The crew (5 in 2 trucks) arrived at 8:15 in the morning, after covering the floor with paper and cloths, they moved the larger piece (which houses the sink) into the kitchen carefully. Cements are used to secure the granite to the cabinets below. The window and back splash pieces were carefullt measured and made right outside of the garage, ot tookk a while to get use to the 8-inch back splash; the window piece was made so beautiful that it blended the window and the countertop nicely. The sink was first fitted to sit on top of the cabinet (with some trimming of the cabinet top) then glued and secured underneath the countertop.
After finishing the sink piece, the crew left to get the cooktop piece and would return the afternoon but didn't say when, we later found out (John from UMG called) that the cooktop piece was broken so they had to remake it. The crew returned at about 4:00 with the cooktop piece, it was about 1/3 of the sink piece and thus easier to handle. Jose (the head crew) measured carefully (with my input) where and how much to cutout for the cooktop, it took only 5 minutes to make the cut, the rest was gluing the back splash and caulking, they were very very focused on doing a good job, their attitude and workmanship absolutely surpass that of you know who. The cooktop was tested and it fitted well. Because of the thickness of the countertop was only 3/4" but the metal supports were 1", I had to find a way to make the supports fit well. Glue and additional wood pieces were needed.
The kitchen looks nice with the new countertop even though we still have the old cabinets.
They even hauled away our old sink (after getting OK from their boss) after we inquired the possiblity, the old sink was really heavy for me to handle, now I don't have to worry about how to get rid off it.
Need to get glue/epoxy to install the induction cooktop, also need to get Granite sealer as well cleaner to make the countertop last.
Your assigned time:8am – 5pm or until the project is completed
House Address: 587 Water Witch Way, Winchester Ranch Mobile Home Park, San Jose, CA, 95117
The homeowner is 92 years old and has lived in San Jose since she was born.She has 2 children, one son and one daughter. Her son lives in San Jose, but her daughter does not; both are in their 70s. The house is about 33 years old and she moved here when her mobile home and the park were new.She was married twice.Her first husband, who was in the Air Force, passed away when he was 37 years old; her second husband passed away in his 60’s.The only source of income for this homeowner is Social Security and a small pension from her second husband. She has had a heart attack before, she also fell and broke her shoulder, and has severe arthritis in her back which causes pain in her arms and hands.She is in need of assistance in the kitchen, bathroom and some exterior repairs as well.
Parking: Parking is limited in the park.It is recommended that you park in the Century Theater parking lot on Olsen behind the Winchester Mystery House and walk into the park.This home is all the way back and to the left at the last street.
Clothing: Old clothes (may get dirt or paint on them).You will receive a t-shirt at the site to wear and take home.For the safety of our homeowners and volunteers, everyone on site must wear the Rebuilding Day t-shirt.
Recommended items to bring:
·Sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, and sensible, closed-toe shoes
·Water bottle (Water coolers will be available at every site for refills.)
Finishing yard waste cleanup in the street after the pickup; Swept the leaves in the backyard; Tried to wash up in the bathroom when my heart rate jumped again; thinking it would gradually level off after a while, I stood in the bathroom and wait, minutes past but no sign of recovering, I had to sit on the toilet to rest as I felt weak and sweating. Anita came to help and added towel and cloth on me. As it wasn't going away as before, Anita called 911, 6 firefighters came to the bedroom to help, after some questions, I was put on monitor and injected with some kind of medication - to slow down my heart rate - I leaned later that the injection was to stop my heart for a few seconds (4 to be exact) and restart it, much like reseting a device when it became non-responding, my heart rate gradually slowed down from over 200 to about 85. The ambulance took me to Regional Medical Hospital for observation; changing into hospital gown and lay in bed for the doctor. The doctor saw me briefly (not in grave danger) and said he will return after my blood test, the nurse drew 4 tubes of blood from me at 12:00 and the doctor returned to let me know that test results are ok and can go home, the nurse came a little later to give me the prescription and some info relating to the medication and my condition - I have the "Paroxysmal Atrial Tachycardia/Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia", also means "sudden onset of fast heart beating". The prescription was to prevent this from reoccurring but it does carry a number of side effects - see Wikipedia for more info. I need to check another possibility - overactive thyroid, common symptoms are excessive sweating, high heart rate (a form of Palpitation), diarrhea, weight loss, etc.
(IV on my right arm, blood was drew from the back of my left hand, a dozen vital sign monitoring stickers were placed on my chest and legs)
At the ER, an administrator (Sam) took my info and gave some valuable info when he found out I do not have insurance, Medi-Cal as well as other possible low income assists. A nice guy indeed.
