The Drywall is going up!!!!
The kitchen looks different already!
Now that all the invisible work (behind) the Walls, floor and ceiling is finished, it’s time for this kitchen to come together. All the time consuming steps and processes done in the early part of this job are starting to pay off in this stage because the drywall is going on without a hitch.
Once the ceiling, walls, and floor are in and nailed we’ll be ready for the next series of inspections.
On my way to teach my Wed. class in photography in Hawthorne, Calif. I was listening to Public Radio. There was a story on about Jackie Robinson’s wife, Rachel. She talked about how she was subjected to as much racism as her husband Jackie as he broke baseballs’ color barrier.
She spoke of leaving California in 1946 heading to Florida for training camp and how they were bumped from more than one flight so that white passengers could have their seats. Once in Florida they had to take a bus to their final destination. Upon boarding the bus they took the first available seat, which happened to be in the front of the bus. The driver pull the bus over and order them to the back of the bus.
There were no room in the back of the bus but the other black passengers made room for them on the very back bench seat by squeezing together.
Before they left California Jackie’s mother gave them a box of fried chicken. They took the chicken but didn’t know that it would be the only food they’d eat before they reached their destination.
You’re probably wondering why I’m telling this story of racism, a bus ride, and fried chicken——well, listening to that story reminded me of all the times I’ve ridden the “Greyhound” bus. As I sat on the bus watching passengers board wondering where they were going; I noticed some carried brown paper bags with dark spots on them. These are the bags that contained the fried chicken and other editable items.
There is something about the smell of fried chicken that reminds me of being awake late at night on some back road down south watching the blackness of night pass as if it’s standing still while the smell of fried chicken and strawberry soda fill the air.
Riding through southern states I’m often reminded that the things I take for granted, like stopping “any where” whether to snap photos, take a breather, stretch my legs, use the restroom, eat, get gas, a hotel room or just about anything would not too long ago certainly have caused undue trouble because of the color of my skin.
Things change, yet remain the same.
The sun has set on yet another summer in paradise!
The summer temps. are beginning to change as the semi cool evening breeze blow in off the Pacific Ocean.
There will be a few more days in the 80′s and 90′s until just after Halloween because it just would not do to have the kids out Trick or Treating wearing coats covering their gobbling, goons and superhero costumes..
When I went to bed it was June, school was over and summer was just beginning. Either I slept through summer or I just plain missed it.
I can only remember taking the kids to summer camp each day and heading to whatever assignment I was working on at the time.
I think they had a good time, well, lets be real; it’s pretty hard for kids not to have a good time especially when school is over. They went on a road trip, camping, swimming, and just hung out during summer break.
I, on the other hand just missed summer altogether. The best part of this whole thing is the fact that I am fortunate to be able to get paid to do the things I like. That’s a far cry from having to be at some job hating every moment.
Since I have transportation duty tomorrow morning; I won’t be able to stay up past the witching hour. That’s the perfect time to get some work done, the kids are almost asleep, and the house and all around is quiet.
We’re just about past the june gloom and the heat of the summer is just around the corner. Tomorrow is the last day of school for the kids. It’s seems to be just a formality because the kids will be dismissed at 11:00 A.M. it doesn’t seem worth attending but I suppose it’s a good time to say goodbye to all their friends and teachers.
It seems as if time is moving at light speed. I distinctly remember it being the first day of school, like last week; the late nights and early mornings of ironing uniforms, barking orders like a drill Sargent, making sure breakfast is eaten, (sometimes I actually cooked it) faces are washed, teeth brushed and hair combed, then rushing everyone out to get to school on time.
That was the drill from Sept. with a couple of breaks for holidays, right to june, and tomorrow; the last day of school.
Now, the next stage (Summer Camp) starts all over again.
