Progress (see also “definitive physicality”)
My progress has been stunning. Our progress has been stunning.
Even though our need to sell is no longer burning, we are so damn close – the to-do list is somewhat dented and we could turn it around at any time in a frenzied week. And then we would have to move out or at least put our child in a box for the duration or something during the “keep it perfect” staging period.
My progress, personally, has continued through a list of things I have no real interest in (*) and don’t want to get better at: painting, deck staining (**), moving furniture, truck driving, touch-up (6 different colours yesterday), woodworking (***), weeding, bird-shit-from-house-cleaning, pretty-flower-planting, ikea-furniture-assembling… However, it still quite amazes me that someone as practically-limited as myself can still manage to produce average results at such a variety of tasks with no training (****). The internet and help from friends definitely makes all the difference.
Our commitment level and progress has led to an almost slacker pace of achievement this weekend (*****). Many things were still done, but we went to a fun BBQ yesterday and this evening I totally ducked the basement (******) and rented a brutally bad movie that I watched with D for brownie points (My Blueberry Nights – 1 bfp star and slow….), I also rented Taken which I’m sure is much better. This was also our first time watching a movie with the girl, which went ok. We’re both kinda freaked that she knows how to play Curious George from Front Row on my Mac though…
This week we buckle down to do some house hunting before some travel gets in the way – our potential house is gone, to a higher or more reliable bidder, and the pickings are scarce. Timetable is on.
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(*) not to say there is no sense of achievement for a Program Manager (aka deals with compromise resolution all the time) in Software (aka lives in a virtual world): moving a pile of dirt and changing the colour of a room has a certain definitive physicality to it.
(**) I almost enjoyed this as I borrowed Keith’s pressure washer and used it for the first time. I think I overdid it in a few places, but those things are cool. I think I need to add one to my inventory of tools I almost never use – see (****).
(***) this could be something I could grow to like, but it’s still hacking away with little skill.
(****) although it is nice to use some of those random tools that you buy that makes every trip to Home Depot $300.
(*****) I really slacked – 6 weeks ago I bailed on Saturday’s marathon (the trip to Whistler tipped the balance on my training), in practicality the house meant even the half went bye-bye.
(******) this task is the big remaining elephant, both the shop side (anyone need some random old crappy bikes, and parts?) and the office side (how to make a rat’s nest of cables look clean withough just stuffing all the hard drives and printers under the stairs etc)
