Friday, April 30, 2010
Ticket for one please!
One of my happy responsibilities at MegaBank was to participate in an organization that brought security professionals together from all over the world and from all types of companies to discuss emerging issues. I learned a lot and grew tremendously through the experience.
Aside from the loss of my spectacular and talented team the forced end of my relationship with that organization was the hardest part about the death of MegaBank.
Happily I find that my new employer is a member of the organization and I am just ballsy enough to walk right up to our senior security manager and tell him I want to be involved again. He agreed and magically, by this morning I'm set up with an account on their website and am looking at travel options to the next meeting.
This is the same organization that gave me the opportunity to visit Dublin, Ireland, Barcelona, Spain and Austin, Texas. It's not every gal who gets to have such amazing cultural experiences. I mean...TEXAS! That's totally unique.
So, I'll likely be heading to Boston in October and the June meeting is in Brighton in England. The big cheese said "count on going" but I need to talk to my direct manager before I book the ticket. I think it would be bad for her to check in on me and find that I'm outside London and not Seattle. I still have to change my name on my passport - which I should send off today to get it processed in time (in case I really am going).
Normal travel to San Jose without my guy seems ok, but I will admit that I'm feeling strange about travel to far off wonderful places without him. Many of the members bring their 'wives' on these trips and it is perfectly acceptable, but I doubt Jas would like the shopping experiences with the ladies and I really doubt we're going to pay for his airfare out of our own pocket. We're doing ok, but a side trip to the UK... that's something we plan ahead for.
So, after my mid day meetings I'm off to get a passport photo and then send my packet to the state department for the (semi)unlikely event that I'm needed in Europe in June.
Stay tuned!
Aside from the loss of my spectacular and talented team the forced end of my relationship with that organization was the hardest part about the death of MegaBank.
Happily I find that my new employer is a member of the organization and I am just ballsy enough to walk right up to our senior security manager and tell him I want to be involved again. He agreed and magically, by this morning I'm set up with an account on their website and am looking at travel options to the next meeting.
This is the same organization that gave me the opportunity to visit Dublin, Ireland, Barcelona, Spain and Austin, Texas. It's not every gal who gets to have such amazing cultural experiences. I mean...TEXAS! That's totally unique.
So, I'll likely be heading to Boston in October and the June meeting is in Brighton in England. The big cheese said "count on going" but I need to talk to my direct manager before I book the ticket. I think it would be bad for her to check in on me and find that I'm outside London and not Seattle. I still have to change my name on my passport - which I should send off today to get it processed in time (in case I really am going).
Normal travel to San Jose without my guy seems ok, but I will admit that I'm feeling strange about travel to far off wonderful places without him. Many of the members bring their 'wives' on these trips and it is perfectly acceptable, but I doubt Jas would like the shopping experiences with the ladies and I really doubt we're going to pay for his airfare out of our own pocket. We're doing ok, but a side trip to the UK... that's something we plan ahead for.
So, after my mid day meetings I'm off to get a passport photo and then send my packet to the state department for the (semi)unlikely event that I'm needed in Europe in June.
Stay tuned!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
What do you do anyway?
Last night as my evening was winding down I was thinking of new blog topics and it occurred to me that I haven’t evangelized about my work lately. It’s been a while since I’ve been excited about the actual work of my career that my work topics of late have been about travel and the wacky water saving measures here in San Jose.
I also wonder if you know exactly what I do. Sometimes I feel like Chandler Bing from Friends in that no one has an idea of what I do. I’m an Information Security Risk Manager. A Secur-a-What?
I’m going to break it down. All companies have data. They have information about sales figures, inventory, their customers, their employees, accounting information, bills they owe, who owes them, they have databases that contain the history of transactions, they have performance data of their super special systems (in a utility it is the flow of energy, in a bank it is the volume of transactions, at an internet company it is the number of times someone buys from them, or clicks on a link.) For the most part everything a company does is somehow translated or reported on computer systems.
