LUNES –

Like a real guy, nailed on connectors between wall and joists.

Sawzalled out for the side door.

Installed ‘guard rails’ in the attic to keep the blown insulation off the new floor.

Cleaned up, ripped out even more wall board, including a portion in the master bath I had spent an hour and a half the week before delousing of wallpaper.

Nights Dreams:

Plains/SW Indians merging themselves with the colors of the desert mountain landscape

Sculling/flying near the set of a mid-Medieval film set

TUESDAY –

Started off by fragging even MORE stucco from between the house front windows.  Then installed joist hangers.  From here, into the attic to better screw the guard rails.

Next: remove most of the bath wallboard on which I spent hours removing the wallpaper.

We’re 20 feet up the inside of the faux chimney.

At lunch, Jerry the Foreman reveals that he grew up in a boxing family and that he himself fought 28 bouts.

Afternoon: unbelievable.  Marcos up and out of the center chimney chiseling off adobe.  I’m underneath on the ladder as Assistant Adobe Wrangler waiting to catch a hammer to the head.

MERCOILES –

Spent most of the morning ripping out even more more wallboard, but this time in the garage and NOT wallboard at which I had spent hours steaming off wallpaper.

Meanwhile, Marcos is up the east ‘chimney’ tearing off tile and grinding.

Afternoon: policing the area and shifting the dangerously corroded scaffolding to the west side chimney, another linch pin broke off.

Tired and beaten.

Stupid 405esque traffic getting north to Marina for provisions.  Traffic due the annual Concours d’ Elegance where some of the most valuable cars in the world are on display.  But not on the 1.

THURSDAY –

Can’t get to the job site – 68 clogged 2 miles back from the 1 intersection – detour through town.

Luis is sent off to The Shop, Marcos is sent off to find more scaffolding.  I’m given low-rez tasks: clean the debris out of the attic and remove the kitchen bay windows, at which I take a long time.

Rusty, broken and without sufficient bracing. No matter for Super Vato!

Miracle: Marcos returns with more rotted scaffolding which we assemble and he actually clambers atop.

OSHA Not Approved.

On the stoop, surprise box from Marsha.

Surprise – The Prof fights the head wind bearing Guinness.

VIERNES –

Humpbacks, six or so, just lolling 4 miles out.

Took the route via town not wanting to waste time if 68 was clogged again.

The crew is down to Marcos, Jerry and me.  I’m assigned the duty to peal back the chicken wire around all the windows for an inch and a half, which it pretty much already was, but I’m here all day.

Marcos: hours chippy chippy with a chisel and hammer of the mortar around the vamanos front windows.  Poor sod.

After break, I tear out even more wall board at the behest of Frank, the electrician.

While policing the area, am given 5 minutes of an actual carpentry job: put in a T-shaped block to hold wall board in the new kitchen lower corner.

Rest of PM: policing the area, of which there is much to do.

Jerry lets us out early.

Not problemo on the 1 getting to 7 11 for check cash, not problemo getting to Ka-nob Hill where Palermo rolls are a-plenty.

Prof shows, shatters Guinness, but there’s enough left for we mortals.  Whales still lolling.

SABADO –

Geared up for two tours at PBL.  First one better than the second, but scored the phone number of a cute grad student from Hopkins.

DOMINGO –

It’s Tuesday, the last day of class is Wednesday and so why is the final exam today?  No chance to cram!  And then there are not enough exam books to go around.  I’m losing time waiting for the prof to return.  When he does, he’s like all fucked up and doesn’t care there aren’t enough test books.

Good drifting, except for the aching right wrist.

Legs, sides front and back.

After an eggy brekkies, to The Shop: rough out all the parts for the Medium Display Case, but face a conundrum – how to join.  The rails are all cut to end length less 2 cm for the kerfs to hold the glass.

Dowels.
No.

Later – resolved to do shallow mortise and short tenon and cut the glass accordingly.

That cute girlie from Hopkins did not return my call.

