EVERY NOW AND then we all must put
aside our favorite pastime (in our case that’s
probably modeling) to allow time to do
some chores around the house. Those
among us who are older have refined
methods of avoiding this as often as
possible.
One of the more creative ways to
sidestep household chores is to have
offspring to whom they can be assigned.
I’ve used this approach on two occasions,
but I made the mistake of having the
children arrive in fairly close proximity to
each other. This meant that a division of
chores was possible, but that the service
agreement for both offspring would expire
at nearly the same point in time—bad
planning on my part.
If I’d only been able to separate their
arrival by a few more years, I’d still be
looking at some ongoing indenturedservitude
benefits. Translation: They’re
both grown up and pretty much out of here.
Hopefully they have learned from dear old
dad that this is a time-honored process that
they can keep going in their own lives.
Even with such great live-in help, there
is always something that requires a handson
approach by management. This usually
involves the more dangerous or complicated
chores.
In my house, it was usually mowing the
lawn whenever there were too many bees
around! Anything that had to do with great
height (roof work, gutters, etc.), great mess
(cleaning up paint or oil spills, pet issues,
etc.), or great weight (moving boxes,
shoveling after excessive snowfall) was,
and still is, handled by “management.” I’d
better make it perfectly clear that in my
house it’s a management “team.”
Every few years there are major chores
that—no matter how creative I get—cannot
be avoided. Yes, I’m speaking of the
dreaded redecoration process. This was not
too bad when the kids were young and,
well, spirited.
It didn’t make too much sense to put a
lot of work into the house when major
outdoor sports were still being contested
indoors. This is an aspect that is
compounded by the Dual-Offspring of
Similar Age Principal; it takes two—at
least—to engage in ground-acquisition
games. Add in a few of their friends
(usually split into two groups known as
“teams”), and the result was enough wall
dings to start me thinking about investing in
a spackling-compound stock.
Okay, there are no excuses now. The
walls are relatively safe from assault, and
the floors are no longer divided into
“Inbounds” and “Out of Bounds” areas. It’s
time to make the interior look more like
something you would see in Homes and
Gardens than in Sports Illustrated.
While I put forth every effort to delay,
sidestep, or otherwise avoid having to
actually move past the planning stages for
redecoration (a process that involves my
simply agreeing with whatever the other
management person thinks is a good idea),
there comes a point at which physical effort
has to begin. Bummer.
Of course, I could have simply applied
the “hurl enough money at it” approach and
hired professionals to do the work. There
are two things wrong with this tactic. One: I
don’t really have enough money to have it
done right all at one time. Two: Aside from
the local hobby shop, Lowe’s and The
Home Depot are my favorite toy stores, and
I never pass up an opportunity to spend
money there.
I guess there is a third reason too. Being
a modeler, I like using my hands and mind
to create things, and I take great pride in
doing a chore well.
The lessons learned through modeling
about visualizing a finished product,
planning work, estimating materials needed,
cutting, shaping, covering, masking, and
painting came into play during the
redecoration process.
I realized as I went that almost all of my
modeling skills and the hand-eye
coordination that flying models had
instilled in me came into play, albeit on
something larger and far less critical in
weight and accuracy than a model.
I think we all tend to think of modeling as
just one aspect of our lives. I’m pretty certain
that if we think about it, we would all agree
that our modeling skills come into play in
virtually everything we attempt in life in one
way or another. They probably also give us
the courage to attempt things we might not
have tried otherwise.
The first time I attempted wallpapering, I
remember thinking that it was not much
different—but certainly much easier—from
covering a model. And by applying the same
standards to the wallpapering job as I would to
covering a model, I was able to achieve a level
of quality that stunned my wife and friends. I
wasn’t surprised, and in fact I wasn’t even
satisfied.
Modelers are used to working in a manner
that produces good results even when viewed
up close. Back away from even a moderately
good wallpapering job, and the results look
more than acceptable. We, as modelers, have a
higher standard of craftsmanship as a rule, and
without realizing it we hold almost everything
else we do in life up to those standards.
As I write this, the redecoration process is
nearing the end. The house looks great, with
new oak floors (courtesy of the sale of my
Goldwing motorcycle), new wallpaper and
paint, new carpets, new doors, and lots of new
furniture.
The other half of management is happy,
and even suggested that I should now spend
some time in the model shop building a new
airplane. Hey, this honey-do stuff might have
an upside at that!
If you need a handyman, don’t call me. But if
you need to talk modeling, I can be reached at
(610) 614-1747. The snail-mail address is Box
68, Stockertown PA 18083. My E-mail
address is [email protected]. MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2005/01
Page Numbers: 7,207
Edition: Model Aviation - 2005/01
Page Numbers: 7,207
EVERY NOW AND then we all must put
aside our favorite pastime (in our case that’s
probably modeling) to allow time to do
some chores around the house. Those
among us who are older have refined
methods of avoiding this as often as
possible.