All this data lives on servers and is transferred around the companies via email, computer systems and yes even sometimes in paper form (although not so much anymore.) Heck, no one even has files at their desk anymore. We have little drawers that hold our half bags of M&M’s and the pens we’ve collected from conferences, but folders of paper… not so much.
Information Security programs are in place at most if not all companies to ensure that this data is managed correctly. (data management is a different profession and I think it is all about where to store it, how it will be named and other important things that I can’t be bothered to understand.) Information Security focuses on limiting access to only the right people, the right systems and making sure that when the data needs to move from the database to the front end application that it is secure.
There are multiple ‘domains’ in the field of information security. There are people who focus on access – the right people getting access to the right stuff, and people who focus on Architecture – making sure the physical computer equipment is connected correctly. Other domains include Investigations, Encryption, Disaster Recovery, System Security and Management.
My exact work focuses on a hybrid of system security and management. I work on developing the policies (rules) around how a server will be configured to best keep unwanted people out. In the real world, I would be the one telling car companies that they have to put locks on the doors. Locks may make it harder to get into the car, but people are always happy to find that no one else has been in their car while they were out.
So, I help make the rules. Most technology people think the policy makers are rule happy and there are plenty of people who do what I do who don’t have an understanding that while locks are a great idea, locks don’t make sense on a go-cart. Sometimes the rules shouldn’t apply or are too restrictive to facilitate business.
The other half of my job is helping people who find themselves in a situation where they are faced with a rule they can’t follow. I have the task of investigating what it is they really can’t do, figuring out if it is really true that they can’t (maybe they just don’t want to) and then working out a way for them to either do what they need to by layering on other rules (i.e. no lock on the go-cart, but it is stored in a locked garage when not in use) or helping them defend the lack of rule application. For example if the lock on the car costs a million dollars but the car is only worth five dollars it doesn’t make any sense to lock it up. Conversely, I also help them understand why they may not be able to pass up following a rule. Maybe the lock costs a million and the car is only worth $5, but the car carries all the information about the entire customer base and the cost of losing that information is worth the entire value of the company. Yes, it may take time and money to lock the car, but you can’t accept the risk of bringing down the company.
Gosh, that’s a lot of car metaphor for one morning.
I do a lot of talking and investigating. I am not a technologist, I understand the technology landscape, but I freely admit that most people in IT know more about how these systems work than I ever will. Each rule exception that I get involved in is a learning opportunity. I don’t pretend to be the expert in any area, I bring the right people to the table and after a while I can speak on a topic with an authoritative tone.
I have to dabble in all the security domains in order to support the policy and exceptions world that I work in. This is great because I can sit and have beer with all the folks and know what the heck they are talking about but I can’t claim to be an expert in any area. (I’d be a great manager, I can talk about it, but I can’t actually DO it.)
So… does that help? Or did I lose you at Secur-a-what?
I also wonder if you know exactly what I do. Sometimes I feel like Chandler Bing from Friends in that no one has an idea of what I do. I’m an Information Security Risk Manager. A Secur-a-What?
I’m going to break it down. All companies have data. They have information about sales figures, inventory, their customers, their employees, accounting information, bills they owe, who owes them, they have databases that contain the history of transactions, they have performance data of their super special systems (in a utility it is the flow of energy, in a bank it is the volume of transactions, at an internet company it is the number of times someone buys from them, or clicks on a link.) For the most part everything a company does is somehow translated or reported on computer systems.
All this data lives on servers and is transferred around the companies via email, computer systems and yes even sometimes in paper form (although not so much anymore.) Heck, no one even has files at their desk anymore. We have little drawers that hold our half bags of M&M’s and the pens we’ve collected from conferences, but folders of paper… not so much.