11122010: Woke before 7:00, swept up the leaves in front yard for collection - wasn'r preparing for it but did it spontaneously. Will try hard to build a peaceful mind (don't know how yet, but will search for helpful info) to be less vulnerable to outside influence (this could be anything outside my body). As peace of mind is the most challenging thing in ones life.
Had trouble falling asleep, woke up almost hourly until getting up at 7 with a painful back and waist.
7:30: Had a small breakfast at Horizon Court
10:00: Attended the "Alaska Port and Shopping Show" but left before it ended as the contents were all but sale pitches - very little about the ports; the only nice thing came out of this was the pamphlets on each of the ports.
12:00: Had lunch at Donatello - smoked turkey and vegetable for appetizer, Red Snapper for main dish, and pecan ice cream (yummy) for desert. Anita had New Zealand mussel for appetizer, Cobb salad, and fruit tartlet.Food plating was nice.
3:15: Watched "Green Zone" at Princess Theatre
5:05: Got some food from International Cafe for late afternoon snack
7:00: Stopped by Horizon Court for a bite - decks 5&6 were filled with people attending the first of two formal nights - socializing, drinking champagne, taking photos, enjoying music and dance.
8:15: Enjoyed "Stardust" - 45 minutes of singing and dancing with 50/60th oldies.
8:30: Tried but failed to buy small bottle varieties of Absolut Vodka, as the store won’t let us have it until Friday – when explained by the clerk, I felt really embarrassed.
2010 Alaska II
08/16/2010 - Juneau
6:00: Got up for whale watching – but saw nada, absolutely nothing
11:15: Golden Princess docked at Juneau - docking process was carefully slow.
All the dinning rooms were crowded with people trying to grab a bite before going on shore; the elevators were also filled and stopped at every floor.
12:20: Stepped on Juneau pier, got tickets for city and glacier tour; the city tour was not impressive, pretty much a waste except for the bonus stop - a small Salmon spawning creek where Salmon reproduction took place.
2:00: Started Mendenhall Glacier walking tour, all free unless you want to watch related movie and exhibit.This glacier has been retreating 200ft a year recently as oppose to 60ft 20 years ago.
3:40: I got back to the ship first while Anita went shopping; I had some salad at International Cafe before going back to our stateroom.
6:15: Had sit down dinner at Donatello, the King Crab Leg appetizer was delicious (generous quantity as well), vegetable soup was so so, and the seafood pasta was magnificent.
8:30: Had some fruits and one DOS EQUIS beer, Anita had a Singapore Sling - cost $2.99 each, happy hour after 8:00.
08/17/2010 - Skagway
6:00: Docked at Skagway
7:30: Had breakfast
9:00: Disembarked ship and heading toward Skagway downtown.Ten minutes walk just to clear the pier; another 10 minutes walk through a fairly scenic path to get to the town.
11:00: Joined a 50-minute guided city tour (need to obtain free tickets way before the tour starts – tickets run out fast).
12:20: Returned to the ship, finished the food prepared this morning along with hot tea and salad from Horizon Court.
2:00: Heading toward Skagway to see the town again - we were going places that required more walk, but since it was very windy and cold, we decided to stay in town instead.Skagway is better than Juneau in terms of preserving the past; even with about 10.000 tourists (from four cruise ships), the town can still accommodate (Skagway has only 862 residents as of 2000).
4:15: Returned to the ship
6:00: Had sit down dinner at Bernini, we were going to order two glasses of Pinot Noir, the waiter talked us into buying a bottle, we agreed because they can save unfinished wine for tomorrow - $36.5 plus 15% service fee.Dishes were all delicious - a little dizzy after the wine
My heart, for a short moment, felt like it was hammered while climbing upstairs, this happened two nights in a row, I did not experience this before, but it appeared I didn't have enough oxygen for a while.
08/18/2010 - At sea
7:00: Woke up, went grabbed a quick bite and hurried out to the upper deck as we were approaching Tracy Arm Fjord - the most exciting stop of the cruise - to see glacier and wild animals.It was cloudy and sprinkled occasionally; there were small icebergs along the fjord, it was amazing such a large ship can maneuver in such a narrow channel.We took some pictures and decided to go back to our stateroom to dress warmer.
8:20: Ship slowly edged toward the glacier, good spots on the decks were filled with people, it's hard to take photos without any fellow passengers in it :-). We were told this is the closest Golden Princess had gotten to the glacier this year.Although I took many photos but since lighting condition wasn't very good, I hope some would turn out OK.
