The Estate Manager doesn't have time to find a *real* job
I was poked about not updating regularly, and now that I'm not on any particular work assignment I'm not restricted from blathering details about what I've actually been doing, so ... (note there is no guarantee this is going to be interesting or well-written. It's just not NDA/sensitive/going-to-piss-off-a-client-or-coworker):
So, today:
* Today was mostly a "cleaning up loose ends" day. Many leftover-unused bits and pieces of the past month's household projects were matched up with their receipts and returned to stores.
* Fixed the light in the bedroom ceiling fan. We finally have all fans in the house working, and all their lights, pullchains, switches, etc, for the first time since ... 2009 or so?
* Truck camping - Confirmed that the faux-carpet headliner on the truck topper takes velcro-type hook material very well, and that I can (with much cussing because of the adhesive backing) sew binder clips to the hook material (note to self: buy the sew-on velcro stuff tomorrow if I go out) A second option is longer pieces of the hook material where the center 1/2" is bubbled up to form a tunnel in which I can insert a clothespin: in that scenario the clothespin is holding the whatever to the velcro "pocket".
* Truck camping research - sleeping platform design is pretty much done, I just need measurements (height is TBD pending decision on toilet since I'd like to have it slide in under the platform.)
* Truck camping AAARRGGGH - the camper top leaks. Today provided the combination of heavy rains and high winds that I had been looking for to check for leaks, and yep found a spot where the topper doesn't seal well to the truck frame. Now to figure out how to fix that. I am tempted to see if the camper dealer who sold me the unit, and still has the replacement lock-handle on order, will do it as a warranty item. Or maybe it's just a matter of shoving something in to seal a gap?
* Exchanged texts with the person who'd expressed interest in buying the land and house "as-is": My hefty-markdown-on-price for the as-is purchase is still "out of their budget", and he hasn't countered. So the deal is off unless he wants to get creative. I'm not upset. This was just a sale of convenience and I'm happy to stay here another 10 years (by which time it will be paid off). We pay less each month for this house + lots of wooded acreage than I'd be paying for a roomshare in NYC. I will admit that the thought of just throwing all of our personal possessions into a storage pod and driving off with a nice equity check was rather appealing (but not enough to come down to the point we're kissing that equity goodbye). It does address the single biggest issue I have with finding a true perm job, namely, relocation expenses. It's worlds easier to negotiate reimbursement for a lease-breaking penalty than reimbursement for house sale and purchase costs.
* Confirmed I do NOT have a working saw any more, grrrr. That is annoying mostly because I don't want to shell out $100+ (for a "non-disposable" unit) just for the sleeping platform project's half-dozen cuts (I'd planned on getting the plywood ripped when purchased). I looked into a Dremel attachment but carefully reviewing the ad blurb it looks like the 2x4 they show it slicing through is actually done in two cuts, one from each side ... so it's a lot smaller than I thought. The platform will be using 2x10's in some spots, Dremel will not work for that.
* I fiddled with a telescoping/adjustable hawk perch design that should collapse/fit into the back of my pickup when camping. The scribbled plans and "ingredients" then came with me to the home improvement store when I did the refunds. Need to rework the base idea a bit, it's currently halfway between "screw a toilet seat flange with PVC adaptor to a piece of wood" and "insert PVC pipe shaft into a patio umbrella type holder". Too bad it's August, or I could go out and buy a Christmas Tree holder. I like the patio umbrella thing since those huge 2' heavy metal circles would easily slide/store flat when not in use.
* Dug out the T-perches from the basement. Confirmed I have the turf and cable ties. One of these will likely become the required-by-regulations 6' perch for the hawk. The other will become the perch I actually *use* for the hawk.
* Had yet another Craigslist query about the shed turn into a request to deliver AND provide low-ball price ... yes, poor dear, I am aware that the cost of gas to come pick it up would make your final price almost as much as buying new, but that's not my problem. You are not required to buy mine, and I think you really SHOULD just buy it new at the store near you and quit pressuring me to drive 60 miles one-way to deliver and take your lowball offer (which I wouldn't take even if you were picking up. I'm not desperate). It's not my job to change my terms to something you consider reasonable. We both have other options in this big world.
