Saving the day in boxer shorts, work and more work

Saturday morning Cindy and I were up and out the door early for the lone beach run the the running club puts on each year.  It’s always a pretty small event and we stopped chip timing it a couple years ago.  The sand was always a mess with the computers/timing equipment.

I decided to try to informally time the race using an app for the iPad called Webscorer.  Basically as runners cross the finish line you tap their bib number which registers their time.  I needed to enlist Cindy to help me in the process, her job was to write down the finishers in order so when there is a group of runners finishing around the same time I could go back and assign bib numbers to times.

Early on as it was only single runners coming across the line it was easy, I had plenty of time to tap in each runner and their bib number. As more finishers started coming in I only was able to tap them in to register a time and then had to refer back to Cindy to get the bib number associated with that time.  We started to identify a problem.

Since I never timed a race in this manner I had not thought through some of the speed bumps, like when a runner comes through the finish line with a bib covered up or not wearing one at all.  I did not emphasize enough to Cindy how crucial it was that every person that crosses the line was recorded , even if they didnt have a bib number.  If even one finisher is skipped it throws all the times of the subsequent finishers out of whack.  I got frustrated with Cindy when I realized the problem but later felt bad for doing so.  Like I said, I should have been more clear with how it needed to be done. When we got home we were able to get things sorted out thanks to the GoPro I had capturing the finish line.  We used the video to reconcile times pretty accurately.  In the end we were able to produce pretty official looking finish results for everyone even though the event was officially untimed.

So even though we were tired from the early alarm clock we wanted to get more done on the chicken run.  I had a loose goal of wanting to at least get the run totally enclosed.  Cindy and I worked diligently to accomplish that goal, busting ass until late afternoon.  For most of that time the chickens were inside the run with us, they already seem to like the shade and safety the space affords them.

Shortly after we finished the skies let loose and it started to pour.  I saw this as an opportunity to check the chicken run for leaks.  I ran out through the downpour and stood inside the run.  The main area of the run was great, I saw no water leaks anywhere.  The only problem area was the small gap between the shed and the run, there was lots of water running down the shed wall, something a good piece of weather stripping up top should address. As I was standing out there Cindy came running out in the rain to see what I was doing.  I hypocritically asked her why she came running out in the rain.

So we had plans to go out to the movies Saturday night.  I was in my boxer shorts getting ready to take a shower when I glanced out the window.  It was still pouring out but now a very gusty wind had accompanied it.  I saw one corner of my Green Machine Timing shelter that we have had outside for shade during the project lift off the ground and look perilously close to becoming airborne which would surely destroy it.  Without pause I ran out the back door in my boxers, into the storm and grabbed the shelter.  I then started lowering the legs while getting absolutely soaked .  The rain felt very cold. Once again Cindy came running out to help me in the rain.  I told her to go back inside, there was no reason for both of us to be soaked.  She insisted on staying out there until the shelter was lowered and secured. I was shivering and looked like I just jumped in the pool in my underwear by the end of it.

So the movie we went to see was Furious 7, a movie that has done blockbuster numbers worldwide.  It was the first movie we got out to see in nearly a month, an eternity for us.  It was weird seeing a movie where one of the main characters died in real life, Paul Walker.  On the way home Cindy read about how they were able to finish the film even though Walker died relatively early in shooting of FF7, it was pretty amazing.

I was worried that drowsiness would be a problem since Cindy and I were up and on the run since 4:45AM.  Luckily Fast and Furious 7 is as good as a two hour cup of coffee.  The movie unapologetically appeals to the lowest common denominator of most movie goers, seamlessly transitioning between T & A, action, and violence in very rapid succession.    Of course the plot was incredibly unrealistic and never in my life have I seen that many people routinely walk away from apocalyptic car crashes but hey, it’s Fast and Furious, not Gone with the Wind.  There is no denying the movie was entertaining, even if a large part of that entertainment was laughing out loud at the ridiculousness of some of the “plans” used by the crew to get out of sticky situations.  The tribute at the end to Paul Walker was touching and sad.  FF7 is B+ fun all day long.

So we designated Sunday as carpet rip out day.  We needed to move all of the furniture out of the great room and dining room areas and then rip up the carpet and pad to prep for the tile being installed this week.  I wanted to get my bills paid in the morning so I would not have to access certain areas of the office which would be stuffed with relocated furniture.   We got started moving furniture late morning.

We utilized furniture sliders to move everything of considerable size into the guest bedroom, hobby room, master bedroom, and the office.  It was a tight squeeze but we got everything out of the main living area.  Cindy was much more excited about ripping up carpet than I was.  My primary role was to be the pack mule, cutting and rolling up old sections of carpet and padding to be lugged outside.  Cindy was the tack strip remover, popping the carpet strips out with a hammer and wonder bar.

Pulling back the carpet revealed the less than ideal foundation.  I already knew the floor was wavy in spots from my previous experience tiling the kitchen, utility room, and both bathrooms.  The bare cement also showed lots of lovely cracks, something else I expected and one of the side effects of houses being built on mounds of sand.  My assumption is professional tile installers will be able to remedy any foundation imperfections.

After all the old carpet and pad was yanked out the bare floor needed to be “cleaned”.  I first went around with a flat edge shovel and scraped any padding that was stuck to the glue that was used to secure it.  I then grabbed the big garage push broom and swept up the debris.  I was surprised how much dirt/sand was in the pile, a testament to the downfalls of carpet in a high traffic area.

After sweeping the entire area I went back through it with the Shop Vac to vacuum up as much junk as possible.  As you can imagine this process created a lot of dust.  To try to make things less nasty we had a bunch of windows as well as the front and rear doors open to air out the house, despite the warm and humid air outside.  By the time we finished up we were confident we prepped the floor sufficiently for the tile installers to come in and hit the ground running. The echo in the great room with nothing in there was dramatic.  When we brought Tuki back in there he seemed to enjoy the new sound his various noises/words now delivered.

We again did not finish up until late afternoon.  We ran out to Home Depot for a couple items and then picked up eggplant parm subs on the way home, the house wasn’t in much shape for cooking.  We had to adjust to our suddenly very crowded living conditions.  The office is jammed with furniture, the only usable space is a small square in front of my desk.  Our bedroom has the sofa and loveseat jammed inside of it, affording us about a one foot passage way to get past the bed.  We have been eating meals on the floor of the bedroom.  It’s not ideal but tolerable for a few days.

Despite the very full weekend I threw new rear hatch struts on Cindy’s Prius.  The old struts had a bad habit of collapsing when it’s cooler or in a strong wind.   The new struts are like night and day compared to the old ones.  Of course I had to tape it to add to my large and growing automotive maintenance series on YouTube.

Today is Cindy’s first day of her new situation where her primary focus is studying for her PT exam, working out, and attending to the myriad of house related upkeep/projects.  I think it will turn out to be a win/win for both of us.