This routine is a little different because I won’t have to be in 100% rush mode, I’ll be able to take it down to about 40%. I won’t have to make sure everyone have their backpacks filled with books and school materials and homework, this time it will be the proper swim clothing and fun items. The summer is all about fun, sleeping late, watching cartoons and movies, going places, doing fun things with very little emphasis on homework.
If you’re a child this the perfect life, having someone get your clothes ready, prepare your meals, snacks, handle all entertainment, beach outings trips, act as driver on-call, banker and advisor.
Hey, it doesn’t sound like a bad life!
It’s all a part of being a parent. Service with a smile!
This was all spelled out in the small print on the contract we signed without bothering to read when we jumped in the PARENT line thinking it was the FUN line because it was right next to it.
A couple of mornings ago my truck had been broken into and some of my tools had been stolen, and to make matters worse my ignition had to be replace since the thieves tried to take the truck also.
I found this out as I was about to leave Sat. Morning for a breakfast meeting with an attorney friend of mine that was in town for a few days. Of course I had to cancel breakfast because I could not start my truck.
This was one of those times I had to “Practice what I Preach”. I always tell my kids to do what they need to do (NOW) regardless of what comes up because things always happen to side track us from completing our mission.
I could have just left my truck as it was and sulked about the situation for the remainder of that day, which would have meant that I’d have to wait until Monday to have it repaired. If I had done that I would have missed a job assignment I had scheduled for that day.
Waiting was not an option, so I rounded up some tools that were in the house to start taking apart the steering column. All of the tools I would have used for this task were taken the night before so it was not as easy as I thought it would be. It took a while but I found a few screw drivers and proceeded to take the cover off the steering column.
Since I needed a few more tools that were missing I was not able to get the ignition off the steering column. As a last resort I used my grinder to take it off. After I finished with it I had fine shards of aluminum all over the interior, which meant I’d have to clean the interior when I finished the repairs, something else that would take more of my time.
It’s around 11:00 A.M. now. I just called to get another ignition switch for my truck. The parts place stayed open on Saturdays, until 3:00. I still have time, even though I have to get there and my truck won’t start until I get the part.
I could either ride my mountain bike, take the bus to the train station, or walk. I was in the process of taking my bike off it’s hook in the garage when I remember that it needed air, then I thought about the air device, (it was in the tool bag that was taken). I put the bike back on the hook and decided that I would walk the three miles to the train station since I needed the exercise anyway. ( I haven’t been to the gym in a few weeks so I was due for some exercise).
I grabbed by I-pod and a book (Ephren W. Taylor “Creating Success From the Inside out”.) I had been reading and started walking in the direction of the train station. On the way I took a few side streets just in case I saw something I wanted to photograph. (I always travel with my point and shoot (FujiFilm FinePix F40 FD) digital camera) It seems that there is always something that I want to photograph while I’m out. On this particular outing I walked down an alley and photographed an abandoned sofa.
The remainder of the walk was rather uneventful; I arrived at the train station paid my fare and walked up the two flights of stars to wait for the train.
Once in Long Beach I called a friend to drive me the remainder of the distance to the parts store, after which I was dropped off at the train station to reverse the process.
Back at home I installed the ignition switch cleaned the aluminum shavings created by the grinder and put the steering column back together.
I inserted the key turned it and the engine fired up without a hitch.
It’s now a little after 4:00 P.M. and I’m rolling again. It took most of the day, but it’s all done. I won’t have to miss an assignment on Monday in order to take care of the truck and, I Practiced What I Preach, by handling the situation right away instead of waiting, and also I didn’t let the fact that I didn’t have transportation stop me for getting the part I needed to repair the truck.
My first official blog entry was just about 4 months ago. Since that time lots have happened. Summer has become fall again, and I’m back home from my work/road trip.
There’s lots to tell, but I’ll keep it as short as possible since I have lots more to do.
If you’ve had the time and opportunity to read this blog you’ve seen that my son Austin has written quite a bit about his adventures in California this most recent summer. If it was up to him he would not have written anything at all, as that is the way it is for some 11 year old kids.
I thought it would be a good exercise over the summer break to help improve his writing skills. I think it was a success, and maybe at some later date, (maybe when he’s 30) he’ll think it was a good thing to do.
This particular summer was great for Austin and I since it was the first summer that I was able to spend all day every day with him. Usually when he comes to visit he would go to summer camp with his siblings, and I’d go to work, but since he’s now old enough and big enough to work with me we spent good quality time together. It wasn’t something he wanted to do because he was looking to have fun; not work. In addition to the work we did there was still fun to be had since we were able to ride our bikes and hang out at the beach. (For details, and his views please see Austin’s Daily View here on this blog.) It was especially great for Austin since he found that he could be more independent because I allowed him to ride his bike around the neighborhood alone. That was a first for him because in the past I didn’t feel he was ready to ride alone. Over the past few summers I’ve taught him how to ride his bike around the city, both on the sidewalk and in the street. He was quite happy when I let him go where ever he wanted. Luckily he didn’t venture too far.
This past summer was also Austin’s’ first cross country trip by automobile. It is my thought that in order to properly appreciate these United States one must drive across them at least once in their life. In doing so we experience first hand the size, breath, and landscape of each state.
Spending 3-days in the truck together has been an experience that neither of us will forget. I had a great time!! I think Austin did also; once again, time will tell. In all the years I’ve driven from West Coast to East Coast, this trip was the first time I was not on a schedule and I actually took the time and enjoyed the sites and stopped just to see things and take photographs. (Please see Austin’s’ writing for his views.)
After delivering Austin to Stone Mountain, Ga I proceeded on to St. Louis Missouri to photograph our National Convention. (YTBTravel: http://www.ytb.com/7thsontravel http://www.ytbtravel.com) This was the first time I had had the opportunity to drive through Kentucky, Missouri and Illinois. I gave myself plenty of time so that I might photograph sites along the way. The drive was very relaxing, so much so the following 5 days of 12 and 16 hours of shooting was not a problem, I was ready for it.
After those five days of shooting the following 8 or 9 weeks of photo projects, and home repair in Georgia and Alabama was almost a total blur. At the end of it; I was more than ready to get back on the road heading home.
After so much work and movement the laid back schedule of driving back across country was a great way to wind down and do nothing except watch the white lines pass by hour after hour. Each night I’d find a really small Hotel/Motel in some small town with a population of 5,000 or less to spend the night.
Well, that’s the condensed version of my travels this past summer. I accomplished much, with much much more to be done and that’s where I am now, continuing on with various photo projects and home repair assignments.
Life is GOOD!!!!
It’s HOT—HOT—HOT!!
I’m in the city of Mojave, California this week working. It’s Thursday, we’ve been here since Sunday Evening. Since it’s a little more than 100 miles to drive here I usually stay for at least a week because it doesn’t make sense to drive that far to get home each day.
There is usually enough work to last a week so it works out. I’m out here doing handyman, home maintenance, home repair……………. in other words “I fix, repair, and build stuff”.
This week we removed the sheathing from an out-building for the owners across the street from where I’m staying. It was nearly falling off and the contents would have been exposed to the elements.
We’ve worked at this property before. The last time, we built a car port so the owners could park their car in shade, because if the temp. outside of the car is 100 degrees; the temp inside the car would be about 200 or so degrees when they opened the doors.
Because it’s very windy here we had to really anchor it down really well or it would get blown away. As a result it was a very beefy structure, built to withstand the strongest winds the desert serves up.
Since that job went so well we were hired to take care of the out-building. That was not a very hard job because it was just removing the rotting plywood, shoring up the framing and correcting a few things around the foundation.
Since the temp. has reached 118 degrees this week we’ve had to start really early in the morning. (Not too early because we didn’t want to wake everyone in the neighborhood with the sounds of power tools.) I’m surprised at how far sounds travels out here.
We’d get started around 7:00 A.M. and end our day any where from 11:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. By that time it’s really too hot to be outside. We were only able to work that late because the sun would move around the build so that we’d have partial shade on two sides of the build, and hopefully those were the two sides of the build we were working on.
Since our days end early it’s take a bit longer to complete a job, but today we put the finishing touches on the building and moved on to yet another neighbors’ house where we’re putting together a gazebo in his yard. In addition to that we have to install a security door.
Once that’s over it’ll be Friday evening and the work here in the desert will be over and we’ll be heading back home to start on yet another project.
Some of you reading this blog know me as a professional photographer are probably wondering why I’m here in the desert building things?
Well, it’s quite simple.
I’ve always enjoyed building and repairing things around the house. It’s been that way since I was in Jr. high school. I never really considered doing it to make money since I was into photography at such an early age, but since I’ve gotten older and I’ve had to do these things around my house I’ve gained more experience and knowledge in that area.
One of the biggest reasons though is the fact that I have a good friend that I grew up with here in southern calif. that’s a contractor by trade, he allowed me to help him on a few jobs.
While he cussed, fussed and generally talked krazy to me while I worked with him; he showed me the proper way to do things; I was able to get better. If I hadn’t known him since we were 12 years old I would not have been able to stick it out. It was kinda like “Construction BootCamp” where all the things said to me were said (Mostly) to make me better and to think about the task at hand, providing I was able to stick it out and learn something.
During that time and afterwards I used the secrets I stole from him to get little jobs on my own and use around my house to do repairs.
Since that time a few years ago, I’ve added that to my “List of things I can do to make money, and have a good time in the process.”
That association led to another friend asking to help out while they found a replacement for one of their guys that no longer worked with them. That worked out well also, which is what led to me being hired out here in Mojave. It was always understood that photography was first on my list of things to do, but when photography was slow I would pick up this type of work so I would not go crazy when I was not doing photography.
I’ve grown to like this type of work so much that I enjoy it as much as photography. In fact, I’m now really interested in getting back to doing the type of photography I want to do as opposed to the kind of photography I have to do to pay the bills.
So that’s why I sit here in Mojave drinking 32 ounce cups of water non stop like I’ve never drank water before in my life, while hoping it cools down a little so I can get out of the house!
As it turns out I have lots of computer work that needs to be done so for the remainder of my stay here I have lots to do.
For the next few weeks I have a couple of home repair jobs to complete, then I’ll be traveling to St. Louis to photograph The YTBTravel National Convention that will happen the first week of August.
I didn’t mention the travel business I’m involved with, but I’ll get to that because it all fits together with everything else I do to “Make a life worth living while having a good time”.
Well, this is my first official post since I started this blog on June 30th–2008. Keep an eye out for other e-mails for more blogging.
If you’ve looked at some of the posts on this blog you’ll see quite a few blogs from my son Austin as he’s visiting from Atlanta this summer.
I thought it would be a good idea and good for his writing skills if he wrote about his experiences here this summer.
Until next time.
I’m Here in Mojave trying to stay cool.
Well, here goes…….. my first blog installment. Although I’ve had a writing presence on the internet since 1999 with http://seventhson.org this is the first time I’ve written anything where I could possibly get feedback on what I’ve written in the form of comments, thoughts, and who knows what else.
I normally write in the “Image Gallery” on http://seventhson.org where I have photos with accompanying text. Maybe as I get the hang of this I will have photos to help further explain my words.
In this blog you’ll find writings on a number of things as I get going and find my voice. Since I’m a professional photographer there will be writings on that subject. I’ll write about travel, building, construction, things I’ve built, repaired and plan on building. I’m also interested in increasing my knowledge of “The Green Movement” that’s going on all around us.
Along the way, if you read something I’ve written and you’d like to make a comment or pass along the address to someone that might be interested, please do.
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