* Bought for something to BBQ tomorrow. Pickings were slim given we'd waited until the last minute to decide, but I was able to pick up a 2-pack of pork butts, about 8# each. After posting this I'll go chop them into 4-lbers so they cook faster, and then season and prep them.
Tomorrow:
* Low & Slow BBQ of the pork butts - sleep in while husband sets up the BGE + Stoker and moves my already-prepped butts from fridge to cooker. Then I take over when I get up.
* Lots and LOTS more cleaning, try to finish the back porch re-org now that all of the electrical crap is done, and if it's not too hot and gooey, do what I can on the garage. I'm in love with all the new space on the new shelves, but need to cut and hang the plastic sheeting to help control dust and spiderwebs before they get established.
* Look into using the painter's T-rods to satisfy the 6' height requirement for perches - it's just a matter of securing the base properly to prevent tip/pullover. Do another search for the thin-diameter sisal before giving up and buying more.
* Cut & drill PVC for Proof-of-Concept hawk perch
* Measure & cut the Reflectix for the truck topper windows, try out the binder-clip-on-Velcro hanging system, and try a few different methods of storing it (flat/folded? Rolled up? Which way will be the easiest to store and retrieve when I am camping in the truck, vs when I want it out of the way for regular use? I am leaning towards folding it semi-flag into an oversized ziplock. If I feel like leaving the house, or end up on a last-minute errand, buy cheap black cloth to cover the slabs of shiny stuff.
* Finish upgrading the Winders laptops
* Finish downloading the 4Js Genero training video
* More research into Skype running in a VM session - initial websurfing indicates that Skype-on-Linux is an flaky nightmare. The client interview isn't until the 8th, and the other need for Skype (training class interview) isn't until the 10th, so I've got some time to figure out how to make it work. Or maybe just designate one of the old machines as the sacrificial lamb.
Would Like To Complete Before Next Contract Or the Possible October Training Class:
* Make the truck bed sleeping platform, and buy the privacy-hut (carport? popup bottomless tent?) and porta-potty.
* Get something up on the business website.
So, today:
* Today was mostly a "cleaning up loose ends" day. Many leftover-unused bits and pieces of the past month's household projects were matched up with their receipts and returned to stores.
* Fixed the light in the bedroom ceiling fan. We finally have all fans in the house working, and all their lights, pullchains, switches, etc, for the first time since ... 2009 or so?
* Truck camping - Confirmed that the faux-carpet headliner on the truck topper takes velcro-type hook material very well, and that I can (with much cussing because of the adhesive backing) sew binder clips to the hook material (note to self: buy the sew-on velcro stuff tomorrow if I go out) A second option is longer pieces of the hook material where the center 1/2" is bubbled up to form a tunnel in which I can insert a clothespin: in that scenario the clothespin is holding the whatever to the velcro "pocket".
* Truck camping research - sleeping platform design is pretty much done, I just need measurements (height is TBD pending decision on toilet since I'd like to have it slide in under the platform.)
* Truck camping AAARRGGGH - the camper top leaks. Today provided the combination of heavy rains and high winds that I had been looking for to check for leaks, and yep found a spot where the topper doesn't seal well to the truck frame. Now to figure out how to fix that. I am tempted to see if the camper dealer who sold me the unit, and still has the replacement lock-handle on order, will do it as a warranty item. Or maybe it's just a matter of shoving something in to seal a gap?
* Exchanged texts with the person who'd expressed interest in buying the land and house "as-is": My hefty-markdown-on-price for the as-is purchase is still "out of their budget", and he hasn't countered. So the deal is off unless he wants to get creative. I'm not upset. This was just a sale of convenience and I'm happy to stay here another 10 years (by which time it will be paid off). We pay less each month for this house + lots of wooded acreage than I'd be paying for a roomshare in NYC. I will admit that the thought of just throwing all of our personal possessions into a storage pod and driving off with a nice equity check was rather appealing (but not enough to come down to the point we're kissing that equity goodbye). It does address the single biggest issue I have with finding a true perm job, namely, relocation expenses. It's worlds easier to negotiate reimbursement for a lease-breaking penalty than reimbursement for house sale and purchase costs.
