Where in the world is Brian
OK, I know that I have been noticeably absent from blogging lately, but life has been hell. Between work, the basement, dealing with the big hole in the back yard, and training for the race in May, this has been last on my list. In fact, I should be working on the basement now, but I am here instead.
Work
Let's start with work. The core part of my job seems to be going to meetings. Lately, there have been more of them than hours in the day. The other part of my job is to manage the storage group, which are myself and one other person. We have had a lot going on as of late, and it is sucking of the other non-existent time in my day. The remaining part of my free time at work is dealing with new projects, contracts, and the like. Let's just say that I am drowning under it all.
The Basement
The basement has been a project that should have been completed months ago, but I think I am in over my head on this one. Time to call in the Calvary. Actually, I have builders block (the equivalent of writers block). I know what has to be done, but I just cannot get through it. Plus, I need my dad to help me finish up installing the lighting in the room. Maybe once that is done I will get past the blockage and finish up. Then again, I really need to train for my adventure race.
The Adventure Race
Ken and I decide that it would be an interesting challenge to try this adventure race down in Toledo. It is really more of a triathlon, but instead of swimming, running, and biking, they have canoeing/ kayaking, backpacking with 20% of your bodyweight in the pack, and biking. The total distance for the race is about 50 miles, with 35 miles of it consisting of biking. So, to train for this, I have been trying to run 2-3 miles a day 4 days a week, weight lifting 2 days a week, trying to ride at least 1-2 days a week (which has not happened much), and for fun, hiking the hills at Ford Field in Dearborn with 40 lbs in my pack for half an hour, 1 day per week (along with an additional hike on the way there and home or 3 miles. Along with this, Ken and I still climb for 2-3 hours every Sunday. We are not aiming to win this event, but we want to see how well we can do. If we hold up for this event, we are planning to try to hike the section of the North County Trail by Picture Rocks in 2 days, versus the 4 days normal people take. I think we have gone crazy.
The Big Hole Project
Last fall, I removed the swimming pool that took up a 36x16 ft chunk of the back yard. It was old and was falling apart, but the driving issue for getting rid of it was that nobody used it. I tried having pool parties, inviting people over, etc, but nobody seemed interested. So, after reviewing the cost to maintain it based on the old water, chemical, and electrical rates, as well as my time to keep it functioning, I decided that it was too expensive and not worth it. Plus, my wife really wants a garden. So, to make the story short, we now have a 32x16 ft hole in the back yard that is up to 4 feet deep. Now, I could just buy lots of dirt and fill it in (did I mention that it will take at least 20 yards of dirt), or as usual with me, I could look at fixing the whole yard. So, after talking with the wife, we decided to have it done professionally. After 4 quotes and prices that ranged from $2000 to $20,000, we selected a company to do the core set of work. This includes filling in the hole and regrading the yard, putting in edging where we want the landscaping to be, moving the sprinklers, removing some shrubs/trees, and putting in mulch. This does not include the design. For that, we have been harassing our friend to have his mom help us, as well as trying to come up with solutions on our own. My wife even received an offer form the neighbor across the street to assist us in designing the yard (He has an awesome yard that has a really expensive patio with a fire pit and lights built in to it). So, this is just another project detracting from my blog time.
So, until next time.......
Work
Let's start with work. The core part of my job seems to be going to meetings. Lately, there have been more of them than hours in the day. The other part of my job is to manage the storage group, which are myself and one other person. We have had a lot going on as of late, and it is sucking of the other non-existent time in my day. The remaining part of my free time at work is dealing with new projects, contracts, and the like. Let's just say that I am drowning under it all.
The Basement
The basement has been a project that should have been completed months ago, but I think I am in over my head on this one. Time to call in the Calvary. Actually, I have builders block (the equivalent of writers block). I know what has to be done, but I just cannot get through it. Plus, I need my dad to help me finish up installing the lighting in the room. Maybe once that is done I will get past the blockage and finish up. Then again, I really need to train for my adventure race.
The Adventure Race
Ken and I decide that it would be an interesting challenge to try this adventure race down in Toledo. It is really more of a triathlon, but instead of swimming, running, and biking, they have canoeing/ kayaking, backpacking with 20% of your bodyweight in the pack, and biking. The total distance for the race is about 50 miles, with 35 miles of it consisting of biking. So, to train for this, I have been trying to run 2-3 miles a day 4 days a week, weight lifting 2 days a week, trying to ride at least 1-2 days a week (which has not happened much), and for fun, hiking the hills at Ford Field in Dearborn with 40 lbs in my pack for half an hour, 1 day per week (along with an additional hike on the way there and home or 3 miles. Along with this, Ken and I still climb for 2-3 hours every Sunday. We are not aiming to win this event, but we want to see how well we can do. If we hold up for this event, we are planning to try to hike the section of the North County Trail by Picture Rocks in 2 days, versus the 4 days normal people take. I think we have gone crazy.
The Big Hole Project
Last fall, I removed the swimming pool that took up a 36x16 ft chunk of the back yard. It was old and was falling apart, but the driving issue for getting rid of it was that nobody used it. I tried having pool parties, inviting people over, etc, but nobody seemed interested. So, after reviewing the cost to maintain it based on the old water, chemical, and electrical rates, as well as my time to keep it functioning, I decided that it was too expensive and not worth it. Plus, my wife really wants a garden. So, to make the story short, we now have a 32x16 ft hole in the back yard that is up to 4 feet deep. Now, I could just buy lots of dirt and fill it in (did I mention that it will take at least 20 yards of dirt), or as usual with me, I could look at fixing the whole yard. So, after talking with the wife, we decided to have it done professionally. After 4 quotes and prices that ranged from $2000 to $20,000, we selected a company to do the core set of work. This includes filling in the hole and regrading the yard, putting in edging where we want the landscaping to be, moving the sprinklers, removing some shrubs/trees, and putting in mulch. This does not include the design. For that, we have been harassing our friend to have his mom help us, as well as trying to come up with solutions on our own. My wife even received an offer form the neighbor across the street to assist us in designing the yard (He has an awesome yard that has a really expensive patio with a fire pit and lights built in to it). So, this is just another project detracting from my blog time.
So, until next time.......
posted by Brian at 6:54 PM
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