So the other night The Bronsons (Thais refer to themselves in the third person all the time, and i have lovingly adopted this method of speaking) had quite an interesting, unexpected exercise in marriage teamwork. Coming back from Nong Khai we were tired and weary and decided in the cab home from the airport to make a quick, no-hassle spaghetti-from-a-jar meal when we got home. Sounds nice, right? Not so. The scene went something like this:
(Sounds of hissing water boiling)…
Becky: mmm. I love you sweet husband of mine.
Andrew: mmm. love you too.
Becky: what’s that?
Andrew: I said, it looks like we’re locked in. (smug laugh).
Becky: huh?
Andrew: I mean, I closed the door and now we’re locked in.
Becky: what door? where?
(sounds of the Gao Wao bird faithfully rise in the distance)
Andrew: Oh man. This is going to be a long night.
Now, you may be wondering what would cause us to 1) have a kitchen door that locks from the inside of the house and 2) why we would close said door in the first place. The answer to #1 is that our kitchen used to be our backyard. Sounds weird, but we enclosed a patio-like backyard to become a very handy utility/cooking area, with roof, plumbing, sink, stove, washing machine, pantry cabinet, etc. The answer to #2 is a mosquito, plain and simple. Andrew patiently explained to his loving wife that the door was shut behind him because he spotted a zebra mosquito – the most deadly kind of night mosquito we have here in Thailand, arising at night from murky corners and their daytime slumber to torture happy sleepers such as ourselves – and was trying to keep it contained so it wouldn’t escape into the other more living-ish parts of our house.
Sigh.
We have 3 windows in our kitchen – 2 with heavy robber-proof bar covers (and therefore escape proof), and one that looks back on the inside of our house. It so happened that this window was locked from the inside as well (why, I wish I knew), so in the end, after a botched doorknob lock-picking job (Becky cheered him on while eating spaghetti on the floor), Andrew edged the sliding window off it’s track as far as he could and I reached through with my faithful duster with a hooked handle, enabling the lock to be pushed down. SAVED!
I have newfound respect for my duster, which I have deemed the Bronsons’ Utility Player. Take note: it clearly serves many functions besides just dusting, it could even save your life! So ended another day in Bangkok, Thailand 
Gene said,
February 4, 2007 at 2:49 am
Becky,
Keep up the good work and excellent posts. I recently moved back to Dallas from Los Angeles and between work and studying for the Texas Bar exam, your posts provide a much needed insight to the outside world. Thank You!
From everyone in Big D—Happy New Year to the Bronson, and wishing you all the best in your efforts.
—Gene
PS—Andrew, the football team is in good hands.
Bob McGuire said,
March 16, 2007 at 7:26 pm
Hiring A Bathroom Remodeling Contractor
Busy, busy, busy, that is how you have to describe the people of the new millennium. People seem to have less time for things around the house. The work week never seems to be over, people are tired and just want to spend time with their family. The average work week has increased from 38 to 44 hours. Traffic and distance makes commuting to work last much longer. There is actually less time for yourself and your family. When it comes to remodeling a room in the house, it just seems like too much time and effort. So when the bathroom needs to be remodeled, who do people call?
The first choice for busy people is to call bathroom remodeling contractors. There are a lot of contractors and it can be confusing at first. The people have to choose one and that is sometimes the hardest part of all of the remodeling. There is the Yellow Pages but if you call all the contractors in the yellow pages you are likely to get many messages saying the number is disconnected. What about flyers at your door? Bad Idea, These guys are usually people laid off from some other kind of work not necessarily contracting work. What about TV ads? These people are usually reliable but costly. They charge anywhere from half again to twice what a smaller reputable firm would charge. So what is the best way to find a contractor? The best way to choose bathroom remodeling contractor is to ask family and friends if they have had work done and how they liked their contractor. The price he gives you will probably not be the lowest price you can get. A person that is in a lasting business can not afford to give work away long before going under. Going under means owing a lot of people a lot of money. Going for the lowest price often can mean you are shopping for trouble.
Word of mouth means more than almost anything. People can also go to most home warehouse centers and ask for a list of recommended contractors. This gives people a good place to start but do yourself a favor and ask friends and co-workers first.
Next, call all of the contractors on the list and show them what needs to be done. It is perfectly acceptable to ask for references if the contractor in not a referral. Check with some of the references and find out what they liked and didn’t like. Bathroom remodeling contractors get work by their previous work. If they aren’t good, they won’t have very much work to do.
Paying Bathroom Remodeling Contractors
Once the people have decided on the right contractor and the right price, the terms of payment will soon surface. In most cases, people don’t want to pay the contractor before the work is started. If payment is made before any work has started, the incentive to finish the project will have been lost.
They may ask for a portion up front for materials and the amount is something that the people and the contractor will have to talk about. We have found that a minimal down payment is all that is needed. Just a few hundred dollars or less. Then 30% when we start and 30% after all the rough in work is done then another 30% when the drywall is completed leaving 10% for the final. That way everyone is even money wise most the way along. There are special circumstances such as plans and permits the city wants up front. Special purchases such as special order tubs and tile that needs to be paid up front. Keep in mind that there is a 3 day rescission law. That means the job is officially under way at 3 business days. If you cancel the job after this time you still owe the contractor. Talking about these things opens the doors for more questions. Talking to bathroom remodeling contractors is a good thing. If the people see something that they don’t like, the contractor will appreciate being told immediately. This saves materials and time.
Time is money and most people have a budget that they are following. When the work is finished, the final payment will be expected. Remember that the contractor needs the money and if the work was performed in a satisfactory matter, then people should pay the difference right away.