Alack and Alas!

Well this weekend has been a bit of a mixed bag. Unfortunately the sailing trip did not happen, due to bad weather, but because of that I ended up going shopping and buying two movies that I have been wanting to get for some time. The flip side to that was that I ended up staying up till midnight watching them. Which never helps make the next day a happy one.

Even though I didn't go sailing I suppose I can still say a bit about work. Most apartment complexes have a clubhouse of one sort or another. A place to hang with friends, work out, or swim in the pool. The clubhouse at the current job site is (I believe) a converted garage. Exposed forty foot ceiling, tons of open floor space, and a handy basement filled up with exercise equipment, and the owners are sparing no expense in making it look nice. I just heard this week that the material cost (no labor involved) for the lights alone is just under $100,000! Somehow the PTB decided that they wanted me to help install some of these lights during the last few weeks. A lot of dropped can lights, many chandeliers, and all sorts of accent lighting. The most fun have been all the ceiling lights because they require the use of a lift to install them all.
(The view looking down)


It hasn't just been all fun and games though. These lights are Expensive! The chandeliers alone cost $4700 apiece, and we still had to assemble them ourselves. It just seems like a person should get more for their money.




I will admit though that the finished product does look rather nice.


It must be nice to have money to burn. And in other news, I start school again tomorrow. Even though it is my last year, I am sorry to say goodbye to my carefree summer evenings. No more of those for quite a while I'm afraid. I think that about covers it for now. Hope you all have a great week.

April's Fool! a.k.a. To Be(ard) or Not to Be(ard)

I think the best place to start this post would be with a Woohoo! I've finished Year Three with my Electrical schooling and now all my evenings are once again gloriously open for me to squander as I see fit! :) I must say it sure does feel good to know that I only have one more year to go. Now all I have to do is see what my average for the year ends up being. After finding out my score on the final, I'm not worried, just curious.

Also I think I'll say here that even though I don't really like where I'm working right now, or really want to be there, there are some good things about it. 1) I only have to drive about six miles to the park and ride where I then get picked up and get to ride in a company vehicle for the rest of fifty miles! Also I like starting at six-thirty so I get to see the sun rise every morning, way better than any sunset. Also this schedule keeps us from getting stuck in any rush hour traffic, so that is a plus as well.


Now, on to the real subject for this post! Last September I decided that I would take on one of the challenges that separates a man from a boy and see where I stood. This test, growing a beard! I'm proud to say that in this respect I am a man. Even though it took many weeks to fill in properly, it has graced my face steadily since that time. I actually became rather attached to it. It kept my face warm in the winter, it made me look older, and it filled out my face a bit more so I didn't look like a crack-addict model. :) (That is to say, to skinny for my own good). However as some wise man once said, 'All good things must come to an end' so also my beard was destined to meet its shaver, er...maker. This very morning I walked into the bathroom looking very bearded and manly, and stepped out looking young and boyish.
Looking at myself, I can't help but feel that I am setting myself up to be mocked tomorrow at work, as several of the newer guys have never seen me unbearded. On the other hand this morning at church I got a thumbs up from one of the ladies, so maybe it isn't so bad after all. What do you think is better, beard or no beard?




Try not to let the different angles or quality sway your vote. Next week, the joke continues....