On a couple of topics I touched on yesterday let me just say that though things are...tricky...right now but I'm handling it better now that my wife and son are home. If I were to look in mass at all the things that are affecting my mood right now (family, friends, work, house) I'd probably be overwhelmed with the desire to curl up in a ball and call in sick to life. But that is just not my style. I haven't gotten to where I am by being passive or defeatist. I simply have to look for the individual elements that make up the "problems," prioritize the needs based on criticality and severity, and then form an action plan. Some people use the four quadrant approach while I prefer the critical path. Four quadrant doesn't force you to consider deadlines, time estimates, or predecessors. It does however allow you to take a global look at your life and your challenges ahead. It enables you to ask yourself if you've thought of everything and if it is all really that bad.

Using the critical path approach you are able to pick up all the detail of the "when" and "how" after having identified the "what." My problem is that I often gravitate to this method before completing all of my fact-finding. Some managers are detailed oriented. I'm task oriented to the extreme. When I am assigned or tackle a task, I WILL KNOW before I begin the deadline, the resources available, and the metrics for success. With that in hand, I can work backward to determine approach and feasibility. If you don't give me that, I'll make it up and that becomes my requirement. Thinks with imposed deadline get immediate attention, while things without deadlines are deemed to be of low severity and low criticality.

So now I have a number of problems that I need to address. It seems that a pipe leading to the washer has been leaking since before we moved in. It has been a small leak that there was no way for me to be able to see. The visible clues were in my work room off the garage. I haven't spent any time in there since last summer. When I went in there this weekend, I noticed a severe discoloration of the drywall that was obviously damp to the touch. When I ran my fingers across the drywall, I came away with a chalky, mildew residue. I touched the carpeted floor to find this also is damp. This area of the floor is cement so this isn't major. The area of the wall that was affected is pretty major. Walking from my workroom into the laundry room I note that there is no immediate sign of damage. With a flashlight in hand, you can see near the floor where the drywall is in fact wet and spongy to the touch. Also, under the linoleum, you can see where the particle board flooring has receded. It obviously has been soaking up water for sometime.

Now if all I had to deal with is replacing some drywall and a little particle board flooring we are talking about no big deal. Problem is that I have no idea what shape the floor joists, wall studs, or outside band are in. The plumber estimated that this leak has been ongoing since before we moved in...and the inspector I paid a ton of money for didn't catch this. Add to this, the one year home warranty policy doesn't cover "secondary damages." This means that if you had a busted pipe in your wall that was spewing water everywhere, they would come in and fix the pipe but not any areas damaged by the water. If it was on the second floor, you would have to replace your waterlogged ceiling at your own expense (or through your homeowner's insurance policy). Problem with the homeowner's policy is that they don't cover "damage caused by prolonged exposure to water or steam coming from within a plumbing system or household appliance." So, they will only cover damage caused by tsunami like piping explosions that are easy to identify. WTF?????

The friendly plumber the warranty company sent was not allowed to do anything to stop the leak as it wasn't a covered item (he did it anyway, shhh). His best estimate is that the damage is at least $1000 worth. Yum. We have a home owner's insurance adjustor coming out sometime soon to see if any of it can be covered. We have a $500 deductible that we'll have to suck up even if he's feeling generous. Hey, maybe if Pavla, in her pregnant state, stuck out her bottom lip and pouted? Always works on me. (update: this didn't work...no coverage. Well that is what savings is for. Sigh.)

Here is the rub. This is only the most recent problem that needs to be addressed around the house that is now demanding my attention. I was finally getting to the point where I felt all the fires were taken care of and that my honeydo list was manageable. We have the pool guys coming out next week to reopen the pool and to measure it for a safety cover ($$$$). The pool area is a mess of leaves I never got up from last fall, pieces of the trunk of a dead tree we had to have cut down before it fell on the house ($$$$), and a gunk filled tarp cover that has to be removed without spilling into the pool. Anyone want to guess if I'll be going to an event soon? And that is just one additional item. We haven't even talked about what is going on at work.

Sigh. It is all manageable. Just have to keep smiling and remember the line from Point of No Return, "I never did mind about the little things."

Anyway, for them want care...