About three months ago, we discovered toxic black mold underneath our kitchen sink. Two weeks after that, Anne and I packed up some bags and moved ourselves and our dogs out of our house, while a team of hazardous materials removal dudes tore apart our kitchen and made our house look like Breaking Bad.
A month after we moved out, we were able to come back into our house, because the mold (which originally appeared to be a few square feet, and ended up being much, much worse) had been successfully removed. The only problem with getting back into our house was our kitchen remained (and remains) torn up. Our refrigerator is in the middle of our living room. Our dishwasher is on our patio. We have no sink, so there’s no running water, so we can’t cook.
It’s all a real pain in the ass, and it’s made this entire summer feel like something we are enduring, rather than living.
But.
It’s important to me that I keep and maintain perspective. Starting at the very beginning of this, with the toxic black mold: nobody got sick, and we discovered it just before it spread into the walls in a way that would force us to literally tear our house down.
Insurance denied our claim for reasons that I think are bullshit. We tried and failed to fight their denial, and while it’s infuriating that they got away with it, we’re very grateful and very lucky that the whole thing didn’t cost as much as we feared, and we’re grateful and lucky that we can afford to pay for it out of pocket.
We had to be out of our house for over a month, but our friends let us stay in their home (they were out of the country), so we didn’t have to endure the cost and weirdness of living in a hotel for thirty days. We got to take our dogs with us, and we were in such a quiet and unfamiliar location, it gave me the solitude I needed to focus and finish the manuscript of the novel I was writing.
Did I bury the lede on that? My novel is currently with my editor, and even though I still need to do some work on it, it’s that much closer to being finished and published. That’s kind of a big deal for me.
Our same friends offered us their house in Hana if we wanted to get out of town for a little bit, and Anne used points and miles to get us an unexpected vacation in Hawaii for less than the cost of a single plane ticket. I’m grateful for that.
After we got back from Hana, we were able to move back into our house, even though the kitchen was (and is) all torn apart. We’ve had to eat out for every meal, which has not been awesome, but I’m grateful that we can afford that, and that we live in a place that has lots of healthy and affordable options to feed ourselves. I’ve been joking that we’re sort of like college students who eat out of take away containers, but with a fancy budget.
When we got back into our house about a month ago, we expected to live in the chaos for about five days, before everything was finished and restored to the way it was before … but everything takes longer than expected, and as of this morning, my refrigerator is still in the middle of my living room.
But.
I’m grateful that this summer has been, in perspective, a series of mild inconveniences that haven’t wrecked our lives. I’m grateful that Anne found someone who could replace our hardwood floor with an exact match, even though the boards in our house haven’t been made since the 1940s. I’m grateful that they matched the floors perfectly. I’m grateful that they were able to rebuild our cabinets and save our countertops so perfectly, you can’t even tell that they’re new. I’m grateful that the people who have done all this work on our home have been kind, honest, hard workers (who my dogs love, which is important. If your dogs don’t like someone, respect that, because dogs seem to have good instincts about people for some reason.) I’m grateful that, when this is all finished, I don’t think we’ll be able to tell that anything ever happened, because everything is matching close to perfectly.
I haven’t spent this summer making things, like I wanted to. I haven’t started writing anything new. I haven’t spent any time on my blog since June, and though it feels weird, I haven’t really missed it. I feel like I am in this part of my creative cycle where I absorb and consume and get inspired by other people’s creations, so I am nourished and ready for the output part of my creative cycle, whenever it decides to arrive.
I’ve spent this summer reading lots of books, and watching almost one movie a day. I know that sounds like goofing off and fucking around, but for me, it’s a fundamental part of my creative life and my creative self. I get inspired by good things and bad things, and I’ve consumed a lot of both this summer. I have found the same kind of comfort and familiarity in a book that I had when I was a kid: no matter where I am or what’s going on, I can open a book and lose myself in it. I’ve found so much happiness and comfort in the books I’ve read this summer, it’s inspired me to dedicate myself to finishing my novel asap, so I can maybe give people who read it the same escape and happiness I’m getting.
For my novel, I needed to find a slasher movie from pre-83 that wasn’t Friday the 13th or Halloween. It needed to be something that the kids in my story would have rented at the video store, and even though I could have gotten away with using one of those popular and well-known films, I wanted to find something different for reasons I’ll get into when I start writing my “here’s how I did it” posts about the novel, in the run up to its release. The upshot of this is that I’ve watched a TON of early 80s slasher movies this year, and holy shit am I primed to write and make one of my own, because I understand them at a granular level I didn’t think was possible, and I want to see what happens when I make my version of that kind of thing, even if it’s just a short script.
