Brief update
May. 17th, 2011 10:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snousleBeen very busy lately.
Honestly, hiring contractors is almost as tiring as doing the work yourself. I'm completely absolutely delighted with the updated kitchen but it was quite an upheaval.
Properly separating work and pleasure has made both seem much more appealing. Incorrect kitchen organization was dragging me down much more than I had realized. Doing random home cooking in the catering kitchen was kind of lonely, and made me feel isolated and agitated. It was getting to be a downer.
But now that the catering kitchen is disentangled from everyday life, it no longer seems like such a burden, and invites all kinds of projects. The space is nearly flawless, with an ideal inventory and perfect organization; 100% of all objects have a specific home, are currently there, and are spotlessly clean. It's all very Kitchen Nazi but this level of organization is a magical thing that opens the door to a great reduction in unnecessary motion. When you eliminate the problem of search - when everything is exactly at hand - you cut the work in half right there. I could sit down and start typing, and from memory give you a list of everything in the kitchen and where it's at. This makes it possible to work very, very fast.
[Bill gave me a brilliant insight - what I need to do for a camp cooking kitchen is make something that folds out from a 4x4 trailer. More on that later. The theme for this year, though, is "less running, less lugging". Badger is starting to hurt, and most of that is due to hauling heavy shit around. I'm so confident this will work that I'm planning on selling the catering van and towing the 4x4 behind the Element.]
QBT was a little damp this year. I didn't take any photos myself. Had a very good time although it is always quite a bit of work. It also has the fringe benefit of getting the camp cleaned out and tidy every year, something I'd probably neglect otherwise. The level of debauchery has a lot to do with the weather; I find cold weather arousing but not conducive to following through. :-P
Got a load of software work dumped on me just as I'm heading out on a road trip. The next couple of weeks should be interesting. I'm trying to jam in some snowboarding, a Border Riders run, a visit with my mother, and various hot dates in a rather ambitious low-budget venture. I should probably learn a whole lot about web app development while I'm at it. Silverlight? HTML5? Gotta pick something and get up to speed on it real quick. I'll take the slow chairlifts, more time to read that way.
Left Ukiah this morning, currently in Etna, CA right now. This is a curious little place in a stunningly beautiful valley about 25 miles off of I-5. I'm thinking of exploring the Marble Mountain area tomorrow morning.
I had imagined there might be some ramshackle bar where I could use my compassionate ear as a justification for ogling giant drunk hairy rednecks, but the only joint in town didn't pass muster. It wasn't that the only "patron" was the bartender, slumped on a barstool - it was the garish fluorescent lights. Un-Axe-Sept-A-Bull.
My feet are tingling at the prospect of snowboarding so marble mountain may have to wait. Batchelor is still open, as is Whistler. Turns out this year had one of the biggest snowfalls ever and there is still an enormous amount of it to be had. There is no greater pleasure than boarding down wet, slick slopes on a hot day and throwing up huge roostertails of slush as you go.
Honestly, hiring contractors is almost as tiring as doing the work yourself. I'm completely absolutely delighted with the updated kitchen but it was quite an upheaval.
Properly separating work and pleasure has made both seem much more appealing. Incorrect kitchen organization was dragging me down much more than I had realized. Doing random home cooking in the catering kitchen was kind of lonely, and made me feel isolated and agitated. It was getting to be a downer.
But now that the catering kitchen is disentangled from everyday life, it no longer seems like such a burden, and invites all kinds of projects. The space is nearly flawless, with an ideal inventory and perfect organization; 100% of all objects have a specific home, are currently there, and are spotlessly clean. It's all very Kitchen Nazi but this level of organization is a magical thing that opens the door to a great reduction in unnecessary motion. When you eliminate the problem of search - when everything is exactly at hand - you cut the work in half right there. I could sit down and start typing, and from memory give you a list of everything in the kitchen and where it's at. This makes it possible to work very, very fast.
[Bill gave me a brilliant insight - what I need to do for a camp cooking kitchen is make something that folds out from a 4x4 trailer. More on that later. The theme for this year, though, is "less running, less lugging". Badger is starting to hurt, and most of that is due to hauling heavy shit around. I'm so confident this will work that I'm planning on selling the catering van and towing the 4x4 behind the Element.]
QBT was a little damp this year. I didn't take any photos myself. Had a very good time although it is always quite a bit of work. It also has the fringe benefit of getting the camp cleaned out and tidy every year, something I'd probably neglect otherwise. The level of debauchery has a lot to do with the weather; I find cold weather arousing but not conducive to following through. :-P
Got a load of software work dumped on me just as I'm heading out on a road trip. The next couple of weeks should be interesting. I'm trying to jam in some snowboarding, a Border Riders run, a visit with my mother, and various hot dates in a rather ambitious low-budget venture. I should probably learn a whole lot about web app development while I'm at it. Silverlight? HTML5? Gotta pick something and get up to speed on it real quick. I'll take the slow chairlifts, more time to read that way.
Left Ukiah this morning, currently in Etna, CA right now. This is a curious little place in a stunningly beautiful valley about 25 miles off of I-5. I'm thinking of exploring the Marble Mountain area tomorrow morning.
I had imagined there might be some ramshackle bar where I could use my compassionate ear as a justification for ogling giant drunk hairy rednecks, but the only joint in town didn't pass muster. It wasn't that the only "patron" was the bartender, slumped on a barstool - it was the garish fluorescent lights. Un-Axe-Sept-A-Bull.
My feet are tingling at the prospect of snowboarding so marble mountain may have to wait. Batchelor is still open, as is Whistler. Turns out this year had one of the biggest snowfalls ever and there is still an enormous amount of it to be had. There is no greater pleasure than boarding down wet, slick slopes on a hot day and throwing up huge roostertails of slush as you go.
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no subject
Date: 2011-05-18 05:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-18 06:47 am (UTC)Perhaps this couldda been a year that I could conjure up bikers into your shower. If only I was well...
no subject
Date: 2011-05-18 11:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-18 05:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-19 01:14 am (UTC)