9:50: Went to Horizon Court to get some hot drink and bites to warm up.
10:30: Went back to stateroom to rest.
12:30: Went to Princess Theatre to attend the 1:00 "Alaska Glaciers" presentation; Michael Modzelewski is the speaker, we bought his signed copy of "Inside Passage" at the theatre entrance.
2:00: Had some fruits and coffee at Horizon Court after the speech.
Since we couldn't make preferable reservation at Bernini so we decided to drop in when we feel like to.
6:15: Went down to Bernini for dinner, we waited in the atrium and enjoyed a live classical band before getting our table.
6:25: Our table was instead in Donatello (both restaurant were anytime dinning rooms, so one fills, guests may be taken to the other); we recalled our Pinot Noir and it still tasted good. I had wild mushroom cream soup, diver scallop, and pork tenderloin, Anita had the same soup, fresh salad, soufflé, and diver scallop.
2010 Alaska III
08/19/2010 - Ketchikan
6:00: Ship docked
6:10: Got up
6:30: Breakfast at the same old Horizon Court
7:20: Started Ketchikan walk tour; Ketchikan Visitor Bureau->Whale Park and Chief Kyan Totem Pole->Totem Heritage Center (Totem Poles dated over a century and related Indian culture)->Hatchery and Eagle Center (Two rescued female Eagles were kept here, they could no longer fly and hunt, so they had to be fed and protected by the center)(King and Coho Salmon were hatched here, from artificial fertilization to release them into the streams after one year when they are about two inches long)->Married Men's Trail (Not sure why it's named like that but it lead to Red Light District); the trail also runs parallel to a creek jam packed with returning Salmon - crowded is probably a better word.
Got a laser engraved Eagle crystal for $6.95.
10:45: I returned to the ship first while Anita continued shopping.
12:00: Had lunch
5:00: Went to Horizon Court for dinner, we realized that they were still serving lunch half way through, we waited until the other side of the restaurant start serving dinner then moved over there and restarted our dinner.Watched "Avatar" and "An Affair to Remember"
11:00: Tried to sleep on the floor where closet was to help relive the pain but still felt uncomfortable and the pain in my lower back persisted - went back to sleep in bed.
2:00: Time zone change back to west coast zone - 3:00 am now
08/20/2010 - At sea and Victoria, BC, Canada
8:45: Woke up by knocks on the door, we had no idea it was so late - unable to see day light might be the cause.
9:00: Breakfast
10:00: Anita went joined the lecture "Native People of the Northwest Coast" by Michael Modzelewski starting 9:30
11:30: Had lunch at Horizon Court
1:00: Attended lecture on "Victoria, British Columbia" at Wheelhouse Bar
2:00: Anita went to enjoy sauna
2:30: Watched "Dear John" on TV
5:30: There was a fixed dinning assigned for us at Donatello Dinning Room (5:30, table 101; simply show up at 5:30 and go directly to our table to be served), we were on waiting list for fixed time dinner when we booked the trip but did not notice that we actually got it, so our last dinner on board was the only time we took advantage of it - I think I over ate :-(
7:30: Got off the ship and started Victoria walk tour, the whole trip took one hour and 40 minutes, but we could only took photos in the first half of the walk, the sun set at 8:20 and we didn't have enough residual light for good photo shot after that.
08/21/2010 - Seattle
8:00: Disembark Golden Princess, took about 10 minutes to walk off the ship and pass custom.
8:20: Check in Shuttle Express
8:30: Board shuttle
9:10: Arrived at Sea-Tac Airport, self-checked in, got boarding pass
10:00: Cleared security, got to Gate N8 (after 2 rides of the airport shuttle)
12:15: Boarded the plane, nearly full - isle seat was ideal
Got up at 4:00 am, got everything ready by 4:40, left the house at 4:50 am when Jack (our shuttle driver) came 10 minutes earlier.Picked up Elly at her house, crossed bridge 92 (toll free between 5 and 10 am) and got to SFO at 5:55 am.
SA (South African Airways) flights in the US are operated by UA (United Airlines).We got to Washington D.C. Dulles airport in about 5 hour and 20 minutes, took shuttle to Gate A14 for our SA connecting flight (SA208); Surprisingly, there was no further security check as anticipated.
- Departure was delayed by one hour and 20 minutes due to bad weather or certain unknown situation near north side of Dulles airport.
