One in 120 Million!
Since our Tokyo house was badly in need of re-carpeting, we visited our Friend's factory in California while there and ordered from what he had in stock. Being a professional in his trade, he had no trouble getting it shipped to Tokyo at a reasonable price. We rented a truck and picked it up at Yokohama port. Custom's officials were also very gracious and helpful.
But then came the BIG problem: Who was going to install it for us? We contacted a recommended company. Their price was $600 per man per day. Two men for 3 days would do it, we were told. But this was way beyond our budget and more than we paid for the carpeting and shipping combined!
Then I remembered something interesting that had happened just a few days before.
My friend, JoAnn, and I were sitting in a neighborhood coffee shop when a "foreign" lady (like us!) came in. I had already seen her twice that day. Upon leaving, Jill came over to our table and introduced herself and said that she and her two boys had just moved into the neighborhood from Northern
Japan.
Very shortly I searched out her house for a visit and found that she needed stoves, blankets, curtains and other necessities since the belongings she had shipped from her former home hadn't arrived yet. And it was November and the nights were cold. We helped her get the needed items. In our visits Jill mentioned that she had remodeled 10 houses in Seattle while putting her Japanese husband through college.
That's what I remembered! If Jill had remodeled 10 houses, she had surely laid carpeting. I tore over to her house and asked her. "Yes, I have," she assured me. "Laying carpeting is one of the easiest things to do." I told her our problem. She said, "If I can be paid for the job what one man would get for a day, I will lay your carpeting."
We were overjoyed and Jill was glad to have the income and to make friends in the neighborhood.
She worked with professional skill. I worked right alongside her and learned a lot about carpet laying! What a job to lug the heavy rolls of carpet and padding from the garage. It was sunny weather, so we laid them out in the road in front of our house, which is in a cul-de-sac. Inside Jill measured and outside she measured and cut. She knew just how to lift a piece, dig her elbow into it and pull. How we pulled and rolled. And then we'd drag the right pieces into the right rooms. She ironed splices and carefully laid the rugs so the piling was going in the right direction. Before long it was a finished job and we cleaned up both inside and outside--much to our neighbor's relief.
Jill and her sons spent Christmas with us, but in March they moved back to Seattle. She was here for only 4 months, but her 3-day job will last us for years. We're so thankful that we could help her, and then she helped us. Probably the only lady carpet-layer in 120 million people!
But then came the BIG problem: Who was going to install it for us? We contacted a recommended company. Their price was $600 per man per day. Two men for 3 days would do it, we were told. But this was way beyond our budget and more than we paid for the carpeting and shipping combined!
Then I remembered something interesting that had happened just a few days before.
My friend, JoAnn, and I were sitting in a neighborhood coffee shop when a "foreign" lady (like us!) came in. I had already seen her twice that day. Upon leaving, Jill came over to our table and introduced herself and said that she and her two boys had just moved into the neighborhood from Northern
Japan.
Very shortly I searched out her house for a visit and found that she needed stoves, blankets, curtains and other necessities since the belongings she had shipped from her former home hadn't arrived yet. And it was November and the nights were cold. We helped her get the needed items. In our visits Jill mentioned that she had remodeled 10 houses in Seattle while putting her Japanese husband through college.
That's what I remembered! If Jill had remodeled 10 houses, she had surely laid carpeting. I tore over to her house and asked her. "Yes, I have," she assured me. "Laying carpeting is one of the easiest things to do." I told her our problem. She said, "If I can be paid for the job what one man would get for a day, I will lay your carpeting."
We were overjoyed and Jill was glad to have the income and to make friends in the neighborhood.
She worked with professional skill. I worked right alongside her and learned a lot about carpet laying! What a job to lug the heavy rolls of carpet and padding from the garage. It was sunny weather, so we laid them out in the road in front of our house, which is in a cul-de-sac. Inside Jill measured and outside she measured and cut. She knew just how to lift a piece, dig her elbow into it and pull. How we pulled and rolled. And then we'd drag the right pieces into the right rooms. She ironed splices and carefully laid the rugs so the piling was going in the right direction. Before long it was a finished job and we cleaned up both inside and outside--much to our neighbor's relief.
Jill and her sons spent Christmas with us, but in March they moved back to Seattle. She was here for only 4 months, but her 3-day job will last us for years. We're so thankful that we could help her, and then she helped us. Probably the only lady carpet-layer in 120 million people!
posted by Lila @ 12:28 PM
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