Tiny House Blog That I Made:

I'm still going to update here, but I'm busy working on building a Tiny House and writing about the progress.

http://tinyhouseonblocks.wordpress.com/

Dumpstering Building Materials II

Hell yeah. Now we're done playing games. I just got out of a dumpster on 23rd Street, and I owe somebody a thank you. Many beautiful half-sheets of plywood and other dimensional lumber are now weighing down my van pretty good. I easily got enough 3/4" T&G plywood and studs to complete a professional by-the-book subfloor. Throw in a fat bag of insulation from yesterday and things are looking pretty prosperous.

Dumpstering Building Materials

The games have begun. I borrowed a 42 gallon contractor bag from work and marched toward a dumpster on Penn Campus. They keep throwing stuff away. I packed the bag overly super-full of batts of fiberglass insulation. I would much rather do that than pay for it.

I carried the bag Santa-style for ten minutes and dropped it in a convenient location. Thus began the great scroungeabout.

I've been eyeballing the local building material waste-stream on my long walks and today I decided it was time to strike. I cranked on the van and made a big loop. First stop was the big bag of insulation. Check.

I took and apprehensive pause outside the dumpster on 23rd Street, but then grew some balls and just hopped in. I lined up stud after stud beside the dumpster and it was looking pretty good. Nice clean straight boards for the most part, but plenty of nails to watch the fuck out for.

It was a fantastic haul. I can't wait to start making various small houses.

Working on 3-D modeling.

I'm getting better at Sketchup. I'm putting together some nice 3-D models of house framing, and now I'm able to make the models in a more efficient way that's easier to edit too. I have a lot to learn, but I'm getting a good grasp on the basics. There's a lot less molasses in my movements. Some of these ideas might be worth putting screws into wood soon.

Roadside America (The Miniature Village.)

Roadside America day. I had the fantastic (not sarcastic) idea of taking Kristin to see one of the best displays of kitschy Americana to be found. We had a great time pushing buttons to make small trains run. I have always been nuts about anything miniature, and I am also a fanatic about eccentrics. This place hits it out of the park.

We also checked out some great antique shops and took the long way home.

Aaaaand, I hate the winter. Maybe I'll make a van-sized practice house. Just add that to the list of huge projects that I've thought about doing. Some gets done, some gets forgotten, life keeps going, and I feel like I'm dropping the ball.

Hanging out.

7:21pm. The end of another 4-day work week. Hanging out with Sara.

more stuggles of the privileged.

I got needlessly upset over a small deal. It put a dent in the beginning of my day. But I made it through and eventually made it home where I watched several more episodes of The Shield. This is my version of semi-hibernation. If I could stop working and just stay inside until the temperatures are back in the 60's to 70's, I might just do that. All of this living really feels like a struggle.

Traffic ticket shits on cold shitty day.

Another freezing day, and it looks like it took two cops to issue me a ticket for lapsed inspection. Next came anxiety, and a quick trip to buy new stickers for the van. Then I went to traffic court thinking I could deal with this sooner rather than later. I don't even want to get into the details about how backwards that place and my line of thinking were.

I'm slogging through a Philadelphia winter. Am I insane? We all must be insane.

I'm not made for winter.

Feels like 13 degrees? This blows. I'm not made for this.

Tiny House plans need more time and dollars.

Tiny House will take some more time for $$. Meanwhile, a small table saw and wood planer would be fun to own. With those items, I might be able to get more creative with customizing the dimensions of "reclaimed" lumber. I also need to look into more sources for the reclaimed lumber. This is going to be a slow project with a huge learning curve. I feel ready, but I'm not in a hurry.

My version of hibernation.

Skipped Kennett this week. Opted to spend my precious time smoking and chain-watching The Shield.

Extra work day.

Picked up an extra day to cover for Alex. Missed hanging out with Kristin all day, but the extra money won't hurt.

Pizza Party

Saturday: Pizza Party at Shelly / Jo / Arden's. It was fun, but I'm not as eager to mix it up as I used to be.

One More Trike.

7:21; just left work. Sent a trike home with my cousin and her husband - as a gift for my aunt on Sunday. An awesome gift.

Alec stopped by the shop for some bikework. It's cold as hell.

Feeling domestic today.

It turns out I have a strong domestic undercoating. I want to build us a house and secure a piece of the Earth where nobody can impede. I want to have children and protect my family. I'm 30 and I mean business. I mean business in my own special way.

"Ate Salad." check.

Dear Journal,
Got home from work and smoked and had an awesome salad when Kristin got home.

Made some more shelves.

Made some custom shelves for next to my bed. I didn't spend a dollar. Everything down to the nails was scraps and cutoffs. I got some new speakers. They're tiny and they sound as good as the big bastards I've been lugging around. I checked out a 7'x16' trailer at Sharp Road and 41.

Old Phones: Doesn't ache when they break.

Shopped at Mariposa (the healthy West Philly co-op); went to Kennett (the town where I'm from). Got a spare old flip phone activated. I kinda like it better. I love owning stuff that doesn't ache to break.

New Sunday Policy:

Sunday: Out to brunch with Kristin's friend and boyfriend. The Gold Standard. It was good. Sunday is errands and hangout time.

Phone crapped out. That voids the Droid.

Phone crapped out on my walk home. Should have been more careful, but a guy like me walks in the rain sometimes. Looks like a Droid isn't up for it.