Friday, October 26, 2007

The 300 Lb Gorilla

Coffee in the Denver skyline mug, "Get Together Now" covered by the Indigo Girls on iTunes. Today I am sore. Yesterday the plumber and his assistant moved the sink 200 ft to the new studio. I thought, "It would be good, while they're here, to move the lap grinder over so I can see for sure where I want it to go and if it needs a new ice-maker line run for it." My first clue that it was not a good idea to move it by myself should have been when I had a lot of difficulty just getting it down to the end of the concrete parking pad in the back of our yard. I should have looked at the damp lawn and the soggy expanse of soil and water oak and pecan tree roots between me and the new studio and just said no.

I should have looked at the little hill down through the gate and said "It could fall on me and crush me like a bug. I think I'll wait.". But I did none of these things and predictably, there was disaster. I got half-way across the yard of the studio and it overbalanced on the dolly and tipped over and off. Would have been okay if I hadn't tried to grab for it. On the plus side, it was my left arm I grabbed with and I'm right handed. I had to go ask the plumber's assistant if he would help me lever it back up. We got it on the dolly and he pushed and I pulled/supported it over to the ramp and up to the French doors (Thank You Dan the Carpenter!--we never would have been able to lift it into the studio). Turns out it weighs about 300 lbs. For comparison our washer--roughly the same footprint--is only about 185 lbs...

What have I learned from the experience? That I am too old to move. I need to supervise. Yes, Bill, I will still move because I am alive. Fortunately for me, words can have more than one meaning and I am too old for the transitive instance of one of the meanings. Now I need to find a moving company that will think out of the box with me and move a few things on a truck and carry everything else. Or I need to skip the company thing and go for day labor and a U-Haul for a day... A few days ago I was hoping the logistics would just sort themselves out in my head. Hasn't happened yet. Instead I am squirrel-caging.

The only thing I am really nervous about moving is the sheet glass (and Big Bertha). I do not have the time to pack the glass up in crates and have the crates moved (and possibly dropped or tipped over--happens every move). The solution is to move the sheets by hand--they aren't that heavy--but though I am good at that, it might make other people nervous to carry large pieces of glass across a bumpy lawn. And there are over 15 cases of glass in the studio (what can I say? I'm a pack rat.).

*sigh* enough angsting. Off to Home Depot for some more paint, a mop, lightbulbs, and filters for our home furnace. It's getting time to change them and fire that baby up! Groundhog day continues...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It sounds to me like someone is lucky to be alive, let alone uninjured.

Brenda Griffith said...

*sigh* It was not one of my smarter moments.

Anonymous said...

Glad you are still able to work. Take it easy. I have an idea of moving the studio for you. Isn't there a boy scout troup in your area. Maybe at your church or school. They are always needing money raising projects and most have parents who are willing to help the boys. Let the smaller ones carry small stuff and let the 14 year olds and parents carry the other glass. You can pay them by the hour or by the job and still get off cheaper than hiring day laborors. The troop I was associated with was a large troop and could get 20 or 30 adults to help. We are a little ways off though.

Good Luck,

Monyman