Information Security programs are in place at most if not all companies to ensure that this data is managed correctly. (data management is a different profession and I think it is all about where to store it, how it will be named and other important things that I can’t be bothered to understand.) Information Security focuses on limiting access to only the right people, the right systems and making sure that when the data needs to move from the database to the front end application that it is secure.
There are multiple ‘domains’ in the field of information security. There are people who focus on access – the right people getting access to the right stuff, and people who focus on Architecture – making sure the physical computer equipment is connected correctly. Other domains include Investigations, Encryption, Disaster Recovery, System Security and Management.
My exact work focuses on a hybrid of system security and management. I work on developing the policies (rules) around how a server will be configured to best keep unwanted people out. In the real world, I would be the one telling car companies that they have to put locks on the doors. Locks may make it harder to get into the car, but people are always happy to find that no one else has been in their car while they were out.
So, I help make the rules. Most technology people think the policy makers are rule happy and there are plenty of people who do what I do who don’t have an understanding that while locks are a great idea, locks don’t make sense on a go-cart. Sometimes the rules shouldn’t apply or are too restrictive to facilitate business.
The other half of my job is helping people who find themselves in a situation where they are faced with a rule they can’t follow. I have the task of investigating what it is they really can’t do, figuring out if it is really true that they can’t (maybe they just don’t want to) and then working out a way for them to either do what they need to by layering on other rules (i.e. no lock on the go-cart, but it is stored in a locked garage when not in use) or helping them defend the lack of rule application. For example if the lock on the car costs a million dollars but the car is only worth five dollars it doesn’t make any sense to lock it up. Conversely, I also help them understand why they may not be able to pass up following a rule. Maybe the lock costs a million and the car is only worth $5, but the car carries all the information about the entire customer base and the cost of losing that information is worth the entire value of the company. Yes, it may take time and money to lock the car, but you can’t accept the risk of bringing down the company.
Gosh, that’s a lot of car metaphor for one morning.
I do a lot of talking and investigating. I am not a technologist, I understand the technology landscape, but I freely admit that most people in IT know more about how these systems work than I ever will. Each rule exception that I get involved in is a learning opportunity. I don’t pretend to be the expert in any area, I bring the right people to the table and after a while I can speak on a topic with an authoritative tone.
I have to dabble in all the security domains in order to support the policy and exceptions world that I work in. This is great because I can sit and have beer with all the folks and know what the heck they are talking about but I can’t claim to be an expert in any area. (I’d be a great manager, I can talk about it, but I can’t actually DO it.)
So… does that help? Or did I lose you at Secur-a-what?
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Vacations
Silence, I know, I’ve been leaving you hanging. It was a busy weekend and I left Sunday to come to San Jose. I feel like I’ve been away from home all week but there’s a note at the top of my note pad that I keep at my desk that says “It’s only Tuesday.”
The Sunday travel was nice because the airport was not busy, but I’m not use to the extra night away from home and I feel like it should be my travel home day already. I’ll be home soon enough and don’t have a planned return trip until right before Memorial Day.
I’m at a new hotel this trip because of my change of employment. It is less expensive than my other hotel, but is higher up on the hotel brand chain. Nicer hotel means no free breakfast – I don’t understand that but that is how it works.
I like my room, the bed is fabulous, the bathroom is spacious but the tv is some strange relic from the past. It is has an actual tube in it. It is about 4 feet deep and only 27 inches wide. What gives? I know what it is, the hotel furniture was configured for this strange tv and they haven’t figured out how to mount a flat screen in the room. I think maybe I’ll have to get beyond $139 a night to get the tv that zips up out of the foot of the bed.
I’m sure the double tree has a better tv situation, but I’m collecting Marriott points and I like the food options better at this hotel (I’m drooling over my options for tonight.)
In my real life I’ve been planning business and pleasure trips for the summer. It turns out if I don’t get things on the calendar early they just don’t happen. We planned a trip with Becky & Brett to go to Walla Walla in August and I’m so happy that we not only planned it but pre-paid for our hotel. How nice to get there and only have to shell out for wine and food.
