Tomorrow, several things will be happening.
1. Dad has some early-morning hardware store errands to run for Mr. Jeong, who has effectively commandeered our gutted home and assumed command of the family. We are his workers. Photos, to be shown later, will prove this.
2. I've got to complete my camp kitchen, a task I've been unable to accomplish without frequent interruptions. Today (Tuesday), I was asked to take a forty-pound section of 6x6 wood and tamp down the soil around the 6x6es in the ground. According to Mr. Jeong, this minimizes the potential for excess water seepage. The rationale made sense to me, but the task had me covered in sweat within five minutes.* Each stake received anywhere from 24 to 32 ground-poundings. Strangely, I'm not sore this evening.
I'd like to get the camp kitchen finished by tomorrow night, but I'm not sure that's going to happen. The situation is becoming increasingly desperate. At this point, Mom has no kitchen. The old kitchen is now totally bare, as barren as Mars. Mom's relying on a coffee maker for hot water, and either take-out or sit-in restaurant food for some of our meals, despite the abundance of food in our fridges. We improvise as we can (read: cereal), but having an operational kitchen would make life a lot easier on everyone. It's on its way, Mom. Promise.
3. We will probably begin to assemble the deck's foundation. The foundation parts are arriving tomorrow. I've learned how to use the huge circular saw (did you know that carpenters first practice their sawing skills on live squirrels? that was fun!), and will likely spend a good amount of time cutting lumber down to size. Why me and not Mr. Jeong? Because deck assembly isn't part of the man's contract! He's going to teach us how to assemble the deck, then it's up to us to do it.
4. Mr. Jeong and Da Crew will be installing a spanking new drywall ceiling downstairs, and will also begin the process of spray-painting the walls, beginning with the ones in my old bedroom, a.k.a. the Dungeon. What this means for the family is that we have to finish moving everything out of the Dungeon. Along with that, we have to either remove most of the furniture from the main part of the basement, or line it up in the middle of the room to allow Mr. Jeong and his men to use a rented "lifter." This device will push the drywall up to the ceiling and hold it in place so the team can fasten it firmly overhead. Drywall is a pain to handle and very easy to damage; I keep having visions of the new ceiling crashing down on us during a movie night.
5. I know I'm forgetting something else. In the movie "Bridge on the River Kwai," isn't there a running joke to the effect that "There's always one more thing to do"?
Gotta go out to my tent now. Will write as I can tomorrow.
QUICK UPDATE: Go, India!
*Not that that's anything special: I sweat when I think too hard.
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