Next month, Ma and I will be installing something we’ve wanted ever since I took the permaculture design course at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center: rainwater catchment. Ma’s been looking into it on and off for months, and we finally found a guy through a friend who pitched us a simple design for a […]
As mentioned in previous journals, I spent January-March building with Dan, Sean, and Matt. I thought I’d share a picture of the project we completed in March. We built this deck for two lovely women in Jacoby Creek. This project had special meaning for me. Our clients are getting married this month, and their ceremony […]
In January 2013, I was one of nearly 20,000 runners who participated in the 32nd Annual Ibusuki Nanohana Marathon in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. It was my first time running a marathon, and even though I spent months training, I had no idea if I would be able to finish. I was supposed to run with […]
We are closing in on the final week of construction. I feel like a diving hawk, talons spread wide and about to sink into the flesh of long-sought prey. Sean and Matt have been working as diligently as any two men I’ve ever shared a job with; I’m always hustling to keep up with their […]
This week I’m struggling with a bout of the Humboldt crud, so I’m just going to post pictures of our building progress without any commentary. After all, words just get in the way, right? If you have any questions or thoughts, please leave a comment and I’ll answer as soon as I can. Also, have […]
In July, we tore out the concrete slab in front of the old garage to make room for the foundation on which the new house extension now stands. We poured that slab back when I was in grade school so I could have a flat surface to play basketball on. Many good memories followed, the […]
Trimming is an activity in which the artful reduction of an object often constitutes a simultaneous increase in that object’s value––a shuffling off of excess matter in order to highlight what remains. A trimmed hedge gains aesthetic appeal. A trimmed physique imbues confidence and attracts potential mates. A trimmed intellect communicates with clarity and poise. […]
Before I had any experience of building, I did not grasp the degree to which modern homes are a carefully orchestrated merging of many different materials. Everyone knows at some basic level that houses are complex organizations of wood, concrete, metal, wiring, and all the rest, but those with little or no knowledge about how […]
Frustration is an emotion that depends on our indulgence for its perpetuation. One wrong step, unfortunate turn, or misunderstanding causes a flash of heat: the sudden awareness of fault and fallibility. For those who struggle to achieve the placid grace of deep breaths and quick chuckles, small frustrations build rapidly and compound with force. On […]
I am not a funny person, but I sometimes try to imagine what being funny would be like. Does making an entire room or theater full of people laugh hysterically feel as great as in my daydreams? Is telling a poorly received joke as terrible and paralyzing as I think it would be? The question […]