Here in Holland, So You Think You Can Dance airs on Sunday night and reruns on Monday. I had to work last night so I set the PVR to record it for me. I watched it tonight (Monday), before the rerun aired.
First of all, I really need to watch it live. You can't vote when you watch it later. Not that I usually do vote, to be honest, but the last performance tonight was so good... and having followed the show all season, I know what dicks the voting public can be. I would have voted for this one. Vivian and Frederic were amazing. AH.MAY.ZING.
Anyway. The contestants had just lined up for the results when my recording ended. Seriously.
But, as I said, the show is rerun on Mondays. Only the rerun was about an hour behind what I was watching so I had to stay up till 1 am just to see the end. Because I wasn't already tired or anything. Sheesh. You can't even fast-forward through the commercials. I did get to see that great performance again, though. (I have it recorded, obviously, so really I could have done that anyway, but I'm trying to be positive here.)
Right. So. We get to the end, and the stupid voters that got to watch the show the night before voted for the wrong people. In fact, I wish you could 'unvote'. I find it much easier to determine who I like least over who I like best. Too bad you can't 'vote them off the stage', as such. Then I'd DEFINITELY vote. But unfortunately...
The dorks that got to vote last night got rid of Vita and Arno instead of Davinia (who in my opinion - and the judges', incidentally - should have been gone weeks ago) and Delano. And I could do nothing but watch in horror. Davinia is a popular little rich girl, it seems, and she gets a lot of favorite votes. I bet, however, that had the voting system been reversed, she also would have gotten the most votes, and thus gotten voted out. <sigh>
To be fair, I wouldn't have picked either Vita or Arno to win, but I think they're better than D&D. Anyway. I'm finished bitching now.And next week I'm voting.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Monday, November 12, 2012
Bathroom reno 4 times more expensive than expected
Well, shit. Hoping to continue my fall buying spree, I set up an appointment to design and get a quote for the bathroom renovation that I've been wanting since we moved in here 5 years ago.
The remodelling would include demolishing the current bathroom, reworking the plumbing and electrical for a totally different layout, constructing two partitions, installating a built-in shower and toilet, a bath tub, radiator and new sink/cabinet as well as tiling the floor and walls. My naivete estimated this should cost no more than 5000 euros.
Ha. Haha. Haha.
So we worked out a list of all the hardware that design would include. The estimate for this alone was more than 12,000 euros. Ouch. And that wasn't even including installation costs, which apparently would be another 8000 on top of that, bringing the estimated total to just over 20,000 euros.
Only 4 times what I thought it would cost.
How did this enormous price difference come about?
I think it was partly because I was not looking at top quality hardware like that offered at the store I went to. I was looking at what are likely 'budget' versions of the items sold at the store I went to today. It was also partly that I was sort of thinking about doing it myself. It might also have something to do with me not really having any idea how long a professional would take to do it or how much they earn per hour.
Anyway. Changing a few items to cheaper versions and arranging my own contractor would apparently bring the price down to a mere 12,000 euros total. I told the salesman I'd have to discuss it with my husband (no.1 reason to never go with your spouse when you expect a sales pitch). Whew. Got out of there unscathed - though it did take almost a whole freaking day to investigate.
Will I pay 12,000 euros for the bathroom I designed today?
No.
Was my estimate of 5000 euros realistic?
Probably not.
I hope I win the lottery this month.
But even if that doesn't happen, I think we need to rethink this bathroom reno. I really want a bath tub and The Little Ninja is quickly growing out of his baby bath. He doesn't like showers. That might force the issue again in a couple of months. But even if we can bring it down to about 8000 euros, which is pretty possible, I think, considering the dead housing and reno market at the moment and the fact that I don't care if I have designer hardware in my bathroom as long as it fits in with the bathroom style and layout I have in mind. But even that's a lot of money. Especially if you've just recently bought 2 computers and a car.
