Dealing With the State

It seems as if this barn we're trying to build is never going to get done. Not only are all the contractors bailing out on us, they are such flakes, but the state seems set on preventing us from going forward. It's hard, and part of me wants to throw in the towel and tell everyone to shove it up their you-know-whats, but that's hardly a way to get things done. It's a little like homeschooling, there are rules and regulations that you simply don't agree with and may even seem stupid, but they are there for a reason, and regardless of whether or not it makes sense, when you're dealing with someone else, you gotta play by their rules.

I haven't heard squat from Paul Derksen's excavator, he said he'd get us a quote in the mail and two weeks later, nothing. I did hear from Dave Sanderson, there was a mis-communication on his end and apparently his wife forgot to send us the quote. He said he'd get it to us ASAP, and now he's in our good graces and Dan Clay is in the doghouse. Such is life. I'd be interested to see where Dave's numbers fall relative to Dan Clays.

As far as the state, I'm not sure what to make of it all. They stopped the permit because they needed water quality tests, and after we sent them, they said it was not a state approved lab and all the necessary contaminants were not examined. So now, one month later, we have to find a new lab, get the tests done, and send them in. We have 60 days, so no time to lose.

Otherwise, we are full swing into Winter. We got our first snowfall yesterday, just a sprinkling, but I think it pretty much signals the end Fall and the end of me doing anything in the garden. I'm beginning to wonder if gardening is even worth it, but I won't go there for now. We are still on the steep part of our learning curve.

Furthermore, I'm not sure what to make of Paul. He sent us a bill for his time in the design, and I'm wondering why now. This project has completely stalled, nothing is happening, and yet he wants to get paid for his design, which was amateurish at best. No offense to Paul, he's a friend, but the design aspect of building is new to him, he's still learning and playing with his program, and I'm guessing he probably spent more time working on it than he actually billed us, but give me a break. It's a bit of nickle and diming, if you ask me.

Meanwhile, we're caught in the middle of the Bob and Paul saga. Bob wants us to deal with this, but he has ultimate decision making power in any and everything, so it makes much more sense for him to deal with Paul directly. Yet, he wants us to be the middle-men, even though we can't make any final decisions. What to do?

Personally, I want this whole thing to just end. I'm fine with the thing just being a glorified garage, but again, that's just giving up and taking the easy way out. Man is it appealing right now, though.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.