The City of Portland made me cry

So I went down to the planning office this morning to submit some revisions. Jeff suggested I take the kids to his dad's place for this, which initially I resisted. I pretty much just wanted to drop the changes off and be done. Thank god I took his advice. I had three hours to contemplate alternate mottos for the city (the city that waits? The city that works on your last nerve?) while I met with 4 different people who each wanted me to explain the revisions as though I had done the engineering myself. I'm not afraid to admit when I don't know something, but I think that this may be a new record for my saying "I don't know," punctuated occasionally with "I have no idea." If this is a Guinness sanctioned activity then I win. To keep me company while I waited I had a single dog-eared copy of People magazine that had to have been at least 2 years old (Hey! Michael Jackson is still alive!) and the feeling of regret that I had left my coffee in the car. I quickly discovered that the handful of games on my cell phone were for demonstration purposes only and was left with writing increasingly desperate texts to Jeff in which I expressed my progressing suicidal ideation. The last straw was when the planner asked me why I didn't bring the arborist report with me (yet another saga for another time), as this was yet another revision, and since I didn't have it, I would have to come back again. I may not have shed actual tears at this news, but let me assure you, I was crying on the inside while I informed the planner that I didn't know and I actually had no idea. I think Jeff later decided it would be best if he were the one to take that report in to add to the revisions. All I know is if I ever have to go to the planning office again I'm going to bring my coffee with me, a catheter to avoid losing my place in line as a result of an ill-timed bathroom break, and something sharp in case the waiting becomes too much to bear.

On a sunnier note, here are some pictures of the lot. This is from the street:

Here is our new rock pile. We found out the hard way that the excavator has a "rock policy"- an upcharge for every rock over 2' in diameter. Look carefully...

Sadly, I can't seem to get any more to upload, which I'm sure is operator error. This blog is destined to be picture-free. Someday soon I hope to tell the exiting saga of the sewer relocation and the aborist's tree plan, but those will have to wait for another day. Heck, someday soon I hope to tell you the exciting saga of how we actually broke ground, but I wouldn't hold your breath.