I think it's been almost a week since I've last written to you hasn't it? To bring you up to speed, progress has been somewhat slow in areas that need to go fast, and clearly too fast in areas that could be postponed for a few months more. I'm rather pissed off, but I know I have to be patient and keep pushing on. I believe I do have quite a bit of patience when it comes to getting a project done, or getting through to people. This time, I might have reached my limit. Maybe writing this post will help me.
Malapit Residence Garden- Progress
First and foremost, my parent's garden is not quite finished, but I've got more direction. Concept is there, and I got some of the site issues sorted out- drainage is a pain in the retarded butt though. One of the planting beds is adjacent to our 2-car garage, and to solve flooding problems, my Mom had a drainage channel cut into the concrete driveway edge that meets the garage door. So now whenever it rains, the water drains right into the planting bed where there are Ilex Aquifoliums, Hydrangeas, and Aucuba Japonicas. They're all plants that survive in well-drained, acid soil. You could now figure they're not going to last long with all the flooding that's happening in that bed. Poor things. I don't want to take them out, especially the Ilexes. They've been there since I was a child, and had taken great care of pruning them while I was growing up. You could tell I have a love for them, so now I'm going to do the best to bring them back to good health. The leaves at the lower sections of their stems are almost gone; no birds live in the branches anymore, and berries no longer grow on it. The shrubs kind of have the look of a cat after it's been spayed, with the fur shaved off at their lower regions hahah! Sheesh, poor things.
In any case, I got stuck at verifying some of the other plants that seem to grow randomly in the front and side yards of the house. It's not a big house by the way- a typical 1970s cookie-cutter one-story home. I know I shouldn't be worrying about plant types right now, I'm only in the schematic phase for goodness sake! My parents don't even want me to go to town with the project....but I'm a perfectionist, and I want to put this in my website...and maaaybe get a few gigs from my relatives afterwards. How's that for having an ulterior motive? I'm so transparent, ha!
Moving forward, I've got to submit the schematic package by the end of this week. Get it approved by the Parental Unit, then tweak it, fix it into the budget, then do yet another round of collaborations with the Parental Unit. Sheesh, and I've yet to find a nursery that could meet the budget and has all the plants in stock. Eff......Yea yeah, I know this is normal stuff, give me a break....I know I shouldn't be complaining. After all, my parents DID say "don't overdo it". I guess I could be overwhelming sometimes.........
The hardest part in this whole process, I'm finding, is getting myself to wake up on a regular schedule, get dressed, and force myself to the library to do the work. I'm not a lazy @$$ mind you; I just work better when I have a structured schedule. You do too, and don't lie about it. Not to give myself excuses, but to be honest, I have been distracted with my finances (that's a given). I've been doing a lot of clerical work- posting ads on Craigslist, searching for freelancing gigs, and keeping up to date with Archinect. On the side, I've been building up my home office, by hitting up Freecycle to fetch things like a surge protector, carpet tiles, an external hard drive (300g woot!), and other random stuff that a room/office needs. I feel rather proud of myself for being an anti-cosumerist. Thanks Freecycle. =)
The Inner Urge To Do Something Reckless- Bike to Ithaca!
To top off the random $#it I've been up to, I've been researching on architectural/landscape design competitions, and graphic design competitions. One is due in April, the other is due in the summer, but registration is March 5. I know, I'm mental aren't I? You are too, and again, don't lie. Another reckless thing I've been contemplating is buying a bike and the proper gear to bike up to Ithaca. I seriously was going to do something similar while I was up in Scotland, but I didn't have the time nor proper training to do it....plus, I have really bad luck with bikes. Did I tell you that I've had 3 bikes stolen while I was at USC? All were red by the way. Go figure, next time I'll buy something NOT red, and maybe I'll get lucky.
Back to my bike trip, I was thinking about bringing along a light sleeping bag, tent, and maybe pitch up camp whenever I need to. Once I get to Ithaca, I have a contact there. He's a rather unique person actually- an sculptor from one of the north mid-western states. I met him through Craigslist, as he had posted an advertisement for a room to rent for a night. I needed to head up there to see Cornelle University's agriculture program during 4th of July Weekend some 3 or so years ago. When I first met him, he wasn't bad-looking, but I found out later that he had just gotten out of a divorce with a Portuguese woman (or was she Spanish?). You could imagine he was probably in heat. I don't blame him- I bet life is not easy once you're divorced. Bummer... Anyway, it turned out he didn't have a place to rent, so he instead offered me his room for half the price while he slept on the living room sofa. That was fine with me, as long as he didn't get fresh, and he didn't. Instead, he was one of the nicest guys I've ever met; and I bonded well with his two dogs- a golden retriever, and a rochester terrier. There's more to this story, but I guess the point is it might be nice to see how Sean is doing for old times sake.....maybe the garden outside of his workshop is already fully grown. Peppers and garlic galore!....and maybe his terrier has puppies. =)
Do you think I'm being reckless? I know I should be realistic about my expenses, and believe me, I usually am. Maybe I'm on a high right now- I feel like running or taking Argentine Tango classes again. Something needs to be done, but what?? Maybe it's the impatience I'm having to finally get my parent's project done. Once it's out, there's going to be much reason to celebrate...and hopefully by then my finances will be better sorted out, and I could finally take that trip to Ithaca....oh how beautiful that place is! Before I leave you, here are a few images from my last trip several years ago. Enjoy!
Love,
Lesley Ann
ps: Sorry, still don''t want to be bothered with html. You'll just have to scroll to see my old pics from my last trip to Ithaca. Can't wait to go back. Thank you much, muahh! ♥
Sheesh, what was Sean's dog's name?? This is going to linger in my head for a while.
Epic day to be out biking!
Nice blog...
ReplyDeleteThanks! =)
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