I have undertaken a new project. (And a turn away from the recent boring posts of meems and semi-pyramid schemes.)

I have started cleaning the basement workshop. It's a workshop that is about 12 feet wide by probably 25 feet long (just a random guess, I'm terrible with sizes) and has been in disarray for a number of years now. My grandfather never kept it immaculate, and on towards the end of his life it went worse as he wasn't able to do as much with it. And then over the past few years my uncle has used the space when working on things around here but usually ends up having to leave before cleaning up. Also my dad and I have used it in much the same way and so it just became a huge mess.

So I have started cleaning it for some reason.

It's going to take a while. A long while. And it's going to be really interesting as I don't know what half the stuff down there is. I don't claim to be a handyman, I claim to be a guy with an undergraduate music degree who works on cars from time to time because he can't afford to pay someone else to do it. Also there's the fact that so much of the stuff down there is older than me to make things interesting.

I'm sure I'll throw away things that could be useful to someone, but they have been buried in rubble for years now so they have been of no use to anyone and if anyone needed them they went out and bought another. So they go in the trash.

Today I cleared off the worktable at the very back of the shop. There is still a royal mess beneath it and to the sides, and all the stuff that was on top of it has been moved to another workbench. But it's a start. There is a computer monitor I need to remember to put on the curb Tuesday night as well as a trash can full of stuff that needs to go out on Tuesday as well. The trash can has been full for at least two years now.

This project will be done in small one or two hour blocks a few times a week for as long as I have motivation. I won't feel bad if I don't complete it because at least things will be better than when I started. There is at least a worktable to do stuff on now, which is more than I could say before. Before you just shoved the last three projects aside to make a spot for the one at hand. I think the main reason I started this today is because last Saturday my dad and I left a pile of metal shavings in there from working on my car. I dislike metal shavings as they cut my skin easily, and I'm not a fan of cut skin. Nope. Never.

I may keep you updated on the status of this project. I know I will let you know when the monumental effort is complete. I will probably also inform you of interesting things I find hiding down there - be it a tool, project, or strange creature. If I do find any strange creatures the project will likely be halted as I have no love of being around strange creatures.

Hmm... This time last year I started hacking at roots in a raised dirt bed with a hoe and eventually planted a garden. That garden saw much neglect and didn't yield much crop as a result due to the menace to the south known as the mosquito. I don't mind working with my hands, digging, sweating, and all that. But when I spend more than 10 minutes outside and am surrounded by a swarm of mosquitos that bite me regardless of what foul chemicals I spray on my skin I just can't handle it.

This year's project will be spend indoors, in a cool basement. The roach problem was taken care of today as I sprayed the entire house with Ortho Home Defense. (Seriously good stuff, it lasts for three months and you don't see anything but dead roaches during that time, and it has almost no smell.)

Now I am trying to decide what to have for dinner. May end up doing sushi or possibly Thai. Maybe Indian.
- posted by Nick @ 3/18/2005 06:35:00 PM | 0 comments