What is in your cup?

[desertblues]

Originally Posted by maianhvk

Wait, I love receiving mails* too. Hand-written letters with stamps and dates and actual signatures ARE special!
* "Real" mails, not news letters and such rubbish

I would send you a postcard from far away places Anh, if I knew your adress

Originally Posted by dreams

.....
Have fun on another great trip!
.........

Thank you, I will.

Originally Posted by Iridal

.......Have lots of fun! ...

Thanks for the wishes.

edit: cold Rooibos in my cup.

[kindlekitten]

In the real estate world, one toilet is a deal killer or a twenty k drop in price anymore

[maianhvk]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

We have two toilets and I wish we had a third when we have company over.

Originally Posted by Iridal

And all the while I keep on thinking: 'first world problem' Stupid to put so much thought into 1 or 2 toilets when there are millions of people who don't even have a proper home.

Iri, first world problem or not it is still something you should reconsider. Seriously. I strongly advise against 1 toilet.

Originally Posted by desertblues

I would send you a postcard from far away places Anh, if I knew your adress

I appreciate kind thoughts

Milo in my glass.

[Iridal]

Originally Posted by maianhvk

Iri, first world problem or not it is still something you should reconsider. Seriously. I strongly advise against 1 toilet.

I'm still considering whether we should do it or not, we haven't made any decisions yet!

Crisis meeting is over. It's worse than I thought. Some people have said that they will leave too if my boss is fired. Because they refuse to work with something as disrespectful as the big boss ... Pretty scary, so much is going to change in the next few weeks. Because we all know our boss is gone, it's only a matter of the conditions right now.

Having a glass of water, trying to figure out what I'm going to do the day my boss has to leave ...

[ProfCrash]

The thing is, most of us live in the First World. So while it is nice to be able to put things in context, there are people in the world with no running water, you still have to build a place where that one day you will have to sell. You are not going to be able to put on the sale brochure "We only have one toilet but there are people in Africa with none so ignore the fact that you wish we had two toilets"

I understand the context, it is not a bad idea, but we have to adjust our expectations to where we live. I get tired of reading posts from folks who say things like "People in poverty in the US would live like kings in Africa". No, they wouldn't because they would probably live in poverty in Africa for the same reason that they live in poverty in the US (mainly lack of education, lack of training, family history of alcoholism, drug addiction, unemployment, ect...)

So build what you are comfortable with, and if that is one bathroom then go for it, but remember that you are going to be building something in Europe and not Africa and the expectations are different because one is a First World economy and the other is not.

(climbs off her soap box)

And trust me, when you are pregnant and your bladder is the size of a pea, you will want a second bathroom. We would have been in trouble without a second bathroom and I didn't have to deal with morning sickness.

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by Iridal

I'm still considering whether we should do it or not, we haven't made any decisions yet!

I guess an outhouse is out of the question, huh? Yeah... I thought so. Go for the second toilet. Even the Amish who use no electricity in their daily lives still build their new homes with modern wiring, simply for re-sale value.

Having a glass of water, trying to figure out what I'm going to do the day my boss has to leave ...

May I not-so-humbly suggest that you get your derriere in gear and start looking for another position, now, BEFORE you need it? You don't have to accept a new job, just look for one and interview, saying that you are exploring opportunities...

Time for a cup of camomile tea...


Stitchawl

[ProfCrash]

Pot three of Sencha (just poured my sixth cup)

[orlok]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

May I not-so-humbly suggest that you get your derriere in gear and start looking for another position, now, BEFORE you need it? You don't have to accept a new job, just look for one and interview, saying that you are exploring opportunities...

Very good advice. As an employer, I tend to look more favourably on people currently in work looking for a new position rather than those out of work (though my latest recruit was out of work, so what am I talking about...? ).

Generally though, the axiom that it is easier to get a job if you already have one is true.

[dreams]

Originally Posted by Iridal

I'm still considering whether we should do it or not, we haven't made any decisions yet!

Crisis meeting is over. It's worse than I thought. Some people have said that they will leave too if my boss is fired. Because they refuse to work with something as disrespectful as the big boss ... Pretty scary, so much is going to change in the next few weeks. Because we all know our boss is gone, it's only a matter of the conditions right now.

