Can you do the electric slide?

The land spent last week drying out from the rain. Good news, though, no more powdery dust. I know the workers are happy to not be blowing dirt out of their noses at the end of the day. On Monday, they were back at it, and I finally learned the bulldozer operator's name -- Mr. Rogers (and, no, he doesn't wear a different swear everyday or talk to puppets). Somehow Noel caught his name but I just did not. Anyway, the 74-year old Mr. Rogers and his compadre, Jose (who happens to be quite the skilled backhoe operator and a friendly one at that), have been working diligently over the past two days to finish cleaning up the house site. Even after renting the chipper, they still had to resort to hauling truck loads (probably about ten total) of natural debris off to some far away land. Cha-ching! Never fear, though, the house site is now completely free of debris. The front yard looks like a yard, minus the grass. It is just beautiful! We couldn't have dreamed of better. (I say 'we,' but Noel gets to see it tomorrow. He will love it; thus, I take the liberty of saying 'we.')


Yesterday, I met with Indy, John the electrician, Drew the electrical engineer, and Eugene the manager of Duck River Electric in Lynchburg. We figured out where to put the electrical pole, the transformer, and the meter (which in our case will be on the garage rather than the house). If it weren't for the dreary, rainy day, trenches would have been dug today...probably, most likely, but it is Indy who's running this show so you never know...but, hey, it's not a problem. In the words of Mr. Costanza, "Serenity now!" I'm only kidding. We love Indy, and he keeps us calm. Surprising, I know. Of course, wine and bourbon help, too. Back to the electricity, they are going to place a temporary pole during construction. Indy has a trencher and will do the honor, and this is no extra cost to us. He will also dig the trench for the water line. Speaking of water, the water department still hasn't placed a tap. Huh, might need to check on that.


Today we met with the geothermal company in Tullahoma who is giving us a bid for a system. We spent an hour with the owner who gave us more information than we could absorb. He has worked with Indy before and has been placing geothermal systems since 1985. Get out in the yard! When we were talking to this guy (Joe is his name and geothermal is his game), he told us that we should consider getting our home EnergyStar certified through Duck River Electric and the U.S. Department of Energy. So, I contacted the electric company and inquired about this so-called EnergyStar certification. Turns out, it is no cost to us, the electric company will guide us through the process if we so choose to proceed, run two tests, and certify the home fo' frizzle (aka free for you white people). We are to contact the electric company once the house is 'dried in,' and they will come out and talk with us on site. Of course, I had to ask what the hell 'dried in' meant. Well, it means once the frame is up and the roof is on. Of course, it does, how could I be so stupid?!


Next steps once the ground dries out: electrical trenches, water trenches, laying out the house with line, and digging the footers.


*Take note that the title of this blog is taken straight from the mouth of the most outspoken tech that I have ever had the pleasure of working with, Sarah. She asked this to one of our chronic pain patients who is morbidly obese and wheels around Kroger in a motorize cart. Every step for him is like hiking to the top of Everest for the rest of us. Really, Sarah, the electric slide?! But I do think your statement fits quite nicely into this blog.