One of the more creative ways to
sidestep household chores is to have
offspring to whom they can be assigned.
I’ve used this approach on two occasions,
but I made the mistake of having the
children arrive in fairly close proximity to
each other. This meant that a division of
chores was possible, but that the service
agreement for both offspring would expire
at nearly the same point in time—bad
planning on my part.
If I’d only been able to separate their
arrival by a few more years, I’d still be
looking at some ongoing indenturedservitude
benefits. Translation: They’re
both grown up and pretty much out of here.
Hopefully they have learned from dear old
dad that this is a time-honored process that
they can keep going in their own lives.
Even with such great live-in help, there
is always something that requires a handson
approach by management. This usually
involves the more dangerous or complicated
chores.
In my house, it was usually mowing the
lawn whenever there were too many bees
around! Anything that had to do with great
height (roof work, gutters, etc.), great mess
(cleaning up paint or oil spills, pet issues,
etc.), or great weight (moving boxes,
shoveling after excessive snowfall) was,
and still is, handled by “management.” I’d
better make it perfectly clear that in my
house it’s a management “team.”
Every few years there are major chores
that—no matter how creative I get—cannot
be avoided. Yes, I’m speaking of the
dreaded redecoration process. This was not
too bad when the kids were young and,
well, spirited.
It didn’t make too much sense to put a
lot of work into the house when major
outdoor sports were still being contested
indoors. This is an aspect that is
compounded by the Dual-Offspring of
Similar Age Principal; it takes two—at
least—to engage in ground-acquisition
games. Add in a few of their friends
(usually split into two groups known as
“teams”), and the result was enough wall
dings to start me thinking about investing in
a spackling-compound stock.
Okay, there are no excuses now. The
walls are relatively safe from assault, and
the floors are no longer divided into
“Inbounds” and “Out of Bounds” areas. It’s
time to make the interior look more like
something you would see in Homes and
Gardens than in Sports Illustrated.
While I put forth every effort to delay,
sidestep, or otherwise avoid having to
actually move past the planning stages for
redecoration (a process that involves my
simply agreeing with whatever the other
management person thinks is a good idea),
there comes a point at which physical effort
has to begin. Bummer.
Of course, I could have simply applied
the “hurl enough money at it” approach and
hired professionals to do the work. There
are two things wrong with this tactic. One: I
don’t really have enough money to have it
done right all at one time. Two: Aside from
the local hobby shop, Lowe’s and The
Home Depot are my favorite toy stores, and
I never pass up an opportunity to spend
money there.
I guess there is a third reason too. Being
a modeler, I like using my hands and mind
to create things, and I take great pride in
doing a chore well.
The lessons learned through modeling
about visualizing a finished product,
planning work, estimating materials needed,
cutting, shaping, covering, masking, and
painting came into play during the
redecoration process.
I realized as I went that almost all of my
modeling skills and the hand-eye
coordination that flying models had
instilled in me came into play, albeit on
something larger and far less critical in
weight and accuracy than a model.
I think we all tend to think of modeling as
just one aspect of our lives. I’m pretty certain
that if we think about it, we would all agree
that our modeling skills come into play in
virtually everything we attempt in life in one
way or another. They probably also give us
the courage to attempt things we might not
have tried otherwise.
The first time I attempted wallpapering, I
remember thinking that it was not much
different—but certainly much easier—from
covering a model. And by applying the same
standards to the wallpapering job as I would to
covering a model, I was able to achieve a level
of quality that stunned my wife and friends. I
wasn’t surprised, and in fact I wasn’t even
satisfied.
Modelers are used to working in a manner
that produces good results even when viewed
up close. Back away from even a moderately
good wallpapering job, and the results look
more than acceptable. We, as modelers, have a
higher standard of craftsmanship as a rule, and
without realizing it we hold almost everything
else we do in life up to those standards.
As I write this, the redecoration process is
nearing the end. The house looks great, with
new oak floors (courtesy of the sale of my
Goldwing motorcycle), new wallpaper and
paint, new carpets, new doors, and lots of new
furniture.
The other half of management is happy,
and even suggested that I should now spend
some time in the model shop building a new
airplane. Hey, this honey-do stuff might have
an upside at that!
If you need a handyman, don’t call me. But if
you need to talk modeling, I can be reached at
(610) 614-1747. The snail-mail address is Box
68, Stockertown PA 18083. My E-mail
address is [email protected]. MA