Where does the time go? Somehow I missed a week. These last couple of weeks saw the completion of the technical bits of the shower rooms. Leon and I have been working double time to get the rooms finished. Painting, installing floors, buying curtains, etc. There is nothing more ludicrous than two dudes who have little in the way of personal style trying to discuss the merits of a particular curtain style. Aside from some small things like installing trim and hooks, we're really only waiting for the exhaust fan and lights to be installed before we're fully functional.
Roll-out will be interesting. We don't have any rules or system for how we're going to share showers and changing room as a group. You know like, don't leave the door wide open when you exit because someone is naked in the shower, kind of rules. But I think this may be a perfect case for group self-organization, which is where groups are able to regulate behavior better with no rules than with them. You can see a good example of this in a recent experiment at a couple of elementary schools in New Zealand which took away all rules on the playground and saw a reduction in injuries, bullying, and vandalism as a result. See here for an article about it.
We recently joined the Chamber of Commerce. You know, because we're such upstanding members of the community. Yesterday was a business to business social where we got to schmooze with other businessy people. I had to shave and wear a collar and I admit I'm not a natural socialite, kind of awkward and stuttering. Fortunately Craig was there to keep me from tripping over myself and we met some interesting people. I also learned a little tidbit of info relevant to all you ninjas who visit the Brewery District. Which is that the Goodwill over on 27th and Tacoma (one block up the hill and two blocks south) has a barista training program so they have coffee, and they have a culinary skills class and so offer daily lunch 11-1:30 for $5. Don't know how healthy the food is yet. I'll check it out and get back to you.
Another new poker in the fire is to create some sort of cycling program this spring. As some of you may have noticed, both Leon and I are year-round bikers. For me this was a habit that started about three years ago when Lisa was rear-ended by a teen on a cell phone and the car was totaled. At the time we were early in the business and didn't have any spare money to buy a second car so we became a one car family. We live on Hilltop so it was easy for me to use a bike. Without ever wanting to, I became a cyclist. In time I have come to absolutely love riding a bike around the city with all the intensity and passion of a convert. Seriously, you should do it too. To help you with that, in the next couple of months we're going to bring in Chris Kopp from Defiance Bikes (who is a member and sold me my awesome bike) to run a free bike maintenance workshop. After that we'll plan some regular group rides.
My time at work really has been consumed with finishing the showers, so most of my other gym projects are on hold. The rest of my work energy has been directed at my yard at home. I've dug up half of it in order to grow a big vegetable garden this summer. In the process I found the real-life application of ball slams. The job involves using a shovel to dig out a chunk of sod and flip it over, then you have to chop the chunk up, otherwise when it rains it'll turn rock hard and be impossible to plant. The technique for that is to take the shovel in both hands and stab the clod like some psychopath trying to dispose of a body. If you just use your shoulders you'll burn out, but if you get your hips swinging forward and back, your arms will be loose like chains. I am now quite confident that I could efficiently and quickly dispose of a body should the need arise.
Speaking of gardens, I know there are a lot of you who are would-be gardeners. This will be my third year of growing veggies in my yard. The past two years I just dove in and and tried to figure it out along the way. This year I'm getting some guidance and signed up for the Fundamentals of Organic Gardening class at Gallucci Learning Garden. The class is free, the text book is like $14. They meet Wednesdays 5-7 at Bates starting the 26th, and Saturdays at the garden for hands-on training. I won't be able to consistently make it, but would love to have a study partner in there. Who's with me?
By Morgan on Sunday, March, 23, 2014