A before B then C

In March of 2007 I bought a condominium. It was built in 2006 and I am the first owner/occupant to live in it. Within 15 minutes of dropping off my first load while moving in, I knew there was something wrong. I could hear everything the people above me were doing, and I mean EVERYTHING.

The plan was to paint my walls first and unpack later. However I wasn’t going to paint until I figured out what was going on and how to deal with it.

It took about 6 months for me to get so frustrated that I brought the ugly tools out and started opening things up and looking around. A few months later I found the problem by accident.

When you install drywall most people know to put the top panel on first and make it extend all the way to the wall frame. This creates a 5/8” thick barrier between the room and the noise above.

This is what they did. They put the wall panels on first then the ceiling panels. This left gaps which they covered with tape and painted. So instead of 5/8” of sheetrock keeping noise out, I had painted tape.

Apparently in 2006, while in the midst of the housing construction boom here in Portland, the talent pool got depleted. So they hired anyone with a pulse that could swing a hammer. This wouldn’t have been a problem if there were someone showing them the right way to hang drywall. Since they were left on their own, they repeated the same mistake on every wall in my unit and others in the complex.

The upstairs unit has been vacant for a while now but I have a feeling it will be sold soon.

A few days ago, I focused my beam on the last room in the condo that needed modification. This is my extra bedroom that will be my office/recording studio. My laundry room is on the other side of the wall.The third floor laundry room is above mine. I could hear the upstairs washer and dryer every time they used them.

First I cut out the tape and widen the gap so I can fill it with compound.

What I am doing is essentially extending the top panel all the way to the wall frame.

Then I tape and prepare it for paint. Usually this is where I stop but I used this room as a test project to see if I could do something without any help.

I want to put this molding on the walls throughout the unit and paint them different colors than the walls. They come in 8 and 10 foot lengths. My plans call for 8 foot lengths. The one in the studio is 9’8”. If I could put that one up by myself I knew I wouldn’t need any help with shorter lengths. I made the stand as a helper, I named him Stan.

No Problem! There are a few things I will do differently but it can be done at my leisure. After that, paint. Finally!

Yeah, that's me. The one will all the SKILL!

Trace

Nature Part 2

As a Technician it is important to pay attention to facts, details and events to build a knowledge base. The larger your database the easier and faster you can size up a project or problem and start working on solving or finishing it. At the same time, if you are paying attention, you will notice some things either work better than others, or are prone to fail in certain areas under specific circumstances.

I believe the master technicians are the ones that have a wide database of the facts/laws of their disciplines, enough experience with the practical applications of those facts and laws to be able to anticipate various outcomes. And be able to apply what they have learned in different areas.

One of the first things one of our instructors taught us was mechanical principals are the same whether they are on a plane, car or space shuttle. You may have to add something to compensate for changes in density of air, you may have to use a different material to withstand one temperature vs. the other, but the physics, the laws don’t change.

Another thing MTs are aware of are trends. My coworkers and myself have worked around our model of airplane long enough to know exactly where to look for defects on the wings, fuselage etc. Every one is built to the same specifications, so if one cracks at the front of the spine cowl, you can almost guarantee you are going to find the same cracks on different tail numbers.

I listen to the guys on Car Talk, a call in car maintenance show broadcast on public radio, be able to make educated guesses to problems with cars just by hearing the description of the problem over the telephone. This is because throughout the process of building our knowledge bases, we’ve noticed trends.

These trends can be attributed to the nature of that system or machine. And it has been my experience that nature can’t be changed, it can be controlled through effort, repairs, modifications or discipline but its nature is still to crack at the spine cowl if the modification was removed, or hurt first if his or her discipline was diminished.

A few days ago my mother pointed out some things that are in my nature that I accepted as true. While not harmful at all to others the trend shows a string of failures and disadvantages at my end because of them. Society seems to have evolved and left me and people like me behind. Now, it’s time to access the situation and see what, if anything, I can do about it.

Trace

The Power of Static

Static is that noise in the background that gets in the way or interferes. The form we are most familiar with is the kind we hear however there are other kinds of “static”.

One of the latest trends in new condominiums with balconies is to incorporate a closet next to the balcony for storage, mostly for barbequing grills etc.

3 years ago when I moved in I thought this was the best way to utilize the space.

I had 2 dressers already that fit perfectly. Later on I needed more space so I put shelves on the walls to hold more stuff. I can remember taking pictures and bragging about my handy work.

After 3 years and countless trips to the closet, Tuesday I took one look at it and said there had to be a better way. I wasn't using the drawers because there was too much stuff in the way so most of them were empty. I can remember a few times when I decided it would be easier to buy new materials instead of mining through that mess to find what I needed, pathetic.

I took a step back and focused my beam on the closet. To my embarrassment, in less than 10 seconds I knew what the best approach would be. I took some measurements, and went shopping. I searched 3 places to find the best deal on what I needed.

This morning, I went to the store and bought what I needed.

