Life update: 2 months of Casa de Zoidberg

"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
08/19/2018 at 17:45 • Filed to: personalopnik

The colors, children! THE COLORS!!!

This year has been an absolute roller-coaster. But on this Sunday, I enjoy a brief break in the eye of the storm.

The house thing ... I mean even as often as I posted about that saga, I could not properly articulate what I was really feeling. And once I finally snagged a home, it was a new host of anxieties: stuff that needs fixed, stuff that breaks while fixing other stuff, stuff we didn’t know needed fixing, and stuff that stuffs while stuffing other stuff. A big change is obvious: the monies. My last house was dirt cheap... probably because no else wanted to live there or take on that project... and I spent maybe... maybe?... 12 grand fixing it up while living there. I had put a bigly percent down because that’s how I roll, so our overhead was nothing. All net savings were hoarded to throw at our alleged second home, on top of what I hoped was some decent equity. You know the rest of the story. But one day I woke and went from living well below our means, to somewhere near our means. That’s been an adjustment. But it’s not an unjustified shock.

I’m the same guy where eight years ago I was turning off the heat in winter to save money. Because we had... no money. And while we were freezing our butts off in a sub-par rental that very winter, we would walk the “good” neighborhood a couple blocks away, my n0w-wife and I. We used to walk by this very house and say to each other, “Can you imagine living there?/That’s the dream/I love that house,” and all variations thereof. I never dreamed I would be 31 and in this very home. It ain’t as cheap and it needs all the everythings you could think of for a home, but man. I don’t feel bad for enjoying myself. Buyer’s remorse? Let’s look into that...

I have made a list of things I really, truly miss about our last house, now that I’m two months removed:

1. how cheap it was

2. ....

3. Oh, the raspberries

3 ...

4. NO

And if I’m even slightly upbeat about anything, just imagine how my wife thinks. It’s an indescribable feeling to see someone you love absolutely beaming.

Too much “yay for me” thus far? Don’t roll your eyes and root for my demise just yet. There have been a few very unfortunate, ongoing events this year that have been some of the lowest points of my life. So you see, things like this beer, this house, my wife, and doggo are the few things that keep me from going absolutely insane. But it’s a short life so I can’t afford to go all existential every time I’m faced with challenges... Meh, easier said than done.

Once things finally settle down (never?) I plan on assaulting oppo with actual car content once again. I’m getting the itch to buy and blow more money of my Paseo wagon that I’ve only driven 4,000 miles since owning it.

In the meantime, thanks for indulging my posts about dubious paint choices, spiders, doggos, and partial sunsets.

DISCUSSION (24)

Wacko > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/19/2018 at 18:10

Once you have kids you will post about them more than you posted about that celica

His Stigness > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/19/2018 at 18:28

Is the green the new color or are you covering it up with white?

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > His Stigness
08/19/2018 at 18:29

Green is getting covered with the white.

His Stigness > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/19/2018 at 18:35

Whew. I don’t think it’s the worst choice, but... still.

f86sabre > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/19/2018 at 18:46

A bit of Billy West doing Zoidberg to make you smile.

You appear to be doing alright. 31, happily married and you own a home in western Washington. If we were all by ourselves most Opponauts would live in a shack in the back of a 6 car garage. We would survive off of grilled/smoked meats. Getting to make someone else happy is a privalge and it helps us make better decisions. Not belittling any of the stress or challenges you are facing, but it looks like the positive is winning. Keep it up.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/19/2018 at 18:46

T he revelation that you’re 31 makes me feel so much better about myself. I thought you were like 23. Seriously, I didn’t think you were that old.

In a funny sort of parallel, my wife remembers our house being built because it is on the way between her parents place and the high school. I think it somehow made her very happy to finally live in one of those nice houses in town. It’s not amazing in my opinion, but it’s decent and comfortable (now). It was frustrating having so few options, but what can you do? Great job holding out and getting what you really wanted.