We’re headed to Yakima to visit my parents for Memorial Day. I hope the weather is good, I want to do some ‘golfing’ and other outdoor activities. I’d like to invite some of the family over for outside food, but as there is lingering drama from goodness knows what it may have to be a smaller than normal group. I did book us the ‘glamour suite’ at the hotel – it has a king sized bed AND a whirlpool tub. Woo woo. I ‘m not sure what I’m excited about, we have a tub at home that fits two people. However, I don’t have to clean the one at the hotel so I guess it would be ok to bring on the sparkly, fizzy bath bombs that I won’t let into my own house.
I know it’s more than 5 months away, but we’ve also booked our romantic 1 year anniversary celebration. We’re headed to a concert at a winery here in the bay area and then to Monterey for a weekend of playtime. I’m happy to report that I parted with some of the free hotel nights I’ve earned for this weekend. I’m pretty stingy about using those, but a romantic weekend in wine country with my hubby of one year seems like a worthy cause. We booked early to get the free rooms and to get good tickets to the concert. You have to be on top of those things or you’ll be sitting in your car wishing you were inside.
We’ve booked a lot of fun weekends this year, and will be camping in August, but I am short on vacation time because of my newness to the company. It feels strange to only have one day of vacation on the books. By the time I get 5 days I’ll be taking them for the camping trip and then will have to build up for the holidays. This company has nice holiday days off and unlike MegaBank they give us the day after Thanksgiving so I don’t have to pretend to work. Sure, I’ll miss the Columbus and Veterans holidays, but I can get behind the Thanksgiving thing.
I’ll have built up vacation time again… oh yes I will.
The Sunday travel was nice because the airport was not busy, but I’m not use to the extra night away from home and I feel like it should be my travel home day already. I’ll be home soon enough and don’t have a planned return trip until right before Memorial Day.
I’m at a new hotel this trip because of my change of employment. It is less expensive than my other hotel, but is higher up on the hotel brand chain. Nicer hotel means no free breakfast – I don’t understand that but that is how it works.
I like my room, the bed is fabulous, the bathroom is spacious but the tv is some strange relic from the past. It is has an actual tube in it. It is about 4 feet deep and only 27 inches wide. What gives? I know what it is, the hotel furniture was configured for this strange tv and they haven’t figured out how to mount a flat screen in the room. I think maybe I’ll have to get beyond $139 a night to get the tv that zips up out of the foot of the bed.
I’m sure the double tree has a better tv situation, but I’m collecting Marriott points and I like the food options better at this hotel (I’m drooling over my options for tonight.)
In my real life I’ve been planning business and pleasure trips for the summer. It turns out if I don’t get things on the calendar early they just don’t happen. We planned a trip with Becky & Brett to go to Walla Walla in August and I’m so happy that we not only planned it but pre-paid for our hotel. How nice to get there and only have to shell out for wine and food.
We’re headed to Yakima to visit my parents for Memorial Day. I hope the weather is good, I want to do some ‘golfing’ and other outdoor activities. I’d like to invite some of the family over for outside food, but as there is lingering drama from goodness knows what it may have to be a smaller than normal group. I did book us the ‘glamour suite’ at the hotel – it has a king sized bed AND a whirlpool tub. Woo woo. I ‘m not sure what I’m excited about, we have a tub at home that fits two people. However, I don’t have to clean the one at the hotel so I guess it would be ok to bring on the sparkly, fizzy bath bombs that I won’t let into my own house.
I know it’s more than 5 months away, but we’ve also booked our romantic 1 year anniversary celebration. We’re headed to a concert at a winery here in the bay area and then to Monterey for a weekend of playtime. I’m happy to report that I parted with some of the free hotel nights I’ve earned for this weekend. I’m pretty stingy about using those, but a romantic weekend in wine country with my hubby of one year seems like a worthy cause. We booked early to get the free rooms and to get good tickets to the concert. You have to be on top of those things or you’ll be sitting in your car wishing you were inside.
