Sticky, Sweet, & A Little Overdressed

• still not feeling great, but optimistic about 2008. that should carry me through the day. year. whichever. #

• @rachel_w i’ll be at the germantown sausage drop. come join us! #
• @rachel_w i don’t know if there’s info online, but it’s at the corner of 6th and monroe starting between 11 and 11:30 #
• @rachel_w there may be folks having drinks at mad platter and germantown cafe beforehand, but i’m not exactly sure what their hours are … #
• woke up this morning with a nasty case of nausea. wasn’t even drinking last night. no idea where this came from. it sucks. #

• sorting through gmail inbox and setting up lots of new filters. i love gmail. #

• it’s such a let-down to see the sales and site conversions numbers drop so drastically since tuesday. it was fun while it lasted. #
• just saw a new title notice at work that we’ll be carrying a magazine called "hot bike baggers." i actually laughed out loud at that one. #
• waiting out the traffic jam mytraffic.com just told me about on i-65 toward town. it’s giving me time to get my calendars sync’ed up. #

• just got back from a really long lunch with coworker. gotta love the week between christmas and new year’s. #

• @sleepydad i’m feeling much, much better. sorry you’re worse! #

• Wondering what’s wrong with the internet connection here. Everything I try to do in Firefox times out. Hmm. Puzzling and frustrating. #
• my internet connection is a wee bit zippier today. wonder if everyone in the whole world was online buying last minute gifts yesterday. #
• organizing finances online. no really, it’s not as terrible a way to spend xmas as it sounds! #

• @sleepydad I’ve got that same sore throat. Best of luck getting over yours! #
• still setting up access to everything from iphone #

• Recovering from mixing too many kinds of way too many drinks. And playing with my new iPhone! Woo! Santa’s been VERY good to me this year. #

• getting ready to party tonight! #

• ugh, so sad - i saw the aftermath of this wreck yesterday on my way to work: http://tinyurl.com/2gn4ma #

• twitter friends, i need need digg help: PLEASE digg this: http://tinyurl.com/2eo63s #
• please digg this list of the 10 unsexiest covers of 2007: http://tinyurl.com/2htxk9 #

Want a funny read? Check out this list we wrote over the last few days. I guess we were feeling punchy.

And PLEASE Digg it. We could use the traffic.

read more | digg story

• cannot believe how much snow fell in chicagoland last night. more than ankle deep, and me without snow boots. #
• getting ready to go to the dedication of my father’s memorial, and feeling anxious and weird. #

• just booked our hotel room on priceline.com for $35 a night. sweet. that leaves a little extra money for ikea shopping. mwahahaha! #
• want: http://tinyurl.com/2xx8jg #

• not feeling at all well. yuck. #
• up early. not feeling well. already working. hoping this arrangement works out ok for me today. #

Karsten met with Tim from the Historical Commission yesterday about the addition we’ve been planning for the past year or so, and we’ve almost got their signoff.

Here’s the summary email Tim sent (with edits to remove identifying information and to add links to photos):

Subject: Addition to antebellum house at [address]
From: "[last name], Tim (Historical Commission)" [email]
To: "Karsten Soltauer" [email]

Mr. Soltauer,

We appreciate you working with us through the review process for the proposed addition at [address], a contributing, historic antebellum, Federal style structure in the Germantown National Register District.

We have reviewed the plans you submitted for a partial demolition and rear addition to [address].  We appreciate the extent and quality of  drawings provided for our review, as they make it clearer in evaluating the proposed project’s effect on historic structure.

It is noted that there are several unusual constraints associated with this parcel.  They include the unusual grade change on the parcel, which slopes up from [street] to the alley by 15 feet, the soil condition in the rear yard, where there are numerous exposed limestone outcroppings, and the existing inappropriate additions on the rear of the structure, which set out approximately 3 feet beyond the side wall of the original structure.

The proposed addition is appropriate in its height, massing, roof shape, materials, and proportion of openings within exterior walls.  However, the addition should be subordinate in its massing and height to the historic structure.  To meet the guidelines for the district we would recommend that the addition set in from the rear corners of the existing structure, and the second floor of the addition be set back from the rear gable end of the historic structure by several feet (2 feet minimum).  With those changes to the proposed plans, the Metro Historical Commission (MHC) staff believes the addition would meet the MDHA guidelines for Historic Germantown.

Please feel free to call or office at [phone number] or e-mail me, if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Tim [last name]
MHC staff

I don’t know what the effect of those changes will be, but they really don’t seem too bad. The rooftop deck will still be plenty big for parties (woo hoo!), and the bedrooms/offices at the rear on the first floor shouldn’t be too squished by being set in from the existing house.

Pretty exciting stuff! Now for one last round with the architect, and then we just have to figure out how to pay to have the work done. OK, that last part is probably going to be a lot harder than it sounds. But at least we can start figuring that out, because we know we can do it! Yay!

• again with the good intentions. #

• tried to post a jokey update about hanging out w/ karsten, duane, heather, and levi over drinks, but twitter ate it & my treo crashed. #
• starting off the day with great intentions. let’s see how it plays out. #
• @kellystewart congratulations. must be good to feel like you can close out an era of your life and get on with the next. #
• eating a ginormous potato from mcallister’s. yum. #
• @gphat last time i had a potato, checkout spazzed and i could only eat about three bites. i need to clear the negative association. #

• actually taking five minutes to catch up on feeds. sheesh. my friends are a talkative bunch. #

• ugh. just found out my dad’s memorial will be dedicated on my BIRTHDAY. ugh. i mean, seriously. just… ugh. #

• yay! samdavidson is a-twitterin’. welcome to the noise machine, sam! #
• @brittneyg memory’s the first thing to go. or is it hearing? i can’t remember. did you say something? i can’t hear you. (happy birthday!) #

• trying to back up my hard drive, but the process seems to be taking forever. not sure if it’s actually working. hmm. #
• sweet! looks like my backup worked. i’ve been sweating the itunes backup process ’cause I’ve screwed it up 3x before - but now it’s done. #

• recovering from last night’s pre-Oktoberfest warm-up partying and getting ready to watch the Paulaner 5K Bier Run #
• ok, nashville people: oktoberfest is today! nash scene rated it best fest. do not miss out! in historic germantown, just north of downtown. #
• headed shortly to my volunteer shift in the "upper" beer tent at 7th and monroe. stop by and say hi if you’re around! #

• feeling super productive today. rockin’. #
• @megang most marathons require that you finish in 5 hours #
• a twitter haiku from the heart (or probably the stomach): what to do for lunch? i’m hungry, but can’t decide. maybe i’ll eat in. #
• best place to park for oktoberfest will depend on when you get there: early, park north of taylor; late, park south of jefferson. be there! #