Congratulations on everything you’ve moved forward this year.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > His Stigness
08/19/2018 at 18:55

I suppose it’s just double the work. In every room upstairs, the walls are off-white, and the trim is some crazy different color in each room. Instead of... you know... The trim being white everywhere and the wall colors being different.

His Stigness > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/19/2018 at 18:56

One must not conform.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
08/19/2018 at 19:00

Well we just got lucky (can you can a fat debt luck? thinkingemoji.png), but just finding any home we wanted to make an offer on was hell. And then obviously losing out on three previously was bigly hell. What we wanted sounded simple enough: 1) good house, 2) great neighborhood, 3) X dollars. But you can only look at houses that are actually on market. Plus everyone else wanted what we wanted, so competition at our bracket was fierce. I had zero intentions of looking at this home, let alone putting an offer on it. But that’s just life

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/19/2018 at 19:25

In addition to more fancy paseo posts we need more chandelier content. I went to Home Depot and dropped $25 large on a light fixture for the downstairs bathroom. As with everything in my house the wiring is janky as fuck. I jut make sure it’s tight and grounded. Like 4 #12’s twisted together in the light receptacle box?

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
08/19/2018 at 19:32

Electrical a current issue for me as well. We we’re swapping out outlets and GFIs upstairs only to find maybe 1" slack of wire in virtually all of them , whereas I think you should have 6" of slack. In addition, I have several outlets with four wires, all of which are painted black. Even the easy stuff is never easy.

fintail > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/20/2018 at 09:50

At least you aren’t blowing your money on overpriced new furniture.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > fintail
08/20/2018 at 10:03

Since we’ve moved here I’ve gotten:
- two free dressers
- one free coffee table
- one $100 coffee table
- one $100 ikea desk
- one free ikea desk
- four free lamps
- two free wicker chairs
- one free mission chair

My wife is good at what she does.

fintail > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/20/2018 at 11:55

A $100 coffee table? Well laa-tee-daa.

Nice that owning a mansion isn’t going to the head though.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > fintail
08/20/2018 at 12:02

Are we calling anything over 800 sq ft a mansion now? NO

fintail > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/20/2018 at 13:49

YES. Plus turret.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > fintail
08/20/2018 at 13:51

Damn, I didn't think I posted that...

fintail > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/20/2018 at 13:52

I could see it from the inside. I think it was your office. Notastalker.

(OK, a little stalker)

functionoverfashion > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/20/2018 at 13:52

Man, sometimes the easy stuff is the hard stuff. I swapped out the light fixtures in my bathrooms this spring, they were both old, rusty 1987 junk. I replaced them with new, cheap-but-much-better-looking things.

Downstairs I thought, this will be easy, not moving the fixture just replacing in the exact spot. Nooo, I did have to move it, and of course the center of the mirror was lined up *almost* with a stud. I had to carve out half a stud in the wall, then rebuild around it and make a space big enough for the fixture box, all to move it up the wall about 6". Patch the old hole, etc. this all took about 4 hours start to finish (not continuously because who has 4 continuous free hours? Not me.

The one upstairs I knew I’d have to move over about 5" to one side and also up, I thought this would be harder (that is, before the downstairs took me 4 hours) . It was all in a clear space between two studs and it’s just a light fixture so I was able to make a new hole in the drywall and patch the old one, run the wire, install a new box, all in about 40 minutes.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > fintail
08/20/2018 at 13:58

Too bad it has no foundation underneath the overhang. Just another item on the to- do list

fintail > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/20/2018 at 14:01

You have plenty of time, you’re going to be there forever.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > fintail
08/20/2018 at 14:02

[SpongeBob timecard voice]

Five years lay-tare...

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > functionoverfashion
08/20/2018 at 14:04

Studs: never there when you need them, always there when you don't

fintail > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/20/2018 at 14:11

Maybe add a zero.