We’ve booked a lot of fun weekends this year, and will be camping in August, but I am short on vacation time because of my newness to the company. It feels strange to only have one day of vacation on the books. By the time I get 5 days I’ll be taking them for the camping trip and then will have to build up for the holidays. This company has nice holiday days off and unlike MegaBank they give us the day after Thanksgiving so I don’t have to pretend to work. Sure, I’ll miss the Columbus and Veterans holidays, but I can get behind the Thanksgiving thing.
I’ll have built up vacation time again… oh yes I will.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
There's pavement under that lake?
The path from the parking lot to Jas' work. Too bad we don't have a boat.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Long Day to Earth Day
As predicted yesterday was a long day, with the alarm going off at 4:15 am and not getting to sleep until about midnight. It was productive and made me think that I need to schedule time in San Jose on a semi-regular basis. It is good team building, and I got a lot done. (go figure)
Today is Earth Day and I'm celebrating by wearing a sweater vs. using the heat. Actually, I think it is better to live like everyday is Earth Day and do your part to recycle, buy smart and not burn oil fires in the back yard.
It is also "BYKTWD" at Jason's employer (bring your kids to work day) so he's having fun dodging smaller versions of his co-workers.
Jas 'shares' a workspace with three other people. There's Jody, the super fun and wrong on many level's work wife, Dweasel, the shortish, weight lifter who eats 12 eggs a day and the other guy who is I'm guessing not super funny and not overly irritating or I would know his name.
I met Dweasel at a work party and got to meet his lovely wife and kids. And by "lovely" I mean, odd. She's Ukrainian (it only matters because the accent and what she said to me fits a terrible stereotype in my head) and rules their house and Dweasels life as if he doesn't have a reasonable thought in his head. She gets pissed if she calls him at work and he can't talk. So, I have the back story that he's a bit hen pecked, but at the party she made a big show of asking how I was getting use to having to ask to spend money (now that we're married.) Uh...ask!? Jason and I both laughed out loud at that one. She also wanted to know exactly how much we spent for our house, the square footage, the size of the yard... Rude, Rude, Rude. So, while all this was happening, their little angel daughter who is maybe 12, rolls up and shoves her plate of food into Dweasel's hand and says "Hold this!" and then walks away. Like momma like daughter I guess.
I tell you all this because, the little angel is at work today whipping her dad into shape. (tee hee) What wonderful entertainment for the others in the workspace. I guess it's a nice change of pace from what I assume are terrible egg farts.
I tried to find a kid to bring to my work today. You would think it would be easy with our having a High School less than a mile away, but alas the police stopped by and told me I had to stop recruiting for my "take your kid to work day" candidate. Apparently, if they aren't your kids they aren't welcome. Whatever. My employer really dropped the ball anyway on the BYKTWD program for those of us who work from our homes. I guess they thought it would look a lot like staying home from school to hang out at home.
So, I guess Bring Your Kid To Work day is about as fun in the home office as the Christmas Party. Its exactly the same - but with less booze.
It is also "BYKTWD" at Jason's employer (bring your kids to work day) so he's having fun dodging smaller versions of his co-workers.
Jas 'shares' a workspace with three other people. There's Jody, the super fun and wrong on many level's work wife, Dweasel, the shortish, weight lifter who eats 12 eggs a day and the other guy who is I'm guessing not super funny and not overly irritating or I would know his name.
I tell you all this because, the little angel is at work today whipping her dad into shape. (tee hee) What wonderful entertainment for the others in the workspace. I guess it's a nice change of pace from what I assume are terrible egg farts.
So, I guess Bring Your Kid To Work day is about as fun in the home office as the Christmas Party. Its exactly the same - but with less booze.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
More new words
Bar Graft: A person who has been at a tavern or pub for so long they are now a permanent fixture. Sometimes the staff closes up and forgets to make them go home.
