My agent called me this morning with the final numbers on the gas lights. He quoted me 1250.
"price on the lights gonna be 1250"
"WHAT??!!"
"Calm down, that inclued installation,"
"so how much was just hardware?"
"900"
"look here, were y'all not gonna install the electric lights per contract?"
"well yeah, but the gas lights costs more"
"the hardware might, but it ain't gonna cost no more to run the gas to the door than the wires, I shouldn't hafta to pay more for something they were gonna do anyway. And another thing, I shouldn't have to pay the entire costs of the lights. I've already bought the electirc, just set them asided and bill me JUST the difference. Am I making sense?"
"yeah but the purchasing people won't see it that way"
"well you get them back on the phone and enlighten them, no pun intended"
"I'll call ya back, I'm gonna call em right now"
He called me back 30 min later.
"Ok gonna cost 700. Just the difference in lights, and about 50 dollars in associated material unique to the installation. (I'm gonna assume talking about the gas line, and fittings.) I wouldn't call the standard lights "cheap" but we have a vendor that sells us that stuff in bulk, so hefty difference in hardware price.
"I understand that, thanks for taking care of that for us. Dadgum, thousand here, thousand there, y'all are killin me"
"yeah but thats gonna be a really nice house, y'all have added alot of things to it that will make it special, I can't wait to see it finished."
I didn't have a problem with the electric, but she was adamant about the gas. The archetiture of the community is Charleston, SC, old south. She said flickering gas lights fit that type of house, and add elegant "curb appeal." Push come to shove I'd a paid the 1250 to have them. The house might not have a front door, but it was dang sure gonna have the gas lights. Way she felt about it.
Feeling like I accomplished something, I called my wife.
"Man you know you married a good thing"
"LOL oh please, what?"
"I just got your gas lights 40% off what they were askin, and yesterday I tawked chase into givin ME, one of those AARP cards"
"Yippeee! When they gonna put them in"
"prolly when they get the walls up"
" LOL No I mean when can I see them?"
"It'll be weeks, my guess the builder won't send for them till ready to hang them. You wanna meet for Mexican usual place?"
"alright, I'll buy.
Still no slab on my house. Weather turned cold. The other 2 houses are being framed, one is almost finished. I feel like my house is a orphan. 
Firefighters get to retire early, then send our wives off to work each morning, so I called in today and asked her if she wanted to go out by the house and check stuff out.
"you wanna go by the house and check it out?"
"yeah and then lunch?"
"No meetings today?"
"Noooooooo I'm good for a long lunch"
"look I'm gonna ride out there so you just meet me at 11:30"
I jumped on one of my motorycles and dashed out there. I beat her by 10 minutes (shes coming across town) so walked up to house. Most of the construction crews know me and wave. Things were busy. HVAC crew running the ducts, a crew was on the roof tacking down that black paper stuff, another was putting in windows. My wife pulled up.
"How ya reckon you gonna walk up there in heels?"
"I'm not, far as I can go. How come we don't have a driveway yet?"
"LOL thats one of the last things they do"
"I can't get inside??"
"Not unless you put some boots on"
About that time the supervisor pulled up in his truck and got out. He advised 3 city inspectors had just left after inspecting the sewer lines easement. He advised no major issues so far. He asked my wife if she wanted to go inside.
"I do, but can't get there in these heels"
"here get in my truck and I'll take you down the street and come in from the back"
They left me to walk across dirt and mud. I met them in back where he had one of the workers pull some scrap plywood for her to walk on the last few feet to garage. Attractive females always have it different than the rest of the world.
The builder took us through the framed up house. The crew that framed the house have framed 3 houses in 2.5 weeks. They don't leave till its too dark to see. Hard workers. We basically had a informal walk through. He answered all our questions, and told us what was goin on. He advised the roof would be on in a couple of days.
Finished that he took DW back to the front, not a speck of mud on her shoes LOL.
On the way to lunch we stopped by the office to tawk to the agent, who was on the phone when we stepped in.
"Any bites on y'alls house?"
"Nuttin but crickets" I said.
"Look here, I know you have a company credit card, so take us to lunch"
"alright how bout Olive Garden?" (about 2 min away)
"Love to but I can't walk around in this riding gear in there, so how bout Logan's Steak?"
So we went there and discussed where we're at. He advised closing date is still set for April 30. We went under full UW very early and only a routine look over to get ready for closing.
It was 80 degress here today so I left lunch and rode all afternoon a few counties over. It was a good day.