Category Archives: 100 Days

DAY LXV

100 Days

Painted the deck with a coat of primer. That took a lot longer than expected. Started painting the final coat. Installed a new porch light.

Went to the eye doctor for an exam. I need +1.75 eyeglasses for distance, and +3.25 for reading. At least I can get by with regular reading glasses as opposed to a special prescription.

I wanted to write a more detailed post about rebuilding the deck. I wanted to write a list of goals for the New Year of 2015. I wanted to check my status against my 1oo Days goal list. I want to start writing longer, more interesting or entertaining posts on this blog. There’s a lot of stuff I want to do. But I end up feeling tired and unmotivated.

I want to learn how to use the features of this blogging software.

I want to resume my toy photography hobby.

I want to get the house listed.

I want to write stories and publish them as eBooks.

I want to have a lot of money.

I want to resume exercising. I want to lose weight. Today I still weighed 206.2 pounds.

Apparently I do not want any of these things enough to actively pursue them.

I spent a number of hours this evening looking at toy forums online. It’s not productive. But it’s fun, and I enjoy it immensely. So is it a waste of time? I don’t know.

I want to finish up an editing project I’m helping one of my internet friends with.

DAY LX

100 Days

31 December 2014

Worked on the deck most of the day.

Frustrating end to the year. So little accomplished. The d#mned house isn’t listed yet. I’m still almost broke. I will be going back to the same crappy job here in a few days. I’m fat.

DAY LVIII

100 Days, , , , ,

I had a dentist appointment at 11:00 a.m.

The rest of the day I moped around. Very depressed. Very tired. Slept for two solid hours in the afternoon.

My weight is up, despite having resumed jogging during my sojourn on the Big Island. I’m at 207 pounds.

I am SO TIRED of people telling me how to do the deck project. Neighbor guys keep offering their “advice” as to what materials I should use, what tools I should use, how I should put things together, why what I’m doing isn’t right, how it would be so much faster if I did it this way or used these tools or… gah!

The stupid stairs I built leading down to the beach last summer, the ones I cobbled together out of cast-off and leftover lumber using my electric drill and a cheap Black & Decker jig saw, survived their first TOTAL INUNDATION by the ocean last week. They didn’t budge an inch. The surf came up into the yard, over the steps. They’re still fine.

The deck will be the same way. It’s an OLD DECK. It was built fifty years ago. It was built totally “wrong” by today’s standards –– the joists are spaced fifty-one inches apart, there are no support piers under the 8-foot span, and even though most of the supports are badly rotted and termite-damaged, it’s still holding together. I’m putting it back together “wrong” as well, making it up as I go, patching the rotted joists using salvaged 2×4 lumber from the old deck top. All I have to work with is a jig saw and an electric drill. It’s slow, but it’s going to work. What I don’t have is a ton of money. I’m tapped out after buying deck screws and 2×4 stud grade lumber. I can’t afford TREX® planking for the deck. I’m not going to buy, or fuss around with, hidden deck fasteners. I’m not going to buy plywood at fifty dollars a sheet. I’m not going to replace all the 2×6 and 4×6 support beams with new lumber. Sure, if I could afford all that stuff, I would. If I could afford new power tools I’d have a miter saw and the job would be done hours more quickly.

It’s gonna look adequate and it’s gonna function adequately.

Or it would, if I finish it. Right now there’s a big, ugly hole full of rotten wood and rusty nails in front of my house. Since everybody else seems to know how to do things better than I do, maybe I should just let somebody else finish it.

DAY LVII

100 Days, ,

Drove to Lowes Home Improvement Center to purchase supplies for the deck project. I am attempting to complete this project as inexpensively as possile, simply because I haven’t much money. I am using plain, stud-grade 2×4 lumber for the deck planking. I will be salvaging what I can from the old planking to shore up the rotted, termite-infested supports.

I removed the remainder of the deck planking and started reinforcing the most badly damaged support beams.