Let me tell you a little story. Once upon a time we were looking for houses here in anticipation of our move and we found this great house we live in now. Tony toured the house but it was under heavy overhaul. They basically redid everything - the entire kitchen, the walls, light fixtures, carpet, the whole shebang. So we had to go by the intended end result when we made the commitment. Part of the appeal of the house was this great “double oven” we were going to get.

Well, we didn’t get it. Not only didn’t we get it but the first time I went to use the oven, I opened it up to find that it wasn’t just an oven but a mini-tiny-dorm-sized oven. Think “toaster oven” and that’s what we had. It was not big enough for a cookie sheet. Or a turkey. All I could think of is how we were across the entire country from my entire extended family and we could not even have a turkey on Thanksgiving. I’m not a big (or small or even a routine) cook, but I like to bake. And there was going to be no baking here.

We were sad but sort of settled for the fact that we’d have to move at the end of the year. No way a family of our size could live off a toaster-oven sized oven. During a tirade of all-things-that-make-me-cranky I off-handedly asked Tony to take it up with the landlord. I told him to tell the landlord that we would love to stay longer than just a year but this oven will not do. At that point we had a LONG list of complaints (nothing major - just minor things that weren’t working when we moved in like landscape lighting and the pool light, blah blahblah). So I told him to just add it on our list of complaints.

Well turns out that the landlord was totally apologetic about the oven! He ordered us a brand new, huge electric oven which involved all kinds of crazy electrical wiring because the kitchen wasn’t wired for electric ovens. He coudln’t stop telling us how sorry he was, how it was an oversight, it was all his fault.

In the end, we didn’t get our double oven. It’s just a single but it’s huge. It will cook a turkey AND a side dish And a batch of cookies. So now I feel like I’m home. Plus also I love our landlord. I’ve leased and rented many times over the years but leasing here is a whole different ballgame. We are taking care of, my friends. We barely need to lift a finger. I never want to own again (ok I didn’t want to own in the first place)!

So today’s lesson, boys and girls, is never be afraid to ask for what you want. The worst that can happen is that you will be told no and you will be in the same position you were to begin with. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 15th, 2007 at 12:10 pm and is filed under House Keeping, Moving, Photos & Videos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.