Lab Work and Landscape Work

I spent 3 days back in Mississippi to do some work in the lab for my thesis Wednesday and Thursday, and a flower bed installation on Friday. This was my third trip back to Starkville during this first month we've "been away." I think people are getting tired of telling me bye. I did get to stay with the Franci and relive some Colonial Arms times.

My work in the lab was boring and probably a failure once again. My hope now is to be able to drop it from my research. It is only a small aspect and not needed in my opinion. Unfortunately my opinion doesn't count for much in that area.

Friday, I got to transition from being inside all day to being outside all day. Matt and I got hired to install a landscape bed at a residence in Columbus, MS. These kind of jobs are not my expertise when it comes to recommending materials. The type of stone to use as a border became quite the ordeal. We picked up the rock on Friday morning and got it laid out. They weren't really happy with it and we didn't have enough. So we loaded it back up and went with some stone from Lowe's. It was a manufactured stone, so it didn't have as natural of a look as the other, but it was much easier to work with since it was uniform. We got started around 9:30. Matt had to leave at 3:30 and it took me til 6:30 to finish up. It was quite hot with no shade. I am still soft from working in an office for so long. I probably drank 2 gallons of water, while ( I spent the summer in Asia living off rice) Matt barely broke a sweat. The day went well overall considering all the changes that were made. The large rock was the most difficult step because it was so hard to shovel into the wheelbarrow.

The basis steps to the job were:

1. Dig up the sod avoiding any underground wires or pipes.
2. Dig up soil to create depth to hold gravel.
3. Put down landscape fabric to prevent weed germination.
4. Build stone wall border.
5. Put down layer of pea gravel to mask fabric and soil.
6. Put down top layer of small river rock.
7. Clean up.

Here are some before and after pictures.

First Day

I've often heard the phrase "This is the first day of the rest of your life." While it holds true for everyday it really has an impact this past week. Up until now every phase of my life has been just that a phase. There was always an end in sight, with the next step more or less laid out. Now that we are "done" with school there really are no next steps. Unless something unforeseen happens, we are here for good.

This was my first week back at Longscape. I'm not sure if I'm going to stick with that name, but it works for now. It was a great week and a lot of fun. Other than the oppressive humidity, it went very well. I had work