Kitchen Reincarnation
For some who may know, plans to get the kitchen redone have been in the works for quite some time. After visiting more showrooms and talking to more constructors than I care to remember, my family and I finally decided on a cabinet constructor. The amazing thing is that we're actually saving roughly $15,000 just because we shopped around. Home Depot quoted us a price a little above $27,000 for custom made cabinets. Being that we also wanted a natural stone countertop and new appliances, we were looking at a project in about the $40,000 range. Shoot, forget the kitchen and buy me a new Mercedes... Well, that wasn't exactly what happened, but we did manage to find reliable constructors who were willing to make our cabinets just the way we wanted for about 12 G's. And yes, they are Chinese.
Speaking of shopping around the asian market, the lowest quote we got for cabinets ran around 6 thousand dollars!!! What a big jump from another American company that told us they would reface our cabinets (reface as in just change the doors) for $22,000. They told us originally it was $30,000 but if we signed today, they would knock it down to $22,000. Gee, how awfully considerate of them. Shoot, why don't they just ask for a tax write-off while they're at it... Sheesh. It surprised me how much of a difference American and Chinese estimates can be. So, my advice to any of my readers thinking about remodeling a room in their house: Shop around first and be sure to get some asian estimates too!!! Before any of you guys rush to sign a contract though, make sure the company is licensed and is reputable... I've heard of a gang of horror stories out there. The things people risk just to have work done cheaper.
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In other news, I went to see Linkin Park, Hoobastank, POD, and Story of the Year last Thursday with Linda, Jeff, and Vy. Linkin Park was off the chain and it was worth the three hours of foreplay we heard from the other bands. One piece of advice to all you frequent concert-goers: Practice safe listening. Get a pair of earplugs and protect your ears! I used to think clubbing in the concrete jungles of Japan was bad for the auditory facilities, but these rock concerts put those Japanese clubs to shame.
And to wrap this entry up, I went to Ed's little pot luck in San Marino last night. It was quiet gathering, perhaps because it was a Sunday night... But I had good food and the mellowness was soothing... I also got to watch part of Old School, which is a pretty freaking hillarious movie. I think I'm going to rent it later to watch the whole thing. As for this warm and sunny Monday, (don't mean to rub it in my east coast viewers) I applied to seven jobs so we'll see how many big fishes bite the bait. That in a nutshell is what's been going on. Till the next time. Payce.
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Today's eye candy is the lovely Lisa Gleave. I've posted her info on a previous entry so if you're really interested in a short intro, meander around my site a bit. Enjoy the aftertaste.
