Some of this stuff could easily have been dumped to the curb and people would have passed it by. You'd not have known it was worth saving or that if you did it would be at all attractive. So, as it turns out, it was worth saving and it looks splendid. I've learned a lot about something I amy or may not ever again encounter. That is once project O is finished. Lots to do there, but the nature and quality is different. O's stuff leaves no question that it is worthwhile.
One thing is certain, this project J person got more out of me than I estimated. It was my choice to spend more time and go to a little more trouble than at first I planned. That is my downfall; I get lost in the spirit of the thing rather than think how I am minimizing my hourly reward rather than maximizing it.
There are times, on other jobs when I've maximized the returned for the time put in, but not always. In this case, it was worth it to me to do things I had not planned and to experiment and learn.
The real test will come when the hotshots are back in town. He has a rep for being a little tough to deal with. There is no way he could be justified doing any less than nominating me for the Nobel Teak prize. Feedback from others has been good. You never know with the mega wealthy. It is a different world from even the rather wealthy. I tend to like something about that world though, the little I know of it. These people work and do things intelligently. I do not resent their wealth. I appreciate it. They pay my rent. Wealthy people leave a wake of jobs behind them, directly and indirectly.
I may end up somewhat wealthy, if it remains legal to do so long enough. Or I may remain hand to mouth, day by day and month by month. Teak reconditioning is not likely to make me rich, unless I write a book. Maybe The Teak Diaries, a la Motorcycle diaries by the most adored psychopath of our times.
Must be that there is some Zen Buddhist Monk in me. I know I should be concerned about the future and retirement, health care, and of course The Planet, but I find I can ignore all those things and be pleasantly satisfied thinking only short term as I try to make art out of patio furniture. That is one strange thing. Even so, as I commune with the flowers and trees and sandpaper, I do wonder about many things I refuse to define here.