That’s everything that was in the closet before. It took less than 2 hours to do, including a trip back to the store to get another set of shelves. I have more space to put more things and better yet I have access to everything making it easier to find stuff and get rid of stuff I don't need. I actually found a toolbox full of supplies I forgot I had!

The question I asked myself was, what took me so long? Do you mean to tell me I didn't have those 10 seconds to spare in the last 3 years?

I realized for the first time in more than 3 years I have had no one pulling me away from what I needed to do. During the last 3 years, I’ve put someone else’s projects ahead of my own.

Today, while I was cleaning out the closet, I looked at my watch and noticed it was about 3 pm. Usually at about this time I’m on my way to my usual coffee shop to be there for my “extended family” if they need me.

After 3 years, they have either grown away from me, left the state, or I've decided give their boyfriends and husbands the opportunity to be there for them and demonstrate their skills.

Now, for the first time in a long time, I can dedicate my resources to my own projects instead of theirs. And look at what I was able to do in 2 hours and 10 seconds.

On to the next project.

Slight Distraction

A few of my Zen Dogs at work pointed some observations about my demeanor as of late that caused me some concern. It was nothing at all alarming they just noticed that I’ve been on edge for the last few weeks about something. First of all, either they are much more perceptive than I give them credit for, or the shift is that noticeable. I told them it was work related. We are all dealing with the upcoming changes and uncertainty in our own ways. I told them the truth but at the same time I was concealing something. It wasn’t work related so I followed my doctrine of keeping other people out of my issues.

I dedicated yesterday, today and tomorrow to figuring out what is going on. Yesterday after a short bike ride, some great planning and watching one of the best movies I’ve ever seen, Predators, I went for a drive to chase the sun, there was still sunlight here at 10pm. During the drive I started putting some pieces together and it hit me. It’s one of those life things people have been telling you for ages but you don’t understand until you can translate it into your own language and examine it with your own lenses.

This morning, Tuesday, I got up, did some more planning and took another ride. The intent was to ride to the river however a mile into the ride I realized I was way over dressed so I turned around to drop a layer or two. On my way back I stopped at a red light, there were no cars coming so I peddled across. When I got about 20 yards from the street, a passenger in a car stuck his head out as he passed me and yelled something about me going through the red light. I retorted with 2 words, the last one was OFF! He yelled something I couldn’t understand as they drove away.

I actually said a silent prayer to the war Gods that they would be waiting for me at the next light or corner. It was something like “please give me this opportunity to test my skill”. I’m the leanest Ive ever been, there is something burning my biscuits, and I SAW PREDATORS LAST NIGHT. In reality soon as he yelled at me I recognized him as one of the Portland worms that have been the bane of my existence for the last few years, another coward at 1000 paces. So within a microsecond my radar chirped non threat.

On the rest of the way home realized how way out of character that was for me. One of the Zen Dogs asked me a long time ago “What would you do if a worm insulted you as you walked by it?” ever since then it’s been my approach to ignore them, there effin worms!

I went home and dropped a few layers and rode to the river and did my 14 mile meditation. The Blog about the enlightenment will have to wait.

Trace

Nature

3 summers ago, The first summer in my new place, I went home after work one night. When I turned on the lights to my surprise and disgust I was welcomed home to the sight of hundreds of flies swarming in my kitchen. Each one was a copy of the other.

After spending a good part of the night shoeing flies out of the back door, sucking them out of the air and off of windows with a shop vac. It was time for me to figure out where they came from. It turned out that because I lived on the second floor and left my back door open so my cats could hang out on the balcony, flies had come in and laid eggs on their food some time earlier.

This posed a problem. How could I leave my door open so my monsters to go out on the balcony without going through that again? A fly is wired to fly around and look for things to lay eggs on. It’s their nature, it’s what they do and have been doing for millions of years.

There are people who are wired to do damage, not care, or drain as much out of a person that they can.There are guys out there who’s #1 goal is to drive through as many women as many times as they can before they either “grow up” or die. It’s who they are and what they do. It’s their nature. There are women who exist to get as much money as they can from as many guys as they can before they “grow up” or die. It’s who they are and it’s what they do. It’s their nature.

There are people who just don’t care. Or don’t realize how much they are hurting someone else. And when they find out, they can’t make the changes the other person needs them to make to not hurt them. They can’t change who they are, just as a fly can’t change what it is.

It is important to pay attention to what people do. If they do anything to hurt, discount or mistreat us it is probably their nature. And don’t expect them to change. No one is worth the heartache, worry and disruption they cause. No one has the right to hurt us.

Ever since “the night of the flies”, part of my summer routine is to clean my cat’s food dishes the first time I walk into the kitchen when I get home from work. I had to take the responsibility to prevent another disaster. Flies do what they do and are going to keep doing it.

Ever since more than a few encounters with people with “issues” its part of my routine to pay close attention to what people do and figure out who they are. If they are worth my time and energy, great. But I'm always looking for flags and soon as they do something that crosses the line, they are done. I have much better things to do. We all have better things to do.

By the way, when I got home today after writing the text to this post at a coffee shop this is what I found on some cat food. I expected to find it. It's their nature. Its what they do.

Trace