Double Pane Happiness 

Through a glass darkly… the windows have a UV blocking film that gives the dark yet sparkly appearance.

“Double Happiness!”, he said.

“Sorry?”, I replied.

“Your address. 88. The number 4 in Asian culture is lucky, so '8' is double that. Hey, '88' must be quadruple happiness?!”

My friend's effusive discovery of my home's built-in luck, did momentarily charm me. Admittedly there are many days that I have not felt happy about my home purchase. To walk through a list of “disappointments” or complaints would either make me sound like a whiner, a prat, or a weak-spined man who did not take control of the reins of his destiny and instead fell into a fetal curl. There are some things money cannot fix, but when it comes to real estate, money can put its shoulder to a problem and make a push towards posterity.

Last year, I cut off one limb to strengthen another. By replacing my fence, deck and shed I put a nail in any possible claim on a parking space but it improved my day to day life tenfold. I suddenly had a usable shed, a respectable deck and fence and most importantly, a locked and fenced off area for my garbage and recycling bins. The bins need to be locked up not because they may escape, but because of all of the crazy escapades and illegal dumping that happened because there was an unused space behind my house. Whether there was a car there or not, garbage from unseen, unknown and known places piled up, inviting rats, both four-legged and two-legged to rummage and add to the detritus. Used needles and condoms were so commonplace it led one friend to say that with all the sex and drugs apparently taking place that my house was more fun outside of it, than within. Touché.

Less than a year later and those problems are mostly history (mostly) and now I have added spectacular new windows that look like they landed from the future on my house. Suddenly my place looks, if not great, then in the least, not bad. I like seeing it. From inside it’s quieter and brighter and just looks better. They say fences make good neighbours but that isn’t true. Good and high fences make you care less about whatever crap your neighbours are up to.

They also say money can’t buy happiness but of course it can buy things that can make you happy, so screw you, old saying. Sometimes money can buy happiness and when you are buying tall fences, lovely decking, a bit of security and double pane windows, it can even be quadruple happiness.