (cool and cloudy) and the storms that have been hitting California lately are not going to leave this place alone. There was even a dam break in Kaua`i that killed a few people.

Late, late, late

Just came back from Ninole, with a day-long flight that managed to be by far the fastest I have taken. The plane made it into the Bay Area from Honolulu in 4:19, and then had to park due to heavy winds for 40 minutes (sigh).

The house is well, with the tile work in progress and the electrical close to rough-in. That means we still have a few weeks to go, but then it’s final inspection and I can my refi done. That’s going to be a huge thing for me, finally to be out of the strictures of a construction loan!!!

Moonbows

The night I arrive, we had a spectacular full moon that had a great time blasting light all over the island. You didn’t need any lanterns or other devices, so bright was it.

Looking towards the mountain, we saw the usual rain clouds hammering the upper slopes. All of a sudden, a huge greyish ring forms, and we realize we are seeing a rainbow of moonlight. Is that a moonbow?

Staircase Complete