I need a Shower!

Many people think of famous architectural wonders when I tell them I am a structural engineer - things like the Sears Tower, Falling Water, even the Superdome. They tend to forget that architects and engineers are needed to design convenience stores and supermarkets as well. So, yes, I get to work on the occasional high profile project, but I also get to crawl around in people's attics, looking for splits in the wood on their trusses. I also look at a lot of cracks.
Today, I visited my second historic house, which a county in Delaware has decided to make our client preserve. At least my first experience with this type of assignment left me prepared to ask the right questions. I visited it about two years ago. It was "believed to be part of the underground railroad" by the county, and I thought it would be a fun excursion to preserve history. Instead, I found a very scary house that was nearly destroyed. The roof was caved in, the windows were boarded up, and the floor was rotting. It was filled to the brim with old furniture and who knows what else, some of it obviously from the second floor bedroom which had collapsed. I am pretty sure someone took one strategically placed swing of a sledgehammer and the whole thing crumbled to a pile of rubble.
Fast forward to today. I found out that a report had been written about House #2, and the client forwarded it without comment. The report discusses rotting structure and asbestos shingles, and concludes with a section indicating that it "reeks of urine", "is littered with feces", "exhibits signs of severe mold spore infestation", "is a bio hazard due to the presence of used drug needles", and (my personal favorite) causes anyone entering the premises "to be a magnet for fleas and ticks." OK, so I can handle wearing a mask to enter the building. I can step around feces and used drug needles. I can even ignore the scent of urine (having lived in a college apartment requiring use of an elevator on weekends). But they lost me at fleas and ticks. I thinketh not.
I wrote emails of protest to the client, but apparently, despite this assessment by a third party, the county is still requiring them to save it.
Actually, "save" is not even the right term. The house is right where they want to build their convenience store, so the county is making them move it to another location, where it will continue to stand, vacant and collapsing. Sometimes, I do not understand the government. But there was nothing I could do.
So, with a bit of trepidation, I drove to the site. Luckily, I was able to observe a lot from the outside. As I descended stairs that looked relatively in tact, I was bitten by a critter. It was a bug of some kind, though I did not spend much time studying it. I looked down to see a biggish spiderlike thing, and whacked at it. I was his last meal. (I am not certain how to define "biggish" because every time I replay the event, it gets bigger and bigger in my mind, until it is nearly dime-sized. It was probably more like the diameter of a pen cap...well, maybe less. I don't know. But it did bite me, and I raced up the stairs. I cannot get the feeling that I have fleas in my hair out of my head, and I am constantly running my fingers through to my scalp.
I went briefly into the rest of the house. Though I saw no feces, I was very creeped out by the darkness and the emptiness.
The sad part is, the house will probably not survive being moved - and that might be a good thing. It would be nice to see these dilapidated old buildings maintained, repaired, and restored. But I do not see the point of allowing them to remain vacant cesspools of disease and decay. That's just my two cents.

Mmmm....Litter....

I got incredibly lucky when I adopted a little stray cat named Daisy. From day one, she has been lovable (but not annoyingly so), she has not scratched on furniture, she has used her litter box, and she has not eaten/pooped in my plants. (Note - this is very unlike my friend Cara's cat, Gomez. Some of my favorite Gomez adventures: "Monsieur Green Paw", "Sexy Pig", "Oh the Carnage", and "That Darn Cat")

Anyway, back to my sweet kitty, Daisy: we found out recently that she is asthmatic. This is very rare in cats, but as I mentioned, I got incredibly lucky. For the past few weeks, she has been on steroids, and her breathing/shedding has improved. Unfortunately, like all medication, the steroids are not without their side affects, including a risk of diabetes and development of some very icky looking skin conditions (I will spare you the link - trust me on the ickiness). So, we began to consider possible causes for her condition, because she has not always had a problem. (I am sad to say that she has had this problem for a while though - I did not know cats could have asthma attacks, and I have been incorrectly diagnosing her episodes as hairballs or poor choices in food such as bugs or plants.) It is too bad cats do not, as a general rule, speak English.

We decided that the problem may have begun a few years ago when we began using a litter box with a cap on it - she is in a confined space with the litter dust floating around on a daily basis. But the cap serves a purpose - we don't wish to have a bathroom coated in kitty litter. So Adam bought "dust-free" litter that is made from wheat.

A snippet from the packaging: "Wheat litter and why its better: Wheat enzymes naturally eliminate odor; Low dust, less tracking; biodegradable, certified flushable; Safe and non-toxic for kittens and cats."

It also looks delicious. Seriously. I eat steel cut oatmeal for breakfast, and this stuff looks like it could be cooked up in a pinch. It also costs about the same. The cat, always wary of new things, gingerly approached her litter box, sniffing as she went, and began eating it.

I am gravely concerned that she will not poop in this. And who could blame her? I would not want to poop in oatmeal either. What worries me even more is where she will decide to poop. I'll keep you posted. Hopefully it is in something of Adam's...or the toilet. Now that would be worth posting about.

Updated: I was pleased to find three little turds in the appropriate location this morning. Never thought I'd be so glad to see poo.