Long Day
I"m on the 6:30 flight to San Jose this morning and will be there all day and then fly home tonight. It will be a long day, but better than a sleepover for no real reason.
I'm going again on Sunday, so I figured the "down and back" was a good idea...at 5:19am, the idea sucks.
Have a great day!
I'm going again on Sunday, so I figured the "down and back" was a good idea...at 5:19am, the idea sucks.
Have a great day!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Oh that is CRAZY
One of our big projects for the house was an air conditioner and we ended up investing in a heat-pump (that will both heat and cool.) I mentioned that the installers were here last week and spend the better part of a day in and out of our attic and back yard to get it up and running. It has been a week and we are happy, we are getting use to the auto-tuning and think it will have been a great investment.
One of the minor tasks that has to happen now that the heat-pump is installed is to get the work inspected. This is a great service the city provides (for a fee) that will ideally insure that our installers didn't do shoddy work.
The process is supposed to be easy. You call the number on the form, input the permit number and presto they arrive the next day to do the inspection.
This is how it is supposed to work. Sadly, the permit number that is PRINTED on the form with our name, address and job information is not actually the "real" permit number. I guess you're supposed to call and get the clerk to assign you a different number that will work with the phone system.
I love this bit of inefficiency that has resulted in my planning to be here for the inspector who is not coming.
The other "super helpful" thing the city of Renton has going for it is their automated phone line. Once you enter your permit number it simply says "Thank you for calling the city of Renton, goodbye" and then it hangs up. Oh my...I'm so glad I called today to see if I could get a 4 hour window for the inspection because if I had sat here waiting all day and the inspector didn't show I probably would have gone to the crazy, bitchy place when I learned my secret permit number wasn't on my form.
I hex you, City of Renton for being inefficient.
One of the minor tasks that has to happen now that the heat-pump is installed is to get the work inspected. This is a great service the city provides (for a fee) that will ideally insure that our installers didn't do shoddy work.
The process is supposed to be easy. You call the number on the form, input the permit number and presto they arrive the next day to do the inspection.
This is how it is supposed to work. Sadly, the permit number that is PRINTED on the form with our name, address and job information is not actually the "real" permit number. I guess you're supposed to call and get the clerk to assign you a different number that will work with the phone system.
I love this bit of inefficiency that has resulted in my planning to be here for the inspector who is not coming.
The other "super helpful" thing the city of Renton has going for it is their automated phone line. Once you enter your permit number it simply says "Thank you for calling the city of Renton, goodbye" and then it hangs up. Oh my...I'm so glad I called today to see if I could get a 4 hour window for the inspection because if I had sat here waiting all day and the inspector didn't show I probably would have gone to the crazy, bitchy place when I learned my secret permit number wasn't on my form.
I hex you, City of Renton for being inefficient.
New words
Flexpertise: A person or team that displays agility in thinking or in their skillset. "We bring a lot of flexpertise to the table."
Bureaucrazy: The state of irritation a person finds themselves in while attempting to navigate city, county, state or federal regulations and "processes".
Bureaucrazy: The state of irritation a person finds themselves in while attempting to navigate city, county, state or federal regulations and "processes".
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Oh no...the Pastor is coming to dinner
Indeed, Pastor Gretchen (who sang so nicely at the wedding) is coming to dinner tonight.
I can't wait to pick her brain about theology, the great unknowns in the universe and why some places that specialize in breakfast can't cook good bacon.
She's actually pretty cool and I think we might crack open the good wine. None of that manischewitz for the good company. (No disrespect towards my lovely Jewish friends, but that manischewitz wine is a flavor I can't get behind. My grandmother use to like it because it was economical and sweet, but ... wow I don't think of it as a beverage you haul out for guests.)