Flight SA208 from Dulles to Johannesburg stops at DKR (a small airport in Senegal) for one hour to drop off/pick up passengers. Despite our late taking off at Dulles airport (although compensated by strong tail wind), additional delay at DKR, plus yet another delay at JNB (due to aerial thunderstorm - we were close to being diverted to Durban if the weather condition didn't improve), we were actually only late by 35 minutes.
- We experienced the longest (15~20 minutes) continuous turbulence ever, it was not very severe but enough to make us dizzy.
Our Gate1 tour guide (John) met us at JNB airport exit lobby.There were a total of 40 people in the group, some had already arrived, some were waiting at JNB (like us), and some were on their way.On the shuttle to Protea Hotel Wanderers, we saw several accident scenes on the freeway contributed by the severe storm.
Protea Hotel was a 4-star (see photos on Picasa) accommodation that both Anita and I like very much.
Went to bed at 11, woke up at 2 - long wait for breakfast (starts at 6:30).
04/24/2010
The Big Apple Restaurant had one of the best breakfast buffets we ever enjoyed.
Got on our bus at 8:30 to begin Soweto tour.Hector Peterson Memorial Museum and Mandela House were the main focuses.Three quarter of the group got off at a large shopping mall while Anita, myself and the rest of the group went back to the hotel. We ended up sleeping through the afternoon; we simply could not keep our eyes open.
Buffet dinner was ok, fish & chicken turned out to be the best.
04/25/2010
Heading toward Kruger National Park.
- Failed to relieve myself after nearly 30 minutes trial.
- Our bus left the Protea Hotel at 7:45
- Pit stop at 10:50
- Belfast Township
- Tram alley (forgot which city)
- Pilgrim’s Rest Township
- Kolkgate (Bourke's Luck) Potholes: Junction of rivers Sorrow and Happiness, spectacular view.
- Arrived Protea Hotel Hazyview at 6:00 pm, bigger room, older construction, no central air conditioning, no bathroom mat, and the safe does not work (fixed
by hotel personnel after several tries).
2010 South Africa II
04/26/2010
<Safari Ride in Kruger National Park>
- 10 Persons per car (3x3 rows in the back, plus one next to the driver)
- We were late getting to the parking lot and had to sit in separate cars, Anita sits in the back and I got the front seat, on the same car though.
- Took 30 minutes to reach Park entrance, another 30 minutes for permit
- It was wet and humid, we did not see much in the first 2 hours (2 small deers, several Impalas, some buffalos in the distance, a few zebras, and one elephant behind trees)
- The experience after breakfast was guite different (may be helped by improved weather and better visibility), we saw
-A couple of zebras
-Three adult elephants eating, two actually crossed the road only a few feet from our game drive vehicle, our driver had to maneuver the car to avoid their possible sudden charge.This may be considered the best experience of this morning.
-Four giraffes grazing
- Taking the afternoon easy, explored the hotel garden a bit, a nice garden with great view.
04/27/2010
- Woke up at 2:15, 3:30; 6:00 -->got up
- 6:45 -->Breakfast
- African Flame (a beautiful local flower)
- 9:00 -->Heading toward Kruger National Park Malelane Gate to meet those attending optional morning game drive.
- 11:30-->Stopped over at a shopping mall in Malelane for supplies.
- 12:15-->Heading toward Swaziland
- 1:20-->Left SA, entered Swaziland
- 2:25-->Stopped at roadside stone carving stands
- 3:30->Visit Glass Factory
- 5:06-->Checked in Lugogo Sun Hotel, a 3-star hotel with: no adapter to borrow, no central air, no hair dryer, no convenient restaurant (also it costs ~$20 for dinner buffet), with only one small and old elevator.
- Dinner was taken care with left over and donation from Elly/Jenny.
2010 South Africa III
04/28/2010
- 8:00 -->Left Lugogo Sun Hotel
- 8:30 -->Visited Candle Factory
- 9:20 -->Heading toward Swaziland/SA boarder
- 12:05 -->Arriving Swaziland/SA boarder
- 12:30 -->Entering South Africa
- 12:45 -->Lunch break at 1stop, got a couple of scones for dinner
- 2:40 -->Arrive Hluhluwe Game Reserve
- 2:50 -->Began our second game drive; this is a better experience than the one in Kruger, better weather, better visibility, and better sitting.
- Need a better camera (higher zoom capability, better low light sensitivity)
- 6:00 -->End of game drive
- 7:30 -->Check in Elephant Lake Hotel, recently renovated, much of the detail is either missing or poorly crafted, most likely due to poor workmanship, low budget, and/or miss management.