And yet. Despite the money I've been handing out left and right in the last month, this is really something completely separate. If we just bite the bullet and do the bathroom reno, it'll be done and we'll be able to use and enjoy it every day. Like with the car. It's just coincidence that I'm bankrupting us all at once, right? After this I'll stop the spree. At least until we go to Canada at Christmas, of course.
The remodelling would include demolishing the current bathroom, reworking the plumbing and electrical for a totally different layout, constructing two partitions, installating a built-in shower and toilet, a bath tub, radiator and new sink/cabinet as well as tiling the floor and walls. My naivete estimated this should cost no more than 5000 euros.
Ha. Haha. Haha.
So we worked out a list of all the hardware that design would include. The estimate for this alone was more than 12,000 euros. Ouch. And that wasn't even including installation costs, which apparently would be another 8000 on top of that, bringing the estimated total to just over 20,000 euros.
Only 4 times what I thought it would cost.
How did this enormous price difference come about?
I think it was partly because I was not looking at top quality hardware like that offered at the store I went to. I was looking at what are likely 'budget' versions of the items sold at the store I went to today. It was also partly that I was sort of thinking about doing it myself. It might also have something to do with me not really having any idea how long a professional would take to do it or how much they earn per hour.
Anyway. Changing a few items to cheaper versions and arranging my own contractor would apparently bring the price down to a mere 12,000 euros total. I told the salesman I'd have to discuss it with my husband (no.1 reason to never go with your spouse when you expect a sales pitch). Whew. Got out of there unscathed - though it did take almost a whole freaking day to investigate.
Will I pay 12,000 euros for the bathroom I designed today?
No.
Was my estimate of 5000 euros realistic?
Probably not.
I hope I win the lottery this month.
But even if that doesn't happen, I think we need to rethink this bathroom reno. I really want a bath tub and The Little Ninja is quickly growing out of his baby bath. He doesn't like showers. That might force the issue again in a couple of months. But even if we can bring it down to about 8000 euros, which is pretty possible, I think, considering the dead housing and reno market at the moment and the fact that I don't care if I have designer hardware in my bathroom as long as it fits in with the bathroom style and layout I have in mind. But even that's a lot of money. Especially if you've just recently bought 2 computers and a car.
And yet. Despite the money I've been handing out left and right in the last month, this is really something completely separate. If we just bite the bullet and do the bathroom reno, it'll be done and we'll be able to use and enjoy it every day. Like with the car. It's just coincidence that I'm bankrupting us all at once, right? After this I'll stop the spree. At least until we go to Canada at Christmas, of course.
Friday, November 2, 2012
I bought a car!
Why is my life turning into a Dora episode? I wanted to start this post with 'I did it!' and immediately the Dora conclusion song (and dance) popped into my head: We did it, we did it, we did it, yeah! That bzitch is gonna ruin everything!
So anyway, as I was saying before Dora interrupted, I did it! I made up my mind and bought a car. Can you guess which one I picked?
So right after making the decision I was all excited - I bought a car! Holy shit! Wicked! But then I went to the dealership and signed away a year's salary and suddenly felt sick. Is this buyer's remorse? does it necessarily mean that I made the worng decision? Or is it just my body recognising that it was a BIG purchase?
I hope it was the right decision. Unless it turns out to be a lemon I won't really ever know, though.
Anyway, here it is:
Clearly, I went for the Renault Clio. The one seen above. I should have it by the end of January. Inshallah and all that. Tell me I made the right choice!
So anyway, as I was saying before Dora interrupted, I did it! I made up my mind and bought a car. Can you guess which one I picked?
So right after making the decision I was all excited - I bought a car! Holy shit! Wicked! But then I went to the dealership and signed away a year's salary and suddenly felt sick. Is this buyer's remorse? does it necessarily mean that I made the worng decision? Or is it just my body recognising that it was a BIG purchase?
I hope it was the right decision. Unless it turns out to be a lemon I won't really ever know, though.
Anyway, here it is:
Clearly, I went for the Renault Clio. The one seen above. I should have it by the end of January. Inshallah and all that. Tell me I made the right choice!
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