Entry 175 - I Love Hanging Drywall

I Love Hanging Drywall

about as much as I love having my bottom lip pulled over my head and stapled to the back of my neck. Actually, its not the hanging that’s the bad part, it’s the mudding. Something in my psyche loathes white gypsum paste and the finesse with which it must be applied. The sanding is, as you’ll see in the pictures, no picnic either.

But in order to make some small amends for moving 1700 miles – across a continent and away my family, for all intents and purposes – I decided to spend a few days finishing my folk’s garage – you know, so my dad has a proper place to retreat from my mom, and my mom has a nicer-looking place to pile her antiques (crap) on top of the other fleamarket finds (old useless crap) she already has.

But this is one of those times when (not to toot my own horn or anything) I actually remember some of the shit I am good at; most days in the last few months, I get home from a thoroughly-unsatisfying-yet-satisfyingly-temporary job at Target with my brain oozing out of my ears, pick my nose for a few hours in front of the television or the in’rweb and let my iPod sing me to sleep. I forget that, aside from being credentialed, I have a handful of other things at which I could probably make a decent living - without using my br41n p0w4r too… too umm… goodly.

This project required a fair mix of skills. Here are a couple that spring to mind, and their origins:

Household / Commercial Wiring to Code

1.5 years as a wiring contractor’s polemonkey, involved in everything from replacing mains to running OFNR backbone; I have the Klein Tools and the lifetime supply of Scotchloks, shrinktubing and zipties to prove it.

Rough-out carpentry, Framing

My dad spent many years as a professional carpenter. I learned by carrying the hammer, so to speak.

Drywall, Painting

1+ year spent languishing on the eastern shore with a job titled “IT Consultant” but with a job description that somehow included hangs drywall, paints your house, and blows in your blown-in insulation. I still haven’t forgiven God or Cambridge, Maryland for that debacle.

Drinking on the Job

see Drywall, Painting

So anyways, I took a few snaps of myself and my handiwork so far. The job ain’t done; The trip sorta got in the way a bit. You might be tempted to ask wtf I am blogging about this… well I don’t really have an answer. A few six packs and no blog ideas, I guess. That and the simple realization that I should thank fuck I don’t have to do this to put a roof over my head.

So without further ado – a photo essay for yoo.

This large (1.13 MB) image was intentionally witheld (relative url) to preserve bandwidth. -HBDC steering committee

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