Procrastination

Are any of you procrastinators?


I have been a procrastinator my whole life. I have always had to battle the urge to put things off until another time. It seems like there is a guy (I call him Mr. P.) whispering in my head telling me to goof off.  I feel guilty about it sometimes but usually not too much. It has never caused me any serious problems but has come back to bite me in the butt on occasion.

When I get started doing something I like to work at it until finished. It is the getting started part that has always been the problem. I eventually get around to doing whatever it is I am supposed to do but usually not in a timely manner.

Luckily I married a fellow procrastinator so it hasn’t caused any serious marital problems. She’s only an amateur procrastinator compared to me but she definitely has the tendencies. We’re so bad we put off getting married for five years. Connie tells a slightly different story, something about wanting to make sure I was going to hang around. The truth is we were meant to be together and we both eventually realized it.

Why am I talking about procrastination you ask? The reason is we actually accomplished what we planned to this past weekend! I was able to lock Mr. P. up in a cell in my head and start on our plan to finish up the house.

We got up Saturday morning, had coffee, read the paper and a few blogs and then got after it. We spent most of the day sorting through the office. We went through several boxes of pictures, assorted keepsakes and other “stuff” we have stored there for years. We tried to separate everything into keep, sell or throw out. I numbered the boxes and made a list of everything that went into them.

After everything was boxed up or put in garbage bags it was time to carry it all downstairs. Nothing was particularly heavy but multiple trips up and down stairs gets to be a P.I.T.A. I will sure be happy when we live on the ground again. Next came the antique kitchen hutch and an antique table. Even after taking them apart as much as possible there were sections that were a little heavy. Connie hung in there and was able to help me carry everything down to the trucks. She paid for it later when her back started hurting.

We took it all (except the trash) to our new storage unit. Sam, as usual, was sitting in the back seat of the truck supervising. We returned home and when I walked into the office I realized we had actually started the process we had been talking about for so long. The only things left in the office are the computer desk and my large format plotter. The echo sounds great, I can’t wait to hear that everywhere else in the house as I make my final walk through.

It was about four o’clock and Connie’s back was barking. I told her pop some ibuprofen and lie down on the couch. My plan was to drive into town to pick up a scraper and some plastic drop cloths. That’s when my old friend Mr. P. escaped his cell and started whispering in my head. His exact words were “get a beer and relax, you can go to Home Depot in the morning”. I succumbed to his influence and was soon sitting in my chair enjoying a cold beer. That was the end of work for Saturday.

Sunday morning we got up to heavy rain and 40+ mph winds. It was storming so bad it looked like a tropical storm. We loafed around having coffee and reading the paper and blogs for awhile. Connie made me a nice breakfast. By about eleven o’clock it had simmered down some so I got dressed and went into town.

I got back home about one o’clock and noticed the front tires on the truck looked a little soft. I aired them up and then had a chat with myself about getting started scraping the “popcorn” texture off the office ceiling. Who ever thought that crap was a good idea anyway?

Connie helped me tape the drop cloths along the walls and across the floor. It took a little time but sure made cleanup a lot easier later. I was able to get the whole ceiling scraped clean by four o’clock.

I am ahead on the project schedule!!!! I had figured I would get part of the ceiling done Sunday and have to finish during the evenings this week. Now I can get it painted during the week and be ready to start the trim work next weekend.

Thanks to Dr. King we have a three day weekend coming and I hope to have all the trim up at the end of it. Some of the painting finished would be a bonus. We shall see. I plan on letting Mr. P. run loose all week at work so he’ll be too tired to distract me on the weekend.

Sam from Dardenne Prairie MO. (samdonna-5thwheelvagabonds.blogspot.com) asked for pictures from the vault so here are a couple from “back in the day”….

Connie the day she learned to ride my Harley.  It was Feb. 1977 and cold as hell in New York.  We loaded the bike into my pickup and drove straight thru to her Dad's place in New Bern, NC.  I had never met him before.  We showed up at his door with no warning at about 5:00 AM.  He was polite but I don't think he was too happy.

Jackie, Connie and I on a visit back to NY.  Not sure where it was but it was about 1986.

Every Saturday I cleaned the bike.  This was prior to many modifications to it. Circa 1977.  Genesee beer was part of the ritual. 

This was our Christmas card in 1985 or 86.  She is smiling in the picture but let me tell you that was one pissed off little girl.  I'm surprised she didn't turn us in th Child Protective Services for making her take that picture.  It's my favorite card.  I think I'll have a bunch made again and use them every year.

Adios for now, enjoy life.


--Rod