* Confirmed I do NOT have a working saw any more, grrrr. That is annoying mostly because I don't want to shell out $100+ (for a "non-disposable" unit) just for the sleeping platform project's half-dozen cuts (I'd planned on getting the plywood ripped when purchased). I looked into a Dremel attachment but carefully reviewing the ad blurb it looks like the 2x4 they show it slicing through is actually done in two cuts, one from each side ... so it's a lot smaller than I thought. The platform will be using 2x10's in some spots, Dremel will not work for that.
* I fiddled with a telescoping/adjustable hawk perch design that should collapse/fit into the back of my pickup when camping. The scribbled plans and "ingredients" then came with me to the home improvement store when I did the refunds. Need to rework the base idea a bit, it's currently halfway between "screw a toilet seat flange with PVC adaptor to a piece of wood" and "insert PVC pipe shaft into a patio umbrella type holder". Too bad it's August, or I could go out and buy a Christmas Tree holder. I like the patio umbrella thing since those huge 2' heavy metal circles would easily slide/store flat when not in use.
* Dug out the T-perches from the basement. Confirmed I have the turf and cable ties. One of these will likely become the required-by-regulations 6' perch for the hawk. The other will become the perch I actually *use* for the hawk.
* Had yet another Craigslist query about the shed turn into a request to deliver AND provide low-ball price ... yes, poor dear, I am aware that the cost of gas to come pick it up would make your final price almost as much as buying new, but that's not my problem. You are not required to buy mine, and I think you really SHOULD just buy it new at the store near you and quit pressuring me to drive 60 miles one-way to deliver and take your lowball offer (which I wouldn't take even if you were picking up. I'm not desperate). It's not my job to change my terms to something you consider reasonable. We both have other options in this big world.
* Bought for something to BBQ tomorrow. Pickings were slim given we'd waited until the last minute to decide, but I was able to pick up a 2-pack of pork butts, about 8# each. After posting this I'll go chop them into 4-lbers so they cook faster, and then season and prep them.
Tomorrow:
* Low & Slow BBQ of the pork butts - sleep in while husband sets up the BGE + Stoker and moves my already-prepped butts from fridge to cooker. Then I take over when I get up.
* Lots and LOTS more cleaning, try to finish the back porch re-org now that all of the electrical crap is done, and if it's not too hot and gooey, do what I can on the garage. I'm in love with all the new space on the new shelves, but need to cut and hang the plastic sheeting to help control dust and spiderwebs before they get established.
* Look into using the painter's T-rods to satisfy the 6' height requirement for perches - it's just a matter of securing the base properly to prevent tip/pullover. Do another search for the thin-diameter sisal before giving up and buying more.
* Cut & drill PVC for Proof-of-Concept hawk perch
* Measure & cut the Reflectix for the truck topper windows, try out the binder-clip-on-Velcro hanging system, and try a few different methods of storing it (flat/folded? Rolled up? Which way will be the easiest to store and retrieve when I am camping in the truck, vs when I want it out of the way for regular use? I am leaning towards folding it semi-flag into an oversized ziplock. If I feel like leaving the house, or end up on a last-minute errand, buy cheap black cloth to cover the slabs of shiny stuff.
* Finish upgrading the Winders laptops
* Finish downloading the 4Js Genero training video
* More research into Skype running in a VM session - initial websurfing indicates that Skype-on-Linux is an flaky nightmare. The client interview isn't until the 8th, and the other need for Skype (training class interview) isn't until the 10th, so I've got some time to figure out how to make it work. Or maybe just designate one of the old machines as the sacrificial lamb.
Would Like To Complete Before Next Contract Or the Possible October Training Class:
* Make the truck bed sleeping platform, and buy the privacy-hut (carport? popup bottomless tent?) and porta-potty.
* Get something up on the business website.