It is what it is.....Did he really say that??

I've learned that there are as many different types of people as there are stars in the night sky.

And I believe that I've hired just about all of them. There were men that worked hard, and then there were men that were as lazy as the day is long. There were men that loved the job and were always hungry for more learning, and there were men that were there just for the paycheck. There were men that were brilliant, and then there were men that couldn't light up a shoe box. I've had them all, and continue to get them....after all it is construction. With all of the above you can imagine that there comes lots of situations for stories, and that's why I'm here.

One "situation" comes to mind..........

I was building a new home in Phillipsburg, NJ. and the home was just about finished. I was there installing the stone for the fireplace and getting things cleaned up. I had three of my men there with me, and two of them were loading my pickup with garbage and boxes form the kitchen cabinets.. It was the kind of day with so many interruptions I was lucky to get anything done.

One thing that really upset me that day was the truly incompetent real estate agent I had hired to sell this house. I hired her before I even had the foundation in. I gave her all the info on the house and she promised to have it sold "zippy fast" (her words!). She had an open house over the prior weekend, and I hadn't any feedback from her yet, but I sure got feedback from the neighbor! When I ran into her that morning, she asked with a sly grin:

 "Who was that prostitute that was here trying to sell the house? She had all of the men in the neighborhood over your house! That wasn't your real estate agent.....was it?"

Hi There....Wanna buy a House?!

 That was not what I wanted to hear, as I was already frustrated with this real estate agent because she never did one thing she said she was going to do! So I was not in the best of moods from that moment on. She showed up early in the afternoon, and I asked her how the open house went. She started telling me that there was very little interest...(and with a smile) except for the neighborhood men (GEEZ!).

I asked her how she advertised it, and that I wanted to see the advertisements. She started telling me that she put an ad in the local paper and that she WAS GONNA make a virtual tour.....I stopped her in mid sentence..."GONNA??!! It seems your always GONNA do something but I haven't seen one thing!"  She replied kind of sarcastically "Well, I'm trying hard for you, but you built this house in a bad spot, and if you had built it just five miles up the road"....I stopped her again. "REALLY???!!! well what good does that do me now???" I yelled..."The house is built, it's here....Can we MOVE IT???....just SELL IT!!"

She started crying and she began telling me all of her problems. I really didn't want to hear her, and please keep in mind I am an extremely patient person and I get along with almost everyone I meet....

I yelled at her "I don't want to hear about your dog's operation, or about your daughter's idiot boyfriend, I want to hear how your gonna sell this house! I'm paying you a lot of money and I haven't seen one of your supposed advertisements yet and if you can't get serious, then I'm gonna have to look for another, more competent person!"

The tears started rolling again and I pulled a Tom Hanks on her...."Are you crying??!!....Are you really crying??!! There's no crying in construction!" she stormed off to her sports car and screeched away.

On a side note: I eventually hired a one of the best (if not the best) Real Estate Agents in NJ Bethe Frazer. She had the house sold in three weeks

While all this yelling was going on the two men who did the cleanup had taken off to go back to another job that was about forty five minutes away to dump it. They were instructed to go slow, actually I pleaded with then as they would be on major highways most of the way, and they PACKED the truck to the point of overflow.

By now it was around 2:30 in the afternoon, 

and I had done all I could at the house and that was okay by me because I wanted to leave early to get to the mall to buy my wife a birthday present. I locked up the house and went home to get my daughter who was going to "help" me pick something nice for her mother. By now I was completely calmed down and enjoying my time with my daughter at the mall. We got some chicken  teriyaki, and afterwords we got some ice cream.

We were walking through the stores looking for that perfect gift.....my phone rings.....I answer it. "Hello, Mr. DiTaranto?" I replied yes and asked who was calling. "Yes, Mr. DiTaranto this is Sgt. Haily from the State Police barracks in  Clinton" I stopped dead in my tracks....and replied "What's going on, is everything okay?" "Do you own a 1998 Ford pickup truck?" My blood started to flow just a bit faster and I could feel myself getting flushed..I acknowledged that yes that was my truck, and I envisioned my two men laying on the highway...hurt, maybe dead?!

The officer continued "Well it seems that the driver thinks he's Mario Andretti, and apparently he does not have a driver's license, and we need you to come down and get your truck, and your men"  My day was just destined to ruined and I found myself thinking that I should have slept in.

I had to go back home and get my wife to drive me to the State Police station so I could get my truck. 

I got there, and went to the counter to ask for my keys. The officer that pulled them over walks over to me and starts telling me how this all went down. He told me that at first he didn't realize that they were speeding but what had caught his eye was the cardboard boxes flying out of the back of the truck. As he pulled onto the highway, unbeknownst to my men, and dodging cardboard, he started tracking the speed. He clocked my truck at 98 mile per hour!! I was speechless, and couldn't wait to get back to my truck that was parked along the side of the highway.

For illustration purposes only...98 MPH is too hard to catch on camera!

I got in, and I was so mad all I could say was...."Are you freaking kidding me??!! 98 miles an hour? What if you blew the engine??!!" I got no response from either of them, and nothing was said the rest of the way home.

 I dropped off the guy who was driving my truck at his house and wished him a happy life.

 The next morning he shows up for work!! I asked him "what are you doing here, did you REALLY think that you still had a job?" He looked me straight in the eye and replied in nonchalant manner..."It is what it is....I'm not gonna apologize, I'm the one who got the tickets, not you".. I was in shock, but yet I wanted to smack him in the back of the head, but I calmly replied..."You're right...it IS what it is.....unemployment is waiting for your call. I've told that story to family and friends over the years, and one of my friends actually bought me a painted sign that says: "It Is What It Is"......Thanks Mr. DeRobertis!!

TIP OF THE DAY:

Cultured stone repairs:

Cultured stone products such as cultured marble or granite tubs, sinks, and walls are a less expensive alternative to natural marble. The cultured version is made of stone dust and has an appearance similar to solid marble. Though small scuffs are easy to repair, cracks pose more of a challenge. Look for a specialized repair kit that lists cultured stone or marble on the label. More difficult than filling the crack is matching the finish with your existing cultured stone so the repair is invisible; kits come with finishing paint that you can tint to make an exact match.

• Clean the area around the crack thoroughly with a sponge or scrub brush and tub and tile cleaner. Rinse and let it dry completely.

• Sand the edges of the crack with a medium-grit sandpaper.

• Mix the filler with hardener as directed by the manufacturer until it's smooth. Apply the mixed filler to the crack, and scrape the surface flat with a putty knife. Allow the filler to dry for 10 minutes.

• Sand the slightly wet filler with a medium grain sandpaper. Switch to a finer grain sandpaper and sand the surface again. Repeat switching to finer grain sandpapers three or four times until the stone has been sanded with the finest 1,000 grit sandpaper, leaving the filled crack smooth.

• Allow the filler to dry overnight, or use a hair dryer to speed dry it.

• Dab a small amount of paint, included in the surface repair kit, to the dry filler. If the color is off, gradually mix in the included pigment as directed by the manufacturer until it matches.

• Pour the mixed paint into the included spray bottle and spray an even coat of paint over the filler. After 24 hours, buff the area to a shine and remove excess paint.

See you next time......from beyond.........