Sunday, April 25, 2010

Pro-Ductive-Weekend

It's been a relaxing 3-day break of getting-things-done around here. Took Friday off after last week's lost-weekend, which meant Thursday night I could finally relax. Hit up Menards after work, then pointed the Blazer for the lodge. It was already 6 when I got out there and changed but the threat of rain the rest of the weekend meant I better get busy. I finally was able to change the magneto cap on the Farmall and fire her up legitimately. Once up and running, I set forth to mowing the remainder of the drive-in acre and did so until just about sundown when Ben and Cam made an impromptu visit. We spent the remainder of the night taking in the good weather on the deck and trying out a number of LP's upstairs. Got to bed around 2 and was up a few hours later as Cara gathered her things for an Indiana trip.

Friday it rained off and on- worked around the apartment taking care of some chores and getting some things boxed up, then Lodge bound to tackle a list of indoor items including re-gasketing the fridge with a gasket that's the number I ordered but suspiciously looks like something else, and cleaning up and rewiring the low-voltage control cabinet over the main breakers (finally). Spent the majority of the day there working on this, that and the other before heading home with Little Caesar's, PBR and Casino on LD. Put in a good night's sleep in anticipation of getting up early for the Janesville city-wide sales Sat morning.

Which turned out to be a bust. Found a couple things, but the rain put a damper on festivities and sale after sale turned up nothing but kids clothes. Even struck out in Waverly. The skies began to clear by mid-morning and I set my sights to working on the tractor. With tool chest rolled to the side door I cleaned up electrical connections and wiring, tightened every loose nut and bolt on the old girl and played with the mower deck belt routing and tensioning. Stopped at the parents for a quick lunch and picked up my tax check, then to the apt to load up all the boxes Cara had packed for the lodge move now that the rain had stopped. Took some time to get the Fleetwood listed on eb*y and filled up a 5gal can of gas before making a return to Union Road. With an hour or two of light left, I finally got everything adjusted on the Farmall and decided to give the mower a shot at the "short grass" directly south of the Lodge. Even with her dull blades she made good work of it. Made the final pass as the sun disappeared over the horizon, then brought in the boxes. Finished the last piece of upstairs interior trim, an outlet on the downstairs side wall, and unpacked some of my things upstairs before heading in.

Sunday, yet again up with the alarm. This time, for Menards (again). Gray. Dreary. Rainy. Made a quick breakfast before setting sail. Absolute madhouse. Bought a mower, and a tree, among other rebates. (surprise, Cara!) Had planned to pick up rock, pavers and sand but gave up in disgust. Returned to the lodge doing a cool 30 MPH with branches dancing out the back hatch. Fought the mole's dirt piles (more like mud piles) and got the new tree in the ground. Tore into the new mower to discover not only is it 2" narrower (this I knew) but you have to unbolt all 4 wheels with wrenches when you want to change height. Forget that. Brought the old mower in and pulled the blades off both. Swapped the Briggs engine onto the old deck but with it's shorter shaft, I'm limited to the 20" blade. At least the wheels are easily adjustable. And more under-deck room to alleviate blade binding in wet grass. Wired in a lightning arrester into the shed. Said nuts to this weather and made it back to town my mid afternoon to run some errands.

Now....I need a shave and a shower.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Multiple Problems; One Good Solution

When people get together, interesting things happen. And I mean interesting in the "you frickin' morons" sense, not interesting in the "entertaining" sense. To put it bluntly: I am on a ship of fools. The greatest nag of late is that instead of rising above what I do for a living and leading, growing, etc, I am merely being pulled down to the average, to be repeatedly pummeled with hard objects until the numbness leaves me forgetting what I could possibly achieve without these self-imposed shackles. It's easy to conjure a knee-jerk reaction to this on such a gorgeous day, but my mid-term plan is in place and I wouldn't want to be hasty.

In the news:
1. I've achieved a new personal OT best of 67.5 hours in 6 consecutive days.
2. Said days are getting longer, sun is shining, grass and trees are green about a month earlier than last year.
3. I am stuck inside earning OT and unable to enjoy the sun, grass, or trees.
4. The Pruisner's are moving back to CF for what will be a very interesting (there's that word again) summer.
5. My year-long quest for a tractor has come to a satisfactory conclusion.
6. The well is still pulling sediment, but the showers are great.
7. What's not workable is staying at the lodge on weekends without blinds.


It's sunny. It's after 5. Think I'll head over to the parts store. Then collapse.

Friday, April 9, 2010

No Milk Today

No production today, and an hour to kill. Don't feel much like writing, other than to say I am not yet feeling the guilt of squandering good-weather days indoors. The only thing stopping me from not spending every waking minute at work (other than the fact that I have to be here for OT) is lack of conciousness. I've got the option open for more of said financial benefit, but I just can't get up that early on a Saturday. Lazy? Dunno. Tired? Definitely. Some things money can't buy.
How tired is tired? Not that tired. I miss those days of giving 100% well into the middle of the night on some project, propelled along by internal drive until I knew well enough to step away from the workbench. There's a sweet satisfaction to that mental wear-out. Similar to that satisfaction of toil on a hot roof in the sun. The principal difference I can find is that over time, one wears out your back and knees while the other improves by knowledge and determination.


Anyway.

Rushed home from work last night, stopped at Fareway for exceptional deals, hung out at the parents for a few to pick up paint and see the grandparents that made it to town. Then to the lodge for a few hours of toil. Painting. Staining. Grinding. And engine measurements with my new micrometer set. Next thing I knew it was dark out and I hadn't been to the apartment yet. To be honest, the temptation of moving in NOW grows by the day. I burn at least an hour each day between work, the apartment and the lodge just driving the Blazer.

Home, with just a few minutes to wind down before conking out for the night.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

T-Minus 2 Months

(Written Thursday)

This has got to be the longest "short week" that I can recall. We've started every day at 6AM, tentatively running 'til 6:30PM. As if that weren't a good base for a long week, add in a comedy of errors trying to thwart our production each and every day. This has included castings arriving from overseas rusty as all get out and unable to be used, changing our schedule significantly (a pretty important casting). Chassis parts out of tolerance requiring (out of plant) re-work to run (put us a full day behind schedule and caused layoff last week). Managers running around trying to explain why our production is not up to snuff. People just not showing up for work. Parts and pieces getting damaged in-plant. A chassis getting dropped. Paint system failure sending 3rd shift home. Etc. Etc. A full two hours of downtime were accrued yesterday and we still laid off early due to material availability. In short, a long week of fire-fighting. Today started no differently but it will end differently.

Exhausted, but work clothes are in the car and temps are expected to be glorious. After work it's lodge time to tackle some staining, engine parts bagging and cleanup, and side deck work. Nothing too wild, a prelude to tomorrow's list (water on for the season?), with, perhaps, a chance to enjoy the balcony or go out for a drink in the evening (or eat at Denny's, score some hard candy and roll a few hobos). Saturday, more of the same, but a load or two may be heading to the lodge, including the vintage Coldspot fridge.

Which brings me to T-Minus 2 months. 'Month 1' the lodge interior will shake off the cobwebs and accumulations of the past season, the floor will see epoxy, the SE corner will see paint and finishing, and the great move-in will begin with a vengence in 'month 2'. By June 1st, out of the apartment and into the lodge. Last night would have been great to enjoy out there with a drink and a book; winds had died down, sun was out and temps were just right. Lots of people hanging out on rooftops around campus. Me? Dead tired and inside. Soon enough though, soon enough.