Disappointed.

But not with The View.  Whales still lolling mid-bay.  No one but them knows why.

8 18 –

Happy gloom, almost drizzle to 3605, Day 31 on this jobsite.

Cleaned out for the arrival of the windows, started even more stucco shattering around the front window openings.  Windows arrive and Marcos and I shift them out of the truck.

Given leave to visit Hayward for plywood, then The Shop for a bayonet end for the shop vac.

Time slows.

After lunch remove even more more more ceiling board, all afternoon until shattering more stucco.

Home – Just as I was about to sup, up motors the soon-to-be new CTO for Dun & Bradstreet bearing two brews, both of which he brought back from a flying visit to King’s Canyon: Something and Wrath of something.  The first – General Sherman IPA  a lock solid 9.8 on the Lag Scale, the second – Son of Wrath – less melodic and more of a hit in the face with a shovel, lick the anvil stern.

Both excellent, as was the visit.

MARDI –

Of the dawn, almost rain, almost drizzle, enough to wet the pavement, but not under the oak.

To 3065, Day 32 – put to task cleaning up the front empty gums, but mostly push broom all day.  All the Long Long Day.

Demoralized, maybe it’s the paleo-vegan lunch and I’m cutting weight.

But still demoralized.

DAY 33 –

Abandoned at the airport and at PSU.  Must make my own way, but here’s Rossi and Helen Barrow worried about how I’ve jilted Phoebe Hearst.

Chainsaw ripping down a tree across the street, 0630.

To 3605 Minion Major assigned to rend door jamb extension from door jamb.  It’s a chisel proposition until I’m called off for more chippy chippy under the future deck.

Then, given a Hall Pass, down the hill to Hayward to find solvent for the spray googe bought yesterday.  Used the trip to slip into TJ’s for O’boom.

I’m Broom Esquire until lunche, and Broom Knight until there is … guess what?  More wall board (ceiling) to remove.  And so it goes.

Place rimming with electricians and plumbers.  Good to see thing installed instead of being ripped out.

Day passes well.

Owner napping outside all afternoon.  Strange.

Prof in for an evening’s soak.

Then grill.

It’s almost Thursday which is almost Friday.

8 21  –

Took sick of the evening, ate nothing, drank no beer, raging throat, clogged face, 3 hours sleep.

Dragged myself to the job site, but was sent home.  I lose $100.  Gained an afternoon nap.

Jerry was kind enough to deliver my paycheck.

8 23 –

16 hours of sleep – amazing the restorative powers.  Raging sore throat Gone, Heaviness in the chest Gone, Lassitude, much reduced, poverty Worse.

Spurtled across town in the early hours to deposit the paycheck, the Nawar Water Bill Rebate and the quarterly Prudential dividend.  Huzzah.

Home for a lovely eggy breakies, then not the nap I though I needed.

Needed: Shop Time.  My Own Shop.  With Classical Music.

Today’s Effort: Mortise and Tenon the parts for the Medium Sized Display Case.

As there are 16 mortisii, broke out the mortising machine, installed the ½” bit and let go.  There is still some hand/chisel trimming and so the affect of the artisan is not totally avoided.

Also not totally avoided was the asymmetry of the mortise, and hence, the tenon.  The parts are 3 cm square, so I offset the mortise trying to avoid them interfering at the bottom.  Noble effort, but even at only 1.2 cm deep they still overlapped.

This offset and asymmetry makes making the tenons a challenge.  Each of the four cheeks of the tenons is a different stretch from the edge of the oak.  And so where there is only one shoulder setting on the table saw (dado blade embedded into a sacrificial fence) there are four blade height settings.

Just while I was setting up to cut the tenons, there’s a stupid honk honk from the street, and no, it wasn’t the annoying gulls.

Wildman.

Out of the hospital.

The second leg full of stents.  He’s walking with no pain; has feelings in his feet long forgotten.  Best news I’ve had this week …. And he doesn’t even owe me money.