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Building an office

It will be ready on Friday. We’ll just finish the door jambs today, the carpet this afternoon, the plumbing tomorrow and the inspection on Friday morning. I’ll give you the key.” confided the project supervisor.

“It will be ready on Friday. We’ll put the trim up, get the carpet layers in and finish the electical.” the supervisor whispered to me.

“It will be ready on Friday. We’ll replace the carpet, get the sign off from the inspector and hand you the keys.” I was assured by the supervisor.

We ran out of Fridays in February and March but finally got in on one of the Fridays in April or perhaps May. I no longer remember which one, just that it is a good thing that there are a lot of Fridays in the year for a contractor to choose from to finish a project.

I must admit that watching the plumber remove a cap from a pipe without shutting off the water supply was interesting as the office transformed into a natatorium. Fortunately, the electrician had just cut the power to the floor circuits. The carpet was only halfway in so they only had to reorder half. Measure twice, cut once seemed to have been ignored as all the doors came in with the handles a foot higher than the openings in the jambs. I watched as the supervisor in a hurry installed a door jamb three inches off of the floor, seemingly to confirm the Peter Principle. Admittedly the top of the door looked good.

Before finishing my office in the Futures building, my desk and books were my office in my bedroom at home and I utilized exam space, courtesy of a few very kind friends (Thanks David, Leigh and Janice). Depending on the day of the week we would tell patients where in Portland to head. Moving audio, video and electronic equipment around can be a tricky proposition. Electonics seem to like to work best when they stay put in one location.

Desk before (above)
Desk after (middle)
Exterior of office building (below)

However, with the color skills of my wife Susan; Toni, a wonderful planner and some technically skilled workmen, it finally came together. I actually got to participate, doing the woodworking for the office. The inspector didn’t think much of my work, something about needing a license. It still remains unclear to me how that license in any way would have related to the quality of the work. The reception area was made from cherry and some spalted Oregon woods I have found in my travels. Jody and I moved in and the practice has grown very rapidly.

About 2/3 of the patients I saw repeatedly at the university have come to my practice. Jody has really offered first class service and I try to offer a premium quality exam and treatment.

I continue to teach first and second year medical students at the university and I work at the Shriner’s Hospitial on voice issues related to cleft palate. What a wonderful hospital!

I spend way to much time working on my website, www.voicedoctor.net but it continues to be rewarding. I have learned over the course of the past few years how to program in http, javascript, PERL & cgi. I maintain a DSL connection, a Linux server, a firewall and a mixed network of Macs and PCs. While fun, it is time consuming. The big reward has come as the site has gradually gotten better known. Last month over 800 people visited the site. I get several emails weekly from people around the world. Over thirty countries have visited the site. It is a very connected earth.

Unlike my web site, my office is not open 24/7 so I am seeing a much more reasonable number of people. Got a voice problem? I’m sure I’ll be able to fit you in, next Friday.