I’m grateful for the time I’ve had to do that level of research (some of them have been fun to watch, others are just terrible, but it’s always been worth it), and I wouldn’t have made the time if my house hadn’t been torn apart. Maybe I’ll even work an unfinished kitchen into the story, as an homage to this whole shitshow.
So. It’s been a summer of mild inconveniences, and I’m grateful and lucky that it isn’t so much worse. I’m grateful for the life I have, and for the people I get to share it with, especially my best friend and wife, Anne. I hope that, wherever you are and whatever your personal circumstances are, you get to share your life with someone who is as special to you as Anne is to me. I hope that you have the privilege (like I do) of looking at bummer things that happen, and finding some perspective that makes them feel less frustrating and annoying than they could be.
This is the first post I’ve written since I deactivated my Twitter. I wonder if anyone will see it? I wonder if I’m wrong about Twitter not making any difference in blog traffic or book sales. I’m going to feel really silly if I am. Anyway, I hope you’re having a good summer, and I hope that any inconveniences you have encountered have been mild.
Thanks for listening.
Welcome back and thanks for sharing. It’s been crazy smoky in Northern California due to the Carr and Mendocino complex fires. I can only speak for me as I’m sure others and their families have had (much) more than inconveniences.
I had trained for a half marathon and die to the smoke I had to cancel. I wasn’t as bummed as I thought I would be because I had put in the work. Still, I do wish I could have performed on the course that day to see how I would have done. I’m inspired to go the muscle route now. Nothing crazy just a similar prep to aa ru but with muscles to see how I would be in four months.
Please keep us literally and figuratively posted about your book, kitchen, slasher movie and/or whatever else you’d like to share.
And you’re changing home insurance in 3…. 2…. 1….?
My summer has been equally fun. I’ve been sick with sinus infections since March pretty much continuously: finish one course of antibiotics and it would re-ignite 3-4 days later. 5 weeks of Cipro, anyone? Finally had surgery last week Friday, and they say it’ll be better in two weeks, but sometimes it seems that some bastard just keeps ordering more and more tunnel: is that what makes America great again, an infinite tunnel supply? Coupling major essential tremors which make me look like Parkinsons far beyond my years makes it ever so much fun. But my wife and I finished up watching The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings a couple of nights ago and that was nice. I’m happy she hasn’t yet noticed that I replaced the TV with one that works well.
I’m amazed that you can look back on a summer like this and still be positive about it. I’m not sure I’d be able to do that.
Sidenote: found this blog post via RSS and Feedly. Sometimes, old technology is still the best.
Yep, I get my blog updates from feedly too. Congrats on getting that novel out to your publisher!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts; your perspective on things is always so articulate and (happy or sad) I come away with things to think about. I appreciate all your candor with your jos and downs of life. Thank you for sharing with us 🙂
p.s. may your kitchen remodel go smoothly and in a timely manner; having lived through a couple months of a torn up kitchen, I can definitely sympathize.
Somehow you writing a short slasher reminds me of Tarantino doing Grindhouse and sequels. It could be the start of something that, if not great, is at least fun!
I am sure you know this after this experience but you need a new insurance carrier I had a plumbing disaster. Pinhole leak in hot water line in my basement with hot water being too high pressure and hot and no pressure relief tank, so came out as steam, undetected for 4 or more days. Wound up with 3 inches of water in the floor, 3 inches of mold hanging from the ceiling and many possessions destroyed.
We had 10K of mold abatement coverage. Our adjuster told Servpro, who did the cleanup, to desceibe the 1st $10k as mold and the rest as water damage. Told the repair contractor to call it all water damage.
She was also flexible about what full replacement meant, for instance I replaced 2 old 25″ tube TVs that were just in the basemebt waiting to be freecycled with 1 50″ flatscreen. Wound up replacing an ugly wood paneled basement used primarily for storage with a new media center, workout room and space for tabletop gaming when our game meetup exceeds the upstairs space.
And my rate did not go up despite a claim that exceeded $40k
I don’t want to use your blog for endorsements of specific companies, but if you want to know the company, reply here or email me (I think you can see my email from when I signed up to comment or contact through my wordpress account)
I get notifications by email, not Twitter – BAU here 🙂
Just checked this site every day, takes five seconds. Glad you caught the black mold in time,I think daily about how many eople have it worse then me. It is a great habit to have!Glad you dropped twitter too!