I can't wait to pick her brain about theology, the great unknowns in the universe and why some places that specialize in breakfast can't cook good bacon.
She's actually pretty cool and I think we might crack open the good wine. None of that manischewitz for the good company. (No disrespect towards my lovely Jewish friends, but that manischewitz wine is a flavor I can't get behind. My grandmother use to like it because it was economical and sweet, but ... wow I don't think of it as a beverage you haul out for guests.)
On-Going Nonsense
Tiki Pete, one of my former MegaBankers posted a link to the Huffington Post (damn Democrat) and a slideshow of funny detention slips. He found a slip that was issued to him on the 6th slide.
I repost it here to honor the fact that this on-going nonsense continues to this day and I'm sure it is a grand plot to thwart the educational attempts from Mrs. Peter.
The whole slide show can be seen here: LINK
I repost it here to honor the fact that this on-going nonsense continues to this day and I'm sure it is a grand plot to thwart the educational attempts from Mrs. Peter.
The whole slide show can be seen here: LINK
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
One thing leads to another
I am so happy with the house that Jason and I purchased. Honestly, I never dreamed I would own a grown-up house, I always had this feeling that the place I was going to be able to afford would be a little "less than". It turns out, when you stop comparing yours with the house that Bill Gates lives in you can look at your own with a more realistic sense of pride and value. I love our house, it has great light, there is plenty of storage and our kitchen is fabulous.
No offense to Jason's condo, where we lived together for about a year, but this place feels like my home. We are having fun making it ours. We've got the furniture we like, the play areas (TV... not anything dirty) set up and are now just working on the details. Even though the house is new, I am genuinely shocked by the list of "to dos".
When we did our walk through we immediately identified that we wanted cupboards above the counter in the fun walkway between the kitchen and the dining room. Heck, we even priced them out, but have since opted to wait.
Our list changed to less visible things like power. There was a circuit in the kitchen that made the lights over our table flicker. There is a fabulous closet in our master bath, but no light so it is DARK DARK DARK in there. It was so dark (how dark was it?) that we had a battery operated camp light hanging so we could find the extra toilet paper.
Other things on our list are a modification to the deck/patio in our back yard. This will likely be a next summer activity because yesterday we had a heat-pump installed. A heat-pump is a step up from an air conditioner. A/C has one job, cooling. A heat-pump does the cooling but also pulls warm air out of the outside area to keep the inside warm. If the temperatures drops too much the back up heater will kick in. Heat-pumps provide more consistent house temperatures and use less energy. The energy claim I find hard to understand, but there were charts and figures.
A/C was in our future no matter what, and I'm pleased we were able to come up with a solution that works for us year round rather than just a few weeks during the year.
While I didn't want to learn anything about A/C or Heat-pumps I wasn't able to sit back like the princess I think I am and just have it installed. We ended up getting multiple bids (4) and doing lots of reading about products and installers. In the end, we found a company and a product that we liked.
Yesterday, there were three huge trucks at our house and at one time I counted 6 workers. In addition to installing the heat pump thing outside, they had to move the existing heater in our attic to make room for whatever connects to our system and we had an electrician on site who fixed our strange kitchen power situation and installed a light in the bathroom closet.
It was a long day (with them doing the work) and me trying to focus on my job. I will say, they were as quiet and as unobtrusive as you could imagine, but I was READY for them to leave last night.
So, our list of "things we need" is getting smaller, but we noticed this morning that the ladder they used to get into our attic did a number on the ceiling access area and it really needs to be repainted. Because of my time at Daly's I am the resident in-house painter, so on our next free Saturday I'll be on a ladder with paint in hand.
I'm hopeful that when I'm up there paining that I don't spot anything else that we need to do. I'm sure, like all home owners there will always be some maintenance project - but I'm pretty confident that we'll get to get the bikes out and play. The house won't be our only hobby.
