Slowly but surely ...

Good news is the gas pipeline is in and hooked up to the dryers. 

The not so good news is we're still waiting on the gas pipeline to the building and permission to turn on the gas. 

But we're making progress.

Another plus - the industrial iron is hooked up and ready to run - now all we need is a store to start processing those hotel orders.

The heater piping is in place, and these air-vents (that we were not anticipating) are now a part of the store. We were more than a little upset when we saw Abilit put these large stop-light style vents in the store, they were never previously discussed. But everyone who's seen them says they like them, and that it adds another 'industrial' element to the store ... so for now they stay. And the Bubbles chandelier boxes are wired, and cut for lighting.

At this point we are just looking forward to opening the doors for business and giving the people an option beyond line-drying. Not to sound too altruistic, since we are doing this to make a profit, but after living here for three months, we are personally ready to have dryer dried towels rather than crunchy line-dried. Far too many hours a week are consumed with washing, hanging, rotating, re-hanging, and waiting on wet clothes to dry - not to mention if there is humidity or a slight summer shower, clothes (especially jeans - and we all know there's not a shortage of denim in Ukraine) can take days to dry. How do people manage in the winter?!

What was lost, is now found

 Two of our stolen bushes have been returned. We have two more we're still waiting on.

Remember the Babushka who took swept the cement into her purse ... well, we're pretty sure our bushes also grace her garden ... perhaps in recently constructed cement planters.  We put up a sign reminding people it's illegal to steal, and that there is an outdoor video surveillance camera.  She stops by the store regularly, and during a recent visit she tentatively asked how long the video surveillance cameras have been working. "A few weeks." The consternation showed in her eyes. "Do you know who took those bushes then?" she inquired. "Yes we do," we said, though previously we didn't know ... it was like Edgar Allen Poe's The Tell-Tale-Heart. Her eyes widened. Then she put her fingers to her lips and with glistening eyes, said "shhhhh."

Speaking of the bushes, we overheard a conversation as a middle-aged couple walked by and saw the sign reminding people that taking something that doesn't belong to you is stealing. The woman remarked how terrible it was that people steel bushes. The man scoffed. "Why would you plant so many? No one needs that many bushes! Of course people take them." After 2o years of independence the former communistic and socialistic values ingrained by USSR government have not worn free from many. Never the less, couldn't a socialist/communist argue that allowing the bushes to stay put in a public place actually allows for more people to enjoy them - rather than in a private individual garden? So, essentially from both ethical viewpoints, the bushes should remain where we planted them.

How Firm A Foundation

For the last 10 days we have been re-leveling the concrete foundations for the washing machines. We realized the machines weren't level and properly spaced. This was a bit surprising, since we sent the construction team, Abilit, and our worker in charge of this project to Poland to take scrupulous notes and get an accurate visual of the exact way to install the washers. Unbeknownst at the time, the worker (and good friend for over a decade) who oversaw the foundation pouring added an extra couple of inches of cement to the foundation, after the original was dry. He says he just wanted to make it look smoother.

We agree that aesthetics are important ... but level, properly functioning machines trump a smooth visual. Fortunately, in a way, the finished product wasn't level and we took off the machines to sand down the cement. Well, as soon as we started sanding, chunks of cement started flying. It seems our worker, friend, self-proclaimed construction guru, didn't prime the dry cement before he laid the "smooth" layer ... causing the foundation to be not so solid, and the top couple of inches to chip off like peanut brittle. It's fortunate that this incident came to light before opening the store, because within a couple of weeks of routinely running the machines, the top weak layer of cement that was not properly bound to the foundation would have given way, and we would have had to close up shop to fix the problem.

After a week of sanding, drilling, re-pouring, sanding, and re-drilling, the machines are being installed correctly. If this store were the end all, we'd be pretty downtrodden at this point - every day there are new set-backs and disappointments. But this store is just the beginning! and our little Ukrainian empire of laundromats is going to take off ... hotel contracts are waiting to be signed, future locations are identified, the next machine order is in process ... and Bubbles will have a firm foundation! 

Denim Denim Everywhere!

We don't pretend to be fashion savvy, but we have noticed that jean is in this summer. 

We won't comment on each outfit ... but you get the picture.

the cut-out dress

the inner-thigh cut-out

the one-piece

the one-piece

the Boots

Firefighter Approval

SMC Firefighters 1921

While sitting at work in San Mateo last spring, a city firefighter came to the office. He was dressed in full firefighter apparel, had the truck in the parking lot, and proceeded to explain the various ways in which our office was not up to code. Then he handed over a paper that said we owed a specific sum of money - to be paid on the spot. The whole thing was a little amiss ... Clearly the owner of the building, not the tenants, should pay for any such violations, and why the urgency, on the spot payment? When we suggested this to the said firefighter, he got a little uneasy and said it would be better if we paid right now, and signed the form. We didn't. He left quickly. We looked up the issue, and sure enough, it was a scam. While there was a geographic area in San Mateo that the various precautionary codes applied to, our office was well outside that territory.

Lviv Fire Department

That was one experience that set our fears of Ukrainian corruption at bay a bit. We realized no matter where you do business (Lviv or San Mateo) someone is out to make a buck on the less suspecting.

Our construction company Abelit tried to convince us today that our current dryer set-up would never pass the Lviv firefighter approval - we needed to drill a hole in the roof behind the dryers for ventilation ... more time, and more money. We already know (an expensive lesson) that this construction firm is not always straight forward and certainly have their best interest in mind at all times - more work, more time, more money.

So, we brought in the big guns and had the Lviv fire department walk through and get it from the horses mouth - are we up to code? The verdict ... No need to drill another ceiling hole! We were right - Abelit was wrong. Great news. See, Ukraine isn't so corrupt after all ... well, at least not the firefighters.

Resumes

Stock Photo

We've interviewed many potential Bubbles employees for positions including store managers, clothes folder, delivery-driver, hotel contract and sales, and security.
Among the 100+ resumes two stand out.
Neither was offered a job, but both get the PR prize for being most memorable.
The first had a hand-written resume on napkin, much like the one in this stock image - only without bullet points.
The second had a nine-page resume detailing his work history with his nine past employers.
He explained all the reasons why every job had not worked out, and in each case, it was the unreasonable employer who had the problem.
The gentleman was only 32.

Update

Construction progress as of August 13, 2011.

After many weeks of putting in ALL new pipes in the basement of the building, the water company has given us the green-light.

Our beautiful pipes, water tanks water storage containers  heaters  and such, all in place and ready for business. 

Still to do: a few more pipes, and filters. Check.

The machines made the long journey, cleared customs, passed certifications, and are finally in place.  

We still need to build the center box between the washers to cover the pipe - but the ceiling "box" above is ready for the assembly of the most amazing glass-bubble chandelier ever known.

I'm mildly in lust with these machines ... they look sharp. Here's an assignment - find a local laundromat with Dexter machines and check them out. You'll see why we went through the effort of importing them. They're stunning. Not to mention they're eco-friendly, energy efficient, and have the best warranty/service history of any other industrial machinery on the market. They are wonderful.

All our electrical work is in place, and ready to go.

The custom double-glass-door entry way was finished today. 

All the folding room, office, industrial iron room, bathrooms (yes, two - since employees and customers can't share), and every other required room is dry-walled, puttied, sanded, and ready to paint.

We're close ... really close. But there are still a few more long days of construction, finishing touches, decor and arranging, clean-up, and governmental permissions before we open shop.
It's going to be GREAT!

Bubbles Interior - August 13, 2011