Subscribed to RSS on Inoreader. It wasn’t the best option on the list of replacements for Google Reader, but it’s the one that functions from my work computer … so, you work with what you’ve got, right.
Whenever you decide to produce content — whether it’s this blog, Radio Free Burrito, or novels — I will be there to consume it.
Happy to hear that you’re able to keep positive perspective and framing. Maybe ditching Twitter helped with that? IIRC, a few posts ago you were fighting with brain chems. I imagine that if you were in a harder place mentally it would have made this process that much more difficult. Or maybe you were, and it did, but that’s none of my business.
sips tea
Regardless, there is someone out here in the aether and sharing a ride on this floating, waterlogged, ball of rock with you that smiles knowing you’re OK.
Saw you posted via Goodreads. Glad everyone is well and you found some good in the minor inconveniences.
Good job on staying as positive as you can in this kind of situation. We have also had two house disasters in the last two years, and while dealing with the insurance (though ours was wonderful) and contractors to get repairs done, I kept thinking “Wow, this is a huge pain. I am so lucky that I have good insurance, a job that lets me take last minute leave with no punishment, coworkers that care, a husband that I can work with on things like this and we don’t have a meltdown etc.. I mean, a tree fell on our house, and the cost to get a tree that has already fallen over chopped up and removed…I understood why I’ve seen so many houses with trees lying in the front yard now.
And way to be productive! I’m sure deactivating your twitter helped. I haven’t done that yet though I did delete my Facebook a few years ago and I do not miss it at all (though I am of the generation that checks email daily so I just get email subscriptions to any blogs that I care about now).
Hope the rest of your summer is uneventful. 🙂
I really like reading your blog. Thanks very much for sharing your inconveniences with us.
I’m sorry to hear of the black mold issues, but glad to hear you are back in your house. It is wonderful that you are able to see so many things to be grateful for.
Your writing is so sincere. I find it very refreshing. Thank you.
Our summer has been like yours…but whole house. March 30th, house flooded…every room had water. We were lucky in that the insurance company approved the claim. We were in a hotel for (which insurance paid for) 32 days. While a team packed up everything in the house..the flooring was ripped up and walls repainted. While that went on, the toilet was in the shower, washer and dryer in the living room with the stove. We are back home, and unpacked. (though not everything is put away)
So, yes..I understand. I’m glad you finished your novel. That way I’m closer to getting to read it!!! Yay!
E
Sounds like you had quite the adventure this summer. I’m glad that you are in such a good place right now, emotionally, that you were able to you look on the bright side and been able to take advantage of the situation and make it work for you. That’s certainly not always easy to do. Kudos, and, as always, thank you for sharing!
P.S. I can’t wait to read your newest book when it comes out.
I saw this post via Feedly…I quit social media years ago and don’t miss it at all. Hope you get your kitchen back soon!
Twitter is a cesspool and am glad you are free of it. I am also glad that the damage was not more extensive and things are getting (if slowly) put back together.
I had a similar experience in NJ with Hurricane Sandy. I was lucky my homeowner’s insurance paid for most of the damage, but it was hard to live in a house that was under repair for almost a year. My bedroom ceiling had to be replaced because of mold damage due to rain getting in through the damaged roof. Your comments resonated with me, because I am a writer too, and because I also try to see the positive side of things. For me, it was a chance to count my blessings. No one was hurt in the storm. It was even a chance to redecorate. (Lol) I lost some irreplaceable items, but I gained an opportunity to see how supportive my friends and family were. Looking forward to your book!
I was just wondering what in the world had happened to you. I’m glad all is reasonably well. Something tells me there’s a least a short story (if not a full novel)) in the sentence “The refrigerator was in the living room.” I might need to pursue that unless you intend to trademark it. 🙂
Something tells me we would all be better off without Twitter, FB, and scores of other (non)social sites in our lives. Being of a somewhat elder mindset, I do feel we are slowly losing a very tenuous grasp of socialization skills as we hide behind a mask of anonymity (whether by design or not).
However, those who seek your words will find them no matter where they are to be found. Good luck with the new novel!
I saw it! Congrats on a summer that could have been horrendous and was instead significantly suboptimal!