Having a glass of water, trying to figure out what I'm going to do the day my boss has to leave ...

So sorry about your work situation. It is too bad that it is happening during the big changes of moving in with your parents and trying to get your house built.

Coffee in my cup.

As to the toilet, I would also say keep the toilet. We were a family of 5 with 1 toilet upstairs and 1 downstairs and it was a major disaster trying to get everyone ready for work and school in the mornings. Plus, it seemed like someone was always in the bathroom when you needed it, not to mention when company was over.

Keep redesigning the plans to see if you can have that "awesome kitchen" and the toilet. I think you will really be glad if you can make it work.

[cromag]

Sorry to hear about your work situation, Iridal.

As far as the home situation is concerned, I suspect taste is highly personal, as my wife is constantly telling me. I grew up in a family of eight -- with one bathroom. I could easily go back to a black and white TV, I could go back to waiting for the vacuum tubes (valves) in the radio to "warm up," I could go back to hanging wash outdoors to dry -- but I really wouldn't want to go back to waiting for that one bathroom!

[Stitchawl]

Are you going to Scarborough Fair:
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Remember me to one who lives there.
She once was a true love of mine.

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt:
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme;
Without no seams nor needle work,
Then she'll be a true love of mine.

Tell her to find me an acre of land:
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme;
Between the salt water and the sea strand,
Then she'll be a true love of mine.

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og7JS8mcp3c )

... It's just that sort of mellow morning...

Good morning, everyone! Happy Wednesday. Interesting day today... I was asked by a husband and wife pair of Dentists to give them some Medical English lessons (I have a strong medical background so it shouldn't be too difficult.) But I'm having a dilemma...
I have this urge to teach them to say (meaning 'are you comfortable?') "Is it safe?" Oh, the Pixie in me...

Anyway, Taylors of Harrogate's "English Breakfast" tea in my cup, and rice and miso soup for a humdrum breakfast. No creativity this morning... Facebook has been humming with relatives posting pictures of my new grandson, and I even received one from my son via e-mail. The kid still can't talk yet though. Kids today...


Stitchawl

[Iridal]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

May I not-so-humbly suggest that you get your derriere in gear and start looking for another position, now, BEFORE you need it? You don't have to accept a new job, just look for one and interview, saying that you are exploring opportunities...

I know ... It's just such a difficult situation right now. I work partime (4 days), but this will end in september 2015 if I stay with my current employer. I really need the extra day off, the combination of school and fulltime work is just too hard. But if I look for a parttime job, it'll probably be parttime 'forever'. And I want to work fulltime again when we start paying off our loan, because we definitely could use the money.
So I'm still undecided. It's also not easy to find a job as a researcher that has a social dimension. I don't want to conduct research so it makes companies richer. It want to do something that really matters.

Originally Posted by dreams

As to the toilet, I would also say keep the toilet. We were a family of 5 with 1 toilet upstairs and 1 downstairs and it was a major disaster trying to get everyone ready for work and school in the mornings. Plus, it seemed like someone was always in the bathroom when you needed it, not to mention when company was over.

Keep redesigning the plans to see if you can have that "awesome kitchen" and the toilet. I think you will really be glad if you can make it work.

Originally Posted by cromag

Sorry to hear about your work situation, Iridal.

As far as the home situation is concerned, I suspect taste is highly personal, as my wife is constantly telling me. I grew up in a family of eight -- with one bathroom. I could easily go back to a black and white TV, I could go back to waiting for the vacuum tubes (valves) in the radio to "warm up," I could go back to hanging wash outdoors to dry -- but I really wouldn't want to go back to waiting for that one bathroom!

