Land vs Cell

Land vs Cell

So, I belong to a professional organization for editors and threads fly around all day, usually with deep discussions of grammar—I tend to delete those quickly because I really can’t that deep on the issue. But then a really interesting topic came up—or actually two of them: Do you give your landline or cell numbers to clients? And do you accept texts from clients who have “quick” questions?

To answer the second one first: I think I’ve only ever received one text from a client, ever. The issue was dealt with in three minutes and then switched to e-mail. The first question is better because landlines, from what I’ve read, are starting to disappear as people use their cell phones for their only lines.

Personally, I like being able to have both. I never give my landline information to a client unless it’s an emergency. But if I have a conference call, I dial in from the landline because the receiver can stand up on its own and has a better speaker; and I don’t have to worry about it running out of power, or minutes.

And I like having a landline because it almost always works—and because I can have an old-fashioned phone with cords. Have a blackout? I plug in the phone with the cord and I’m good. Something happens to the portable handheld, again, I plug in the one with the cords and I’m ready. And my old-fashioned phone has a really long cord for the receiver so I can get pretty far with it. 

During Superstorm Sandy, though, I plugged it in and nothing happened. Even those lines were gone. But once the power came back, I made sure it was plugged in for a couple of days just to make sure everything worked all right-and to let all those other communications devices recharge at their own pace. Yes, I’m nutty with it.

Even more importantly, I give out the landline number whenever I have to put something down for contact that isn’t that important. The store will call to let me know when the package will be delivered? They can leave a message. Need to put something in the phone book—and yes, those are disappearing too but a lot of that information can be found online so it’s a good number to have—the landline is the way to go. I have an answering system set up that I can call into a couple of times a day if I’m working onsite, but usually (yes, there are some calls that should have been answered faster) that’s fine. Nothing there is urgent.

My cellphone, though, is my business line. All of my clients have the number. Even prospective clients have it. Plus, all of the vendors I work with have the number. My handyman can reach me no matter where I am. Same goes for the guy who cuts the lawn, and the one redoing the driveway. Those people need to be able to find me quickly and I’m on at least 12 hours a day—less on weekends. Plus I keep my contacts’ information in the phone so I can find them just as quickly—both phone numbers and e-mail addresses. It’s a business thing and seems to work well. Do I want them to text me regularly? Not really; but a text here or there won’t be a problem. And I use a Bluetooth earpiece when I’m in the car. I don’t actually get many calls when I’m driving but if I do, I can answer and then I usually pull off whenever possible to talk. And no, I never text while driving.

The system works for me. What would you do?

Home Improvements

Home Improvements

Ah, the joys of home ownership. When you first move into a house, there’s the joy of making things the way you want them. Then if you’re lucky you trade up, and once again you can make things yours. In fact, the ongoing idea once again is that you fix things to match what your vision is in that home.

But now we’ve lived in our house for 27 years and not only have we made it the way we wanted it—including a lot of renovations in 2009 and 2010—but now we have to “fix” a few things. Hence, the joy of home improvements…the kind you can’t avoid and really need to make happen.

Our driveway is more than 90 feet long. And the mailbox is at the street end so if the weather is really bad I’m happy to leave the mail in the box until I can get out there. My husband is willing to put on a heavy coat, boots, a hat, and gloves in order to get the mail that day. I let him; it’s not worth the fight. But a couple of ties this summer I went out—once in the rain—I went down the driveway to the box, and on the way back, I felt like the driveway had sunk a little bit. Actually, it felt like it was a little wavy.

The Driveway Saga

Because I didn’t want to spend a lot on things, I figured we could just have it “capped.” A thin layer of asphalt would be laid over what was there and things would even out. What did I know? Apparently not a whole lot. First I called my handyman for a referral; no problem. I called the place he sent me. it’s been 3 weeks; I’m still waiting to hear from the guy they were going to contact about it. Oh, the joys of dealing with subcontractors. Apparently they’re in total control. My husband thought I should wait but I’ve seen this before. There isn’t enough time in life for me to wait to hear. On to plan B.

I had this neighbor for a few years—okay, probably at least 12 years but I really didn’t like her so I try to minimize it. But this neighbor was very picky in who she used to work on her place, and I remembered the name of that company. Called them; had a call back within an hour and an estimate within two hours. Unfortunately, my dream of capping the driveway was just that, a dream. It seems that driveways actually have shelf lives and we were years beyond expiration. His price included ripping it out—remember, this is over 90 feet, and did I mention the part where it’s even wider because there is a turn into the garage and that it actually extends about 10 feet beyond the end of the garage—laying new gravel, and then repaving with half an inch more than the required depth of asphalt. Fortunately, the price isn’t horrific. My husband was home; he said we should do it. I’m not happy but fine. At least when we go to sell the house, we can use it as a sales plus.

The next Tuesday they came and I had to get out of bed by 7n a.m. to put the cars in the street before the trucks come. My husband is stunned that I’m doing this, but to me this is normal. It’s the first time he’s been around for a major home improvement and he has no idea what it takes. This is nothing; remind me to tell you about when we refinished the floor in the family room. I lived upstairs the entire week. Notice that the driveway is now just gravel and will be paved in another week or so. Meanwhile, I still haven’t heard from the first firm with an estimate.

Also the Deck

But this wasn’t all. The week before we started asking about the driveway we realized the deck needed to be power washed and re-stained. Talked to the handyman (he knows someone for anything he doesn’t do) and we were referred back to the guy who painted the ceilings last winter. This guy is a pleasure to deal with; he actually answers his own phone. He comes over and we have a chat about cleaning and staining except he heavily advocates solid stain and not the transparent stuff we originally used. It seems that will last longer, and I’m thinking again about selling points for the house.

So, it’s off to Home Depot (fortunately he will handle picking the stain up so I don’t need extra cash to pay them; I'm very aware of hackers). I hate picking colors; I don’t trust my eye for how it will look on a big space. But the husband narrows it down and I just pick one. The painter comes literally the next Monday and starts the washing. As long as we’re doing it we also had him power wash the back of the house and the patio. The area is heavily shaded and we’re always battling mold. Oh, and did I mention the part where I had to have someone come and prune the bushes around the deck before we could do anything? There was a lot of rain over the summer and the plantings were running amok. There’s a lot more space around the deck now. Fortunately, the painter is very good; he was in and out in three days (it rained in between or it would have been two). I’m still getting used to the color but it looks really good so I’ll adapt.

That's All for This Year...I Hope 

The last commitment I made on the house was to promise my husband that there will be no more big projects this season. We’ve hit the limit. Of course, the new year is in less than three months, and I have a list for next year. It’s a house, something always needs to be fixed, upgraded, adjusted.