I love reading your blogs so signed up to get emails when you post something new. We had an off summer here in Durango, too. Fires and low river after lack of snow in the mountains in the winter. We are hoping things improve for us here. I did get to meet your lovely wife in Denver. Someday, I hope to meet you, too. I missed my chance when you were in Denver and I regret it. I am glad you are back home and doing well.
Wil, I am sorry your summer was full of inconveniences
but…
I am filled with joy at hearing your thankful, positive outlook on the whole experience. I know that this had the potential to drag you down into a dark place, and seeing that you are looking for the silver linings, reassures me that you are health in both mind and spirit.
Sending love to you, Anne, and your fur babies,
Joyce
P.S. I get your Blog via Email
Thanks for sharing. It is important to keep things in perspective. It is nice when you have problems that they are manageable ones. I will end by saying I visit your blog for updates and have found out about your projects here. I’m sure many others do the same based on the number of comments before mine. I look forward to getting my hand on your book.
Welcome back, Wheaton! We sure missed you! Your perspective of this summer being one of “mild inconveniences” was refreshing!
I was very touched by your positive and thankful spin on your inconveniences. You have motivated me to look at my challenges in a more positive way. All the best to you and yours! I’m looking forward to reading your novel.
Hi Wil! You don’t know me, but I appreciate reading you back here. I was thinking I need to get off twitter for a while for personal psychological/focus reasons, but your call to action gave me a good push to do it.
Glad to see I can still read/follow you here. Going to get back into longer-form RSS-based reading looks like. Been quite a few years, I think time to come back! Simpler isn’t always better and more connected isn’t always what people want it turns out 😀
Glad you’re taking time to reflect and see how things are not as bad as they may have been. Working to do the same.
Anyway, off to do some things I’ve needed to do for a long while… Wish me luck 🙂
In your own small way you are MAGA. Even if it’s just your kitchen!
Welcome back to your blog, Wil, and welcome to Twitter-less life.
Welcome back to your blog, Wil. It’s the only place I read your words, as I’ve never had Twitter (or Facebook, or Myspace, or… etc.). I’ve missed reading your words for a while now, and I hope you stick around. Thank you for all that you do.
LLAP
I am here!! Reading you!!!
It’s so weird reading this when I’m going through the same thing. Surprise mold in the kitchen! We’ve just got the quotes from the mold removal companies and now we’re considering doing the work ourselves because there’s no way we can afford their prices, and we’ll figure out how to rebuild our kitchen later, after the mold is gone. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone!
If you do the work yourself don’t use bleach. Get a fungicide. They sell it at hardware stores. Bleach will kill the surface mold, but not anything below the surface and since it is mostly water, it actually makes the situation worse.
Congratulations for signing off Twitter and joining the Treaty against Weapons of Mass Communication. I hope it proves to be the right choice for you! We will still enjoy reading your thoughts here on this blog, where people can have a civilised conversation.
I must inspect the grout in my shower cubicle again – Thanks for reminding me…
Wil,
You were the reason I joined twitter. I don’t remember what it was that i heard or read but remember thinking ‘I know him, wonder what he’s up to.’ I have never posted a comment on twitter but, I have really enjoyed and have seen a huge social value to your insight and commentary over the years. I get it, and agree, it’s a mess. It will be a minor inconvenience to adjust to checking in here instead of following a link. But, I think I can manage that. It’s worth it! . You’re worth it! And more.
Thanks for posting, I’m delighted that you give us these insights into your life, it’s inspiring to see that you are seeing the positives in your “inconveniences”. Whatever about Twitter, please keep blogging & creating!!
I think that it is great for you that you gave up Twitter! I hope you are noticing an improvement in your life and don’t have too many withdrawal symptoms. Like many others here, I also read your words only here (so I had not even noticed that you had left Twitter).
We’re still here. I used to read Twitter and stopped about a year ago. I’ve never been on Facebook, really. I just like your blog so much. Welcome back!
I was reading this via Feedly but went to Inoreader, since Feedly doesn’t offer a dark theme, and my eyes hate white backgrounds.
For complicated neurological reasons, I don’t watch movies, but I’m super excited about your slasher movie. I am pretty darn sure that a lot of my friends would be too, since most people I know in the US think you are really awesome. Good luck with the movie and the book!
Hi Wil, you tweeted previously that you would comment in the Chris Hardwick accusations, but I don’t see that you have anywhere?