Last night we decided, quite independent of each other, that we would keep the toilet downstairs We just figured it would be too much of a hassle to have just the one toilet upstairs (what if one of us breaks a leg?). But we don't want it underneath the stairs. We're going to do it as is drawn in this plan: https://plus.google.com/photos/10292...CKuEmqe0wfOdWw

We'll ask to make the toilet a bit smaller. Right now it's 2,1 meters long, which is huge! A normal toilet is about 1,4m long. We think they drew it like this so the door to the toilet won't be too close to the front door, but we don't care We'd rather have some collisions between the two doors and bigger kitchen
This is probably our definite plan. We're really happy with the first floor and the attic, and the kitchen is alright too if they agree to re-size the toilet. Not as much working space as in the plan without the toilet, but I guess you have to make compromises every now and then

In this plan the island is 2,4m long, and on the other side we have another 4,1m. So it really is a pretty good kitchen, with lots of storage space and room for my three ovens!

Cappuccino is all gone, time to get to work

(Oh, and thanks to everyone for the advice on the toilet I really appreciate it!)

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Iridal

Last night we decided, quite independent of each other, that we would keep the toilet downstairs We just figured it would be too much of a hassle to have just the one toilet upstairs (what if one of us breaks a leg?). But we don't want it underneath the stairs. We're going to do it as is drawn in this plan: https://plus.google.com/photos/10292...CKuEmqe0wfOdWw

Going for the third storey makes three bedrooms a lot easier to fit in. Is that room next to the main bedroom going to be a shower/toilet room? Even if you can't afford it now, it's worth making sure it'll be possible later.

Are you sure about the tall area at the front of the house opposite the kitchen? Perhaps it would be better to have that ceiling in place, and have another storage/office/emergency bedroom room on the first floor next to the stairs.

But it looks very good.

How is the hob going to be ventilated? Some kind of large ceiling-mounted extractor hood?

My last bit of unsolicited advice is to wait at least one week, preferably two, after coming up with your "final" plan, to let it sink in a bit. Much better to take a couple of weeks now pondering the plan, than to notice a problme after work has started.

If you're still happy with the "final" plan after a couple of weeks of thinking about it, then it's probably good.

Coke Zero #2 in my cup.

[Iridal]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Going for the third storey makes three bedrooms a lot easier to fit in. Is that room next to the main bedroom going to be a shower/toilet room? Even if you can't afford it now, it's worth making sure it'll be possible later.

Are you sure about the tall area at the front of the house opposite the kitchen? Perhaps it would be better to have that ceiling in place, and have another storage/office/emergency bedroom room on the first floor next to the stairs.

But it looks very good.

How is the hob going to be ventilated? Some kind of large ceiling-mounted extractor hood?

My last bit of unsolicited advice is to wait at least one week, preferably two, after coming up with your "final" plan, to let it sink in a bit. Much better to take a couple of weeks now pondering the plan, than to notice a problme after work has started.

If you're still happy with the "final" plan after a couple of weeks of thinking about it, then it's probably good.

Coke Zero #2 in my cup.

We really wanted the third storey. Our architect at first didn't agree because it would cost us 10.000€ more, but we don't have a cellar and we feel like we really need the storage space. So they drew it for us We were thinking about making one of the rooms a second bathroom, but it's still undecided. Maybe it will become a small guest room. Or a library. Quite likely we'll make sure all the connections are there if we ever decide to make it into a bathroom.

The library/reading/playing area at the front is the only thing we've been sure of since the beginning! It's what makes our house special and fun. We also like the openness of this area as well. We've seen it in 3D, and it's going to be really cool sitting there with a book. It's possible to put in a floor later if we really need the space. Maybe if we decide to have a third child. We feel we have enough storage at this time, and we don't want two separate desk areas. So we'll leave it as it is.

We're going to use a type D ventilation system, which is a balanced ventilation system with heat recovery.

Our next appointment is in three weeks, by then they should have finalized the plans. So we have some time to reconsider. BF is going to make a model (maquette) and some more 3D plans. So don't worry, we'll keep thinking about and talking about it to family and friends

[ProfCrash]

Sounds like a good plan and one you are comfortable with.

I understand what you are saying about your job. There are ways of balancing your desire to do something that makes a difference and work for a company. You simply need to find a company that is doing work in areas you think are important. I don't know what type of research you are doing so it is hard for me to provide anything concrete.

All I know is I ended up working in an area I never thought I would have, and would have flat our rejected coming out of college, and feel like what I am doing is making a difference and is important. You don't know until you look around and think outside the box a bit.