I Feel Terrible! There are times when I feel my ambition is far greater than my good sense. Today is one of those days.
Weeks ago we at the Rail Museum decided it would be a good idea to make a lit of those things we needed to get done during the shutdown months. We wanted to work on the plumming (not me) work on the electrical panel and some lights (again not me) and touch up some of the wear marks in the floor (ooh ooh the floor is made of wood I can do that I can I can).
So we put together the proposal to get some grant money from the city and do a little comparative shopping for professionals to complete the tasks we determined most necessary. We put in for bids with an electrician, a plummer and the floor refinishing guy. The electrician came in within budget, the plummer was a little high but still within budget but the floor guy... Now that was way over budget ($7K). Well it is wood and I have installed and finished a section of the floor for a much needed repair soooooooo. Yep you guessed it. I had to phone around and get some prices on rental floor sanders. That plus poly and incidental equipment I came in some $5K below bid. Now that also included my estimated hours for completing the job which I figured would be around a week or so. UH no.
I have just spent the last week in prep, removal of artifacts and cases and started some 1,100 sq ft of the 3,300 total. OW! I hurt. Hauling stuff, working a 130lb sander and doing edge sanding with a 70lb monster can get to a guy's back, shoulders and legs and yep it really hurts. So as I stated at the beginning of all of this... WHAT WAS I THINKING?
6 comments:
You were thinking: "I can do this myself in the half the time for less money."
You're going to need to find a hot tub or a jacuzzi (or a little red head with huge tracts of land, er uh I mean really strong hands.
I was under the impression (mistaken?) that one of the first things you're taught in the military is "Don't volunteer".
Nathan, only the "Seaman Shit For Brains" type folks don't volunteer. The rest of us end up volunteering all over the place because it's "the right thing to do," and then end up running around naked with our hair on fire as a result.
Beastly, I agree with Jim. You were thinking, "I'll do the right thing." Now you're in the "hair on fire" phase. In another year it'll be an amusing anecdote of your first post-military private sector gig.
OW! oh that was yesterday. Jim and Janiece yep it all seems easy until you touch the project for the first time. Nathan there was always a group of people who claimed NAVY was an acronym for Never Again Volunteer Yourself. Well they usually retired 2 to 3 paygrades below their real potential and sat around moping with their mentors who perpetuated that myth. It may be painful, it may seem huge but man that floor is starting to look good and I have until April 1 to get it done. Just gotta bite the bullet and if you keep tuning in you are gonna hear about it.
Oh and I don't run around naked and there's not enough hair to start on fire anymore... just a footnote there Janiece.
Beastly, clearly you're not as fun as Jim led us to believe...no naked? No fire? Bummer.
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