The last 10 years have been a real shit show for me. Reading your last bit about how grateful you are for Anne made me smile. Through all the ups & downs my husband has been by my side. Having him with me, even when we were at our worst, fighting with each other, feeling like failures, we were going through it together. It truly has made all the difference. I am a silver lining seeking optimist by nature so I am always trying to find the lesson, the up side, the good, in the shit Life throws at us. It is always there, we just have to chose to find it. Hope your kitchen is back in working order sooner rather than later. And congrats on the novel progress. 🙂
I work in the insurance industry and can tell you that yes mold and fungus is excluded, however I would ask that you double check the policy as there may be a $15,000 limited coverage if it was due a cause of loss (i.e. plumbing leaking). Glad you caught before anyone got sick.
Literally the only thing on Twitter worth missing is Thoughts of Dog. Maybe you can find another source for that. Congratulations on finishing the book! Enjoy the editing process!
Yes, you buried the lead! You must be thrilled that your manuscript in is other hands for a while. And you should know that your viewing this summer as nothing but mild inconveniences is more than a bit inspiring. I think most folks wouldn’t have viewed it that way.
Glad to see you back here. And I follow through e-mail, so I won’t miss a post.
Hey Wil, this came to my email via WordPress, so I guess I’m ‘subscribed’.
I’m glad you made it through your challenging summer and are toxin-free.
Please keep us updated about your book release, I am looking forward to reading it. I belong to a geek book club, whereby we nominate, then vote for a book to read and discuss each month. Its a Facebook group derived from a long-running Vegas podcast called The Geek Shock Podcast, which has a handful guys that used to work at Star Trek The Experience in Vegas, back in the day. They have fans from all over the world (I’m from Australia) and some of us are in the book club, so when yours is released I’ll be sure to nominate – everyone is going to want to read it.
Cheers, mate!
Wil : Glad to see you posting on the blog. Only reason I ever went near twitter with a 10 foot pole was to read you. Now I wont have to – Thanks !
Please post frequently to the blog!
I love that you write about things in every day life I can relate to easily and appreciate. Thank you for always being so real and open. <3
Thanks for sharing your story and perspective, Will, it helps to have an example of finding the good outcomes from bad situations for when things seem to be going wrong in my own life.
Congratulations on the novel and I hope I get to see your slasher flick (as someone who watched way too many back in the 80s, and who might have thumbed through a few issues of Fangoria from time to time….)
Btw, I’m subscribed to your RSS feed on my decade-old “planet” aggregator. Old school technology that keeps on working 🙂
I am the socially-acceptable amount of intrigued and dismayed by your departure from the Tweeterspace. I do not twit myself, and I have taken to creating a new FB with a bogus-yet-awesome name, no friends, and NO negativity allowed so I can continue to participate in my nerdy crafting groups (yeah. be jealous. they’re rad). However, I am glad you are still here, and masterfully exercising mindfulness and gratitude, if I may say so myself!
Maybe now you’ll have time to go to DragonCon?? crosses fingers
/sigh I know, I know. Going to DC is like eating at Chick-fil-a, and I’m pretty sure I lose a piece of my soul every time I go. But… but…
Anyhoo, like one of Horton’s Whos: WE ARE HERE! WE ARE HERE!
I have had your blog bookmarked on my phone and my computer since 2004 and just check back periodically to see if you’ve posted a new entry. I have never been on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. I also have Anne’s blog bookmarked. I enjoy both very much!
Hey, you finished the book! Great news! (And good luck with the house)
Home ownership can hold many surprises, I’m glad your current surprise is working out.
For the record: RSS readers for the win… but then I’m a lot older than social media of any kind.
Read on Newsify app. Thanks again for your positive attitude. Thank you again for being an inspiring person in my life. I left Twitter, too, because you asked.
Wow, absolutely empathise with you and thanks for sharing. My summer has appeared a right off. We are trying to sell our house as it’s just too small for our family now and have had no luck. I work in education so have had the summer off but return to work this week with a feeling like nothing has really happened as we spent the whole summer for house stuff/prepping for house stuff that never happened.
Reading your post though it’s helped me reflect again and I realise that I’ve found solace in reading too as well as playing board games with the family, I’ve started a blog myself and have been prepping and playing our D&D campaign at home. The quieter summer has helped me discover bits of me, and more creative bits of my that have been until recently hibernating.
Thanks for sharing, it has really helped me get perspective.
Oh and as for Twitters impact on your blog. I don’t think so, I found your blog outside of Twitter