04/29/2010
- 6:45 -->Breakfast, not too many selections
- 8:45 -->Departing Elephant Lake Hotel
- 9:00 -->River cruise (Crocodile, Hippo)
- 10:45 -->Visit local market
- 11:00 -->Heading toward Durban, coastal route
- 1:20 -->Lunch break at Ballito Bay, a resort town.Bought a small bottle red wine and 2 croissants.Had sandwich for lunch.
- 2:40 -->Leaving for DurbanInternational Airport.
- 3:50 -->Arriving Durban International Airport, this airport would be replaced by the new Shaka International Airport and closed permanently in two days (05/01/2010).We had a group check in - John took all passports and took care of everything.
-6:00 -->British Airways flight 6303 taking off.
- 7:55 -->Arriving Cape Town International Airport.
- 9:15 -->Check-in Protea Hotel Victoria Junction, possibly the best for the trip - hairdryer, alarm clock, usable power receptacle, LCD TV, chocolate, very comfortable beds, safe, carpet floor,
04/30/2010
- 5:30 -->Got up, a much better rest
- 8:25 -->Leaving for city tour
- 8:40 -->First stop-Table Mountain
- 10:15 -->Finishing Table Mountain tour, start city tour
- 1:00 -->Back to Protea Hotel, had scone and croissant for lunch.
- 2:30 -->Use hotel Internet (50 RAND for 60 minutes)
- 3:30 -->Explore hotel neighborhood, found KFC and a grocery store.We bought a bottle of Pinotage ($R28), some pastries, and 4 chicken legs from the grocery store (dinner is ready).
- 5:30 -->Nice dinner (inexpensive AND tasty)
2010 South Africa IV
05/01/2010
- 8:30 -->Start Cape Peninsula tour
- 9:10 -->Maiden's Cove
- 10:10 -->Hout (wood timber) Bay
- 11:00 -->Leaving for Cape Point.
- 12:00 -->Entering Cape Point.
- 12:20 -->Start hiking to the lighthouse.
- 2:40 -->Lunch at Seaforth Restaurant, next to the Indian Ocean.
{Large quantity of fish filet and delicious Milba Pudding)
- 3:55 -->Visited Boulder (Penguin habitat and protection center) beach
- 5:30 -->Visit Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden
- 6:30 -->Return to Protea Hotel
- 6:45 -->Got chicken and pizza roll from the "SPAR" grocery.Got coleslaw from KFC, we were going to get another bottle of Pinostage but couldn't because SA law prohibit sale of alcoholic beverage after 5pm during weekends.
05/02/2010
- 8:00 -->Late breakfast, took it easy this morning.
- 11:00 -->Took hotel green shuttle (Hybrid-gasoline and liquid hydrogen)
to Waterfront, the famous pier shopping mall.
1:00 -->Ride ferry to Robben Island.
3:45 -->Ride ferry back to Waterfront, call hotel for green shuttle to take us back to the hotel.
-7:00 -->Farewell dinner.
05/03/2010
- 7:45 -->Breakfast (did not pack any food -:)), same type of food but tastes better, possibly because this is the last meal here.
- 10:00 -->Left the luggages outside the room
- 11:00 -->Leaving for Cape Town International Airport.
- 11:15 -->Process tax refund (R76); had to check-in the luggages as they were both overweight (~10 kg, 8 being the max).
- 1:20 -->Got to boarding gate.
- 1:50-->Flight delayed
- 2:20-->Flight took off (30 minutes delay)
- 4:15 -->Landed at JNB in heavy rain, spent 45 or so minutes trying to get our tax back AND get to the correct gate-> only got R50 after R25 fee.Security check was extremely tight, may have something to do with upcoming 2010 World Soccer Event.We rushed through the airport after the inefficient tax refund process and got to gate A15->boarding pass/passport verification->body search->carry-on bag check->another boarding pass/passport verification->board the plane.
- 5:45-->Taking off on time (flight duration was 8 hours)
- 12:00 (Senegal time)-->Landed at DKR airport->on-board security check to make sure passengers disembarking the plane did not leave anything harmful behind.
-1:30 -->Flight taking off for IAD
- 6:00 -->Arriving IAD.Since instead of SFO, we used IAD as the final destination for our luggages, we had to go through longer (30 minutes more than Elly) and more complicated route:
-Different shuttle-ours was 10 minutes late leaving air walkway,
-Different luggage handling->SFO's were handled with priority.
-Security check - not sure if different procedures were applied but it took us 25 minutes just to clear custom.
12/23/2010:
