July 20, 2011 Day 45

So, today was very difficult. I'm still working on my grandmother's audio video systems. We've totally taken apart the front wall with the fireplace and bookshelves. We're going to change the mantel, put in an arch, and then put the 60" Sharp LED TV inside of the arch. Then, we're replacing the bookshelves and putting in glass shelves with lighting. It's going to look really sharp. I've taken the doors off the side cabinets and we're having that covered with speaker material. So that's going to change too. I'm putting the subwoofer down in than cabinet. On the other side will be all of the A/V equipment. Also, in the ceiling, I'm putting five B & W speakers. It's a lot of work. But it's not easy at all.

Let me tell you about today's adventures in remodeling. Everything was going fairly well until the A/V tech found out that he couldn't install a speaker in a certain part of the ceiling…the hard way. He cut a hole in the ceiling and then found out that this is where the truss changes direction. I mean it was an honest mistake. He was being careful and using the stud finder to try and locate the direction of the trusses. It really was an honest mistake. He got the rest of the speakers installed just fine. Of course, there was me, my grandmother and the two cabinet builders in the room. My grandmother put on one of her famous displays which make most people run for the hills, some turn to religion and I turn red from embarrassment. I felt very bad for the guy. My grandmother was on the phone with the home theater store in a heartbeat. Tomorrow she intends to talk to the manager and complain about the tech. The tech really did nothing wrong. I can't side with my grandmother on this. While the tech was standing there finishing up his part of the job, I really felt the need to apologize for my grandmother's behavior. However, she's a grown lady and I have no reason to make apologies on her behalf. So, tomorrow after she and the manager have talked, I'm going to call him back and tell him that in my opinion the tech did what he was supposed to do. That there is nothing wrong with what he did. It's a small hole and it's easily repairable.

That brings me to another thing that bothers me. She was talking to the cabinet builder and he was going on about how they'll never match the paint, that the hole will always be visible until she paints the whole ceiling. He asked her how long ago it had been since it had been painted, and she said three years. Well…a lot has happened to that ceiling in three years. For one thing, hail had hit the roof and water started collecting inside of the attic, and bowed some of the sheet-rock sheets out. You could see nails coming out of the ceiling. She's since had that repaired and that part of the ceiling repainted. So you can see a line where the paint is newer in that part of the house. Also, she's had a problem with one of the ceiling lights which required some work. There are little square patches there too. Also, several years ago, the plumbing upstairs was bad and leaked into the ceiling…there is a square cut-out there which has been repaired. This ceiling has seen better days since she's had it painted last. But of course none of this matters because the tech cut a small 7" moon shaped hole in the ceiling…and then repaired it as much as possible.

The cabinet guy even said with all of the work she's having done, there's a good chance the guy whose doing the tape and bedding on the new wall might just go ahead and fix that for free…as a favor. So I see no problem. I promise, with a project this large, if that's the worst thing that happens, we're doing very well.

The fact is, my grandmother just doesn't like this installer. He's very quiet and reserved. He pretty much just wants to do his job and doesn't do all of the sucking up a lot of people do. He's just there to install A/V equipment. He isn't looking to add Facebook friends. We're not going to keep in touch and exchange Christmas cards every year. So get over it. He's not a salesman. He's an installer. Got a problem? Call the salesman. That's what they're there for. After the hole in the ceiling, everything of course became his fault. He didn't put plastic down on a sofa over four feet away. He didn't cover up the curtains lying on the ground with a tarp. He got his hand prints on the ceiling. (He really didn't but…) My grandmother just really wants to blame him for everything, and it's unfair. I don't like it. After she got through throwing her fit and even recruiting the cabinet builders to join in on the bashing she did this…now keep in mind, the tech is still in the same room with her. She spoke of him in the third person while the third person was still there. She looked at the cabinet builder and said "he didn't even act like he was sorry." Really?! How do you know what his emotional responses usually look like? Should he get on his knees and beg forgiveness? I just thought she was so rude to them.

After they left, she looked up at the ceiling and saw hand prints and said…"and look…he just left his dirty hand prints all over the ceiling and walked away." First off grandma, there were two other people working in that area…and for much longer periods of time than this guy. If he was leaving prints all over the ceiling, how come he didn't leave any prints on the rear speakers? As for all of the fucking dust in the room, could it damn well be from the motherfuckers tearing out the entire wall? I mean SON OF A BITCH!!! Of course here is where I get personally involved…I'm the one who hired them. So it's all on me. All she has done is bitch all day long. Even bitching about the fucking system I put together two years ago…"I can't get this remote to work right…come fix this!!!" Look grandma, I love you, but point the fucking remote at the equipment when you're pressing buttons.

Well, I'm sure there is more I can personally bitch about today, but that pretty much covers it. You get the idea.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot something. Tomorrow begins my forty day religious fast. I'm pretty much just going to stay in my room, read the bible, do some yoga and walk…but mostly just read the Bible. It's going to be pretty rough to begin with I think. But this is something I feel strongly about and want to experience.

The fast involves a lot of things I've never done before as well as stopping smoking cold turkey and no caffeine. I'm sure I'll feel like shit for about a week, have lots of headaches and withdrawals. But I am determined and we'll see how it goes. 

July 15, 2011 Day 40

Well, I've been VERY busy with building my grandmother's home theater…or the Audio Video project. It's not really a home theater. But I've been going over there just about every day this week to talk to the A/V installers and the builders. We've paid for the equipment and now we're just seeing when everyone can get together on this. I think it's going to be awesome. And it should be, I've put a lot of work into it. I know God has blessed this project because the equipment was going to go over budget. I talked to the Home Theater Store and they sent back an offer that was just under my budget. I couldn't believe it. I mean that was really the hand of God on this. I just felt it.

Also, I finished my Master Cleanse diet and I'm so happy…I can eat about. I really feel like it's a lot easier than it sounds. I mean even I balked when I thought about not eating for 10 days and only drinking a lemonade concoction they suggested. But I did it anyway and it's really worth it. So if you're on the fence as to do it or not, go ahead. I lost 10.5 pounds of weight. My body fat went from 20.5% to 14.5% which even though I'm sure there is some error in these measurements, I did lose a lot of weight fast. Also, I lost almost two inches off my waist and my gut. This morning when I started eating again, I started with juice and by this evening I had some chicken noodle soup and then for the bad part, I had some chips and cheese dip. I know that's a bit much for a first day off of this diet, but it's been ok.

Tomorrow I'm pretty much going to take things easy and I'm going to keep my diet simple. I'm going to cook some homemade soup and just sort of nibble on that all day.

I'm going to link a few videos, so you can see what my last day and conclusion of the Master Cleanse diet are, as well as the A/V system I'm building. I think this A/V system is really going to be cool. I can't wait to watch some Pink Floyd on it. 

July 9, 2011 Day 34

Hmm…let's see here. What all has been going on. It's day five of the Master Cleanse Diet, and I do not like it at all. I feel weak, sluggish, and hungry and my blood sugar is all over the place. I know a lot of it has to do with stress. I've been working on a home theater system for my grandmother as well as trying to get the cabinets built, so I'm talking to two different A/V stores and installers and the cabinet builder. I don't think the cabinet builder is listening to me and my grandmother will not listen to me either. My grandmother wants the fireplace mantle lowered 4 inches and that's beginning to interfere with building codes. When I mention something the builder never just says "ok sir, well do it your way." He always disagrees with me and then makes his arguments against my ideas to my grandmother. Now we are in the middle of getting this built, and I see a lot of mistakes being made…but there's nothing I can do about it. I say "this," and he says "that" to her. I point out a mistake he's making and he wants to increase the price $200. I mean it's just one bullshit thing after another. In the end, I think it's going to look wrong. I'm a very visual person and my grandmother is anything but. Also, I tend to be a perfectionist and when things don't go the way I want them to go, or there is something still not right with a situation, it bugs me to death. I think this is to blame for my sugar problems last night and today. I'm really stressed out. The solution to all of this stress is really simple yet almost impossible for me to implement in my life. This is her house, and her money, and she can do whatever she wants to do. I have done everything she has asked me to do. I have gone over to talk with the builders, we disagree. I have picked out and negotiated a very nice home theater system and now she can decide if she wants to spend the money. I need to just back off and let her take it from here. If she needs to ask me something…I can answer her questions. But emotionally I need to detach myself from this whole project. I am trying to do that now, but it's hard. But that's the direction I want to take for the rest of the evening. Just stop thinking about it. I have several other things I want to do with my time than sit around and worry about something which I have no control over. Not my strong suit, but I'm gonna give it the good ole college try.

Man, five days with no food. Amazing and I am wondering if I'll be able to make it to the end. I get a little dizzy sometimes when I stand up to fast. So things are really getting interesting. This evening I plan on reading about different religions. I want to briefly look at Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, and Protestant and orthodox Christianity. I've got a lot of questions about all the different religions. So it should make for some interesting reading. Sometimes though…the more I find out, the more questions I have—impossible! Maybe in a few days I'll calm down. I go from feeling completely mellow and relaxed to being an emotional basket case. Right now I'm a little in between.

I've also been spending a lot of time watching YouTube videos and I've made a few since my last post. What else…I think that's about all I can think of for now.

I just need to chill the hell out.

July 3, 2011 Day 28

I've been reading a lot about detox diets and Master Cleanse. The Master Cleanse is basically a diet where you drink a sort of lemonade. You can find the basics of it all over the internet if you're interested. So, today I am going to start preparing for my detox diet. I am going on a variation of the Master Cleanse which I read about on the internet. I really have no idea of what to expect. I think it'll be pretty intense and all. I'm also going to quit smoking cold turkey for this detox diet. I want to get the full benefit of it and experience all of the things most everyone else does. It'll be tough for the first few days, I'm sure.

Also, I've been reading a lot about meditation centers. There is one called Vipasanna. It's a ten day meditation course where you go stay at a meditation center. It's all run on donations, and basically you spend ten days doing nothing but meditation. I'm interested. It's not a religious thing, and from what I understand it's pretty strict. No smoking there either, so I figure I can smoke for about a week before the course begins and I'm going to take full advantage of this time to smoke all I can. I read their website and all of their rules. I don't think it's an impossible thing to do, but I do think it's also pretty intense. I filled out the application and now I'm just waiting to hear back from them. I hope I get accepted. I'd love to see what this is all about. They have a lot of these retreats. Some of them last as long as 45 days. I can't imagine not speaking to anyone or even acknowledging anyone for 45 days. But, as a beginner, I'm not qualified for that course, so why worry about it. I just think it's interesting. It's another thing to scratch off of my bucket list.

Let's see…what else. I got the bid back from the last Audio Video installer. We got the bid also from the cabinet builder. Between me and my grandmother we've exceeded the budget by about $1,800. So now I get to go back and see what I can take off of the list. But first I want to pick the installer who's going to actually do the work. I mean it's so much trouble to sit there and negotiate all of this with anyone. Also, my grandmother doesn't understand why these companies can't just send people over to her house and give a firm bid. She doesn't want to pay the $100-$200 most stores and companies want for a professional consultation. She thinks it should be free and I can sure see her point. But I can also see the other side of that coin too. I mean what are the chances you're thinking you want to spend $5,000 on a home theater and when the installers get there, they say it'll actually cost $8,000, and the homeowner decides they don't need a home theater after all. I mean a lot of people just want to dream about it and I'm sure a good handful of people go so far as to have plans made up. It cost money to send these guys to your house. They're not cheap either. So if you want it done right, it'll cost. So we're now down to two companies. I'm really ready to get this show on the road. I'll be really relieved when the decision of who to hire is made and the checks have been written. Then all that will need to be done is the actual work of installing and rebuilding everything. They only way something can be my fault, is if it doesn't sound or look right because I picked the wrong company. I trust both of these companies very well and I'm sure they are both very well qualified to do the work. So I really see my part ending when the money changes hands.

Tomorrow I'm going to do some more videos on You Tube about the Master Cleanse Diet and how I'm coping. I won't be fasting tomorrow. I will be on an all liquid diet though—beef broth, tomato soup, and lots of juices. Oh yeah, and vitamins. I can still smoke tomorrow, so that's good.

Oh yeah, tomorrow morning I have to go the airport at 5:00 AM to pick up my aunt and uncle. They've just spend the last ten days in Hawaii. First they went to the Big Island and then to Kauai. They have a time share there. It's pretty nice. If I ever make enough money, I'm moving there. It's where I want to live now…dreams are good.