And So It Begins

We are scheduled for our first rain fall tomorrow. It’s a little hard to believe because today was an absolutely beautiful day. Even right now, at shortly after 5:00, there is not a cloud in the sky. The 5 day forecast calls for rain Tuesday & Wednesday, and then clearing on Thursday, so it sounds like it’s a small front that should roll through quickly. We get rain here like Buffalo gets snow, so if it does rain tomorrow this will be the first of many, many, many rainy days in the months ahead.

Last year at this time I was removing the 2 story addition to the house. We had a week or so of very heavy rain fall in October. I remember because I had removed the roof, and I had also removed part of the second story floor to cut out all the pipes. The addition housed two kitchens and two bathrooms so there were a lot of water, drain, and gas lines that had to come out.

When the rains came it was a torrential downpour inside the addition. It was an odd experience to open the door to the bathroom and see water pouring down from above. That went on for a week or so and then I had clear skies most of October and November.

After I removed the addition there was a lot of work to be done on the original siding of the house. I remember that I was finishing up the last of the shingles on Thanksgiving morning in a slight drizzle. I was going to a friends house for Thanksgiving and I was out there at about 7:00 in the morning finishing up the shingles and then breaking down the scaffolding so I could return it Friday morning and not pay a late fee. Good times.

Regardless of the threat of rain I did start to scrape Section 5 today. The paint is coming off pretty easy. Well, easier than Section 4, anyway. Section 4 was actually pretty stubborn in some places. This north side of the house gets very little direct sunlight, so the paint is in….well, I won’t say good shape, but at least it’s not in horrible, horrible shape like the rest of the house.

In other news, my boss gave notice at work and will be leaving shortly for greener pastures. He will be missed. He and I both moved up to this area at about the same time. He from Oakland and me from Santa Cruz. Of all the people at work he and I are the closest both culturally and politically. Aside from that, he’s just a heck of a nice guy.

The work I do is little more than a means to and end for me. The End being the completion of my house. The job is not what I would consider a career, but it affords me the time to do what I enjoy doing, and that’s work on my house. If I work 20 hours in a week that would be a long week. My feeling is, I could get a better job that I don’t enjoy. I could then pay someone to do the work I do enjoy. Alternatively, I could work a part-time, dead-end job and do what I want to do. So that’s what I do. It works for now.

My boss understands this and has always given me a lot of latitude in my schedule, and frankly, in my work ethic, as well. It has just been a real pleasure working with him. The pay is commission, so I actually make a decent wage for the hours I work, and meager benefits. It could be much worse, but I only see myself doing it for another year or so. It's just not work I really enjoy, and I'm not going to be working on this house forever.....or am I?

I don’t think there will be any drastic changes with a new boss. The owner of the company is well aware of my schedule. He sees me leave everyday by Noon just as I have for the last 4 years. Still, there is that unknown quantity: The New Boss. Let’s hope The Who had it right when they sang: Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.

My boss, Bob, is pretty much the only person I’ve ever mentioned my blog too around here, so if you’re reading this Bob, good luck, I know it can’t get any worse. Oh yes, and, TAKE ME WITH YOU! (an inside joke)