Why, hello again. 

Twice in one month. Crazy…

Work has been going well so far this week. 

Monday started off sort of shitty. Woke up at 4:30. Thought about not going to the gym but decided that I would feel worse if I didn’t, so up I stayed. Got dressed. Dragged myself out to the car. Drove to the YMCA. Made it inside even. 

I didn’t feel any more with it. I picked out a cycling video from Fitbit and told myself any workout is better than no workout. 

It was a pretty shitty workout…

Not the video or the instructor in it… just… I don’t know. I most likely should have taken Monday as a rest day. Or done yoga which I totally forgot was a class offered Monday mornings. My body wasn’t rested enough from my workouts over the weekend to go hardcore first thing Monday morning and it showed. 

After showering I headed to work where I finished the project I was working on before switching back to one I was already part way through. I guess someone was falling behind on their schedule and this project is due to the shop sooner rather than later. So I was asked to put a pin in my original project so this new one could get done on schedule. 

It wasn’t a super complex project and I was able to wrap it up on time. With that done, I could go back to my pinned project and keep progressing there. I got a fair amount done. Enough that I was able to finish it today. 

Last night was a decent night. Came home less crappy feeling than how the day started. Cooked a basil pesto chicken with grape tomatoes and green beans. It was tasty and there are leftovers so that’s dinner tonight and maybe tomorrow. 

I got a lot of my to-do list done yesterday, so that felt good. Made up for a crap workout. 

Slept decently. Opted not to do the gym today and instead let my body rest. It seems grateful. 

Got a lot done at work again. Got one of my other projects back.

So… There’s a whole process that a project goes through. My job is to “detail” the project. That means the engineer has already figured out what the building needs to be up to code with all of the additions the buyer wants. Things like windows, overhead doors, walk doors, gutters, downspouts… The list goes on and on. 

I don’t have to worry about making sure anything is up to code. My job is to make sure the builders have all the instructions they need to assemble the parts we send them correctly. I count literally every bolt. Every screw. I check every column and rafter to make sure all of the pieces line up with the right clips. Certain things like center blocking (extra support for overhead doors) have to be manually added, so I add them. 

Once I’m done confirming the entire building, a more experienced person checks my work. That will always happen. A building will get detailed by a drafter and then it will be checked, regardless of the drafter’s level of experience. 

So I got my checkset back for a production project I did earlier this month. There was very little that needed to be corrected which is a nice feeling. Usually, my trainer is the one who checks my work. Once she’s done she sends me an email with my “scorecard”. It’s essentially my grade. Scorecards factor into how quickly I’ll move from Apprentice Drafter to Drafter I. 

Well… I didn’t get a scorecard with my feedback. I sent a quick email thanking my checker for his feedback and if he knew if I was supposed to receive a scorecard. Not that I want to get a promotion or anything… but if I did… I would totally be wondering where my scorecard was… 

He replied back pretty quickly saying he would get one to me tomorrow, so I have that to look forward to. With how few corrections needed to be made I’m hoping for a decent score. 

I’ll finish up my corrections on that project tomorrow and then send my documents off to the shop. It’s one step closer to getting shipped out and built. It’s a cool feeling. Some of my other projects have already shipped. In a few months, there will be people standing in something I helped create. Kinda crazy to think I could take a trip somewhere and see a building I played a part in. Stand inside it. Touch a piece of the wall panel and know I calculated that length. I counted those fasteners. I confirmed those flange brace punches. 

Anywho… Once my checkset is done I get to move on to another project. It really is a never-ending cycle. Finish one, move on to the next. But so far I like it. 

This next project is a level 3. Levels go all the way up to 10. I’ve done a few fours already. Those melted my brain a little, but it’s getting better and I like the challenge when I’m given something new. Like slip clip connections or pipe struts or any number of things that are “new” in the three and a half months that I’ve been with the company, wish is pretty much everything. XD

I think I’m up to 19 or 20 projects so far. Some of those are training projects, so the buildings would actually be built. I got confirmation today from my trainer that I’m officially done with training projects, though. From here on out all of my work will be production jobs. 

I guess that’s enough rambling about work. 

Ox and I are doing well. Like… really well… 

It’s weird to type about it. Think about it. He’s been more affectionate recently. More hugs. More kisses. More random butt slaps, which yes, in my world are awesome. 

It makes me wonder how much of the stress and struggle we’ve gone through together was caused by me. I am doing better. I’m less depressed. I’m less stressed. I’m present in my life and in the relationship so maybe that makes it easier for him to be present, too. 

I don’t know. We don’t really talk about emotions anymore. We don’t beta test like we used to. We don’t have a date night or “date outing” where we would get lunch and grocery shop together like when I was going to nursing school. 

There are a lot of things that we don’t do like we used to but life and our schedules have changed since then and we can’t do things exactly like we used to. 

Maybe we should have a check in with each other. Maybe we should try to figure out a day where we can go out together. Maybe a weekly walk, now that winter is over. Something. 

Point being, our relationship doesn’t feel dead or like we’re distant roommates. It feels like we’re a couple and I like that. There’s a warmth there that helps me feel connected to my small bubble of a world. I don’t feel alone when I fall asleep next to him. 

Living with his parents again can be rough sometimes. We were working on the addition. Then his dad fell and was in the hospital for a while. He got discharged to a care facility and finally made it back home. During that period his parents decided they want to move to a different house. One without stairs and more friendly for an elder couple who are beginning to have mobility issues. 

I don’t know what that really means for Ox and me. I’ve been making progress on my debt but I don’t think I would be able to get a loan to buy the house from them by the end of summer which is when they want to move. 

I honestly don’t think moving by the end of summer is doable. Maybe that’s pessimistic of me. In my mind, it’s realistic. There’s still so much stuff his parents have to go through before they can pack. A whole garage worth of tools and such that haven’t been touched in years. They’ve lived here pretty much their whole adult lives. There’s a lot of… clutter? Random crap that isn’t used? It’s not trash exactly, and they’re not hoarders… but… pack rats maybe? I’m not sure if that’s any better… 

I’ve moved so often in my life that I don’t have much. What I do have is needed because packing and unpacking a ton of stuff sucks. They’ve never had to go through that process, of pairing down and contemplating “do you really want to carry that up three flights of stairs to your new home”, so there’s just… a lot of stuff… 

To her credit, Mama Ox hs been doing really well with sifting through things. I’ve been staying quiet about it. When she wants or needs help, I help. I don’t want any comment I say to be taken the wrong way or demotivate her or foster any sort of ill feelings. It’s a big task; one that I personally think is going to take longer than the summer to complete when you include selling this house and finding a new one. 

Anywho… So with the living situation sort of unknown, Ox and I haven’t been doing a lot of work on the addition. There’s talk about once the back room is cleared out turning that into a mini-office / bedroom for me. A dragon den. I really like the idea of doing that. It would be a spot where I could be alone. 

I think that’s still a little ways off and I’m not getting my hopes up about it, but it’s nice to think that maybe here in the near future, I’ll have a project at home to work on again. A room that I can clean up super nice and walls to paint. We’ll see what comes of it. 

Well… I guess that’s enough haphazard catching up for one day. I’m going to start getting ready for bed since tomorrow is supposed to be a gym day. One rest day is enough, body. Back to work with you!