I do apologize to you if you were hoping for a HOT HOT summer. Because we've had the heat pump / a/c installed Jason and I pretty much have jinxed us for a gray and cool summer season. Sorry.
No offense to Jason's condo, where we lived together for about a year, but this place feels like my home. We are having fun making it ours. We've got the furniture we like, the play areas (TV... not anything dirty) set up and are now just working on the details. Even though the house is new, I am genuinely shocked by the list of "to dos".
When we did our walk through we immediately identified that we wanted cupboards above the counter in the fun walkway between the kitchen and the dining room. Heck, we even priced them out, but have since opted to wait.
Our list changed to less visible things like power. There was a circuit in the kitchen that made the lights over our table flicker. There is a fabulous closet in our master bath, but no light so it is DARK DARK DARK in there. It was so dark (how dark was it?) that we had a battery operated camp light hanging so we could find the extra toilet paper.
Other things on our list are a modification to the deck/patio in our back yard. This will likely be a next summer activity because yesterday we had a heat-pump installed. A heat-pump is a step up from an air conditioner. A/C has one job, cooling. A heat-pump does the cooling but also pulls warm air out of the outside area to keep the inside warm. If the temperatures drops too much the back up heater will kick in. Heat-pumps provide more consistent house temperatures and use less energy. The energy claim I find hard to understand, but there were charts and figures.
A/C was in our future no matter what, and I'm pleased we were able to come up with a solution that works for us year round rather than just a few weeks during the year.
While I didn't want to learn anything about A/C or Heat-pumps I wasn't able to sit back like the princess I think I am and just have it installed. We ended up getting multiple bids (4) and doing lots of reading about products and installers. In the end, we found a company and a product that we liked.
Yesterday, there were three huge trucks at our house and at one time I counted 6 workers. In addition to installing the heat pump thing outside, they had to move the existing heater in our attic to make room for whatever connects to our system and we had an electrician on site who fixed our strange kitchen power situation and installed a light in the bathroom closet.
It was a long day (with them doing the work) and me trying to focus on my job. I will say, they were as quiet and as unobtrusive as you could imagine, but I was READY for them to leave last night.
So, our list of "things we need" is getting smaller, but we noticed this morning that the ladder they used to get into our attic did a number on the ceiling access area and it really needs to be repainted. Because of my time at Daly's I am the resident in-house painter, so on our next free Saturday I'll be on a ladder with paint in hand.
I'm hopeful that when I'm up there paining that I don't spot anything else that we need to do. I'm sure, like all home owners there will always be some maintenance project - but I'm pretty confident that we'll get to get the bikes out and play. The house won't be our only hobby.
I do apologize to you if you were hoping for a HOT HOT summer. Because we've had the heat pump / a/c installed Jason and I pretty much have jinxed us for a gray and cool summer season. Sorry.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
There's no announcement about an addition to our family, but...
The problem that I'm finding is the breeds of hypoallergenic cats are VERY limited and (sorry bald kitty) most frighten me. This second guy could come live with us and I'm sure we would love him.
According to the world wide web, male cats have less allergens in their protein (or shed less protein... I'm not no veteran - get off me.)
Some of the dogs are cute but the best dogs for allergy sufferers are in the poodle category. Sorry, PePe... you are not going to live in my house. Other dogs that don't shed are actually pretty hairy, like the dreadlocked Puli. It would be fun to have a doggie named Bob Marley, but I think the trips to the doggie groomer would get old after a while.
There's no plan or time line around a non-human soul entering our house. We are only talking.
The pro's are many:
- Pets are a wonderful addition to your home.
- They offer companionship
- They have character.
- They can be fun
- They can be warm
- They can be complete members of your family.
- People with pets are better looking
- People with pets make more money
- People with pets don't make up strange facts and post them as the truth.
The cons are these:
- Any animal including the hypoallergenic ones will have some impact on my already sneezing guy
- Animals refuse to poop in the toilet. I don't really want to manage poop for the next 18 years.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)