there's a mote in your eye

i have spent the day building a new entertainment center for our house. for some reason women (my wife included) feel the need to constantly shuffle things around the house like a never-ending cake walk of furniture. only, when the music stops, there is no prize waiting for the lucky winner; only another opportunity to scrape your belongings around the room for another 12 hours searching for what ? i can't fathom. My mind doesn't work in this manner. if i am comfortable, i see no reason to attempt to create a new form of the same comfort. sometimes the new thing is no good, so we end up just moving it back from whence it came, and again spinning the wheel of misfortune. please don't ask me what i think of the potential new concept. i don't care. if you want it there, tell me, and i will move it. but as to my opinion - i would have to have one to express one. and i don't. know or care.

between college and beauty school, i worked as a carpenter for about 2 or 2 1/2 years. dale and tom were trim carpenters for doyle wilson homes, and they were nice enough to teach me most of what they know. at least as much as can be taught in the small amount of time they had with me. dale, especially is extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of home-building. we were only hired to complete the trim package; but on occasion, dale would be needed to remedy other - more fundamental- concerns in the construction, and i got to tag along. watching and doing is learning.

building a house is not a simple endeavor, but neither is it the grand mystery i had made it out to be before my hire date. i used to think that any problems in a home would certainly require the services of a 100$ per hour professional. to be sure, electricity can be shockingly complex, and plumbing is not something you just take a crack at; but , alot of the rest is just common sense and knowing how to cover your mistakes with the appropriate kind of mirage. well, that and the nerve to just do it. like most things, i find i just need to get a little information, and a little grit. besides, that big money fix-it guy will always be there. you can call him later if you need.

actually, this new living room space is gonna be quite nice. i am just about done with this thing, and i think i'm pretty pleased. i won't even mention the money we've saved by not having to buy the hilariously over-priced piece from pottery barn. considering the amount of cedar saw dust up my nose, we are all going to live with this thing for a while, anyway, like it or not. my only concern is: i made it with old, recycled, cedar barnwood and our television is pretty heavy. if a loud rumbling noise wakes you in the night, it might be the sound of our television crashing to the floor. or it might be the sound of me steering my car into on-coming traffic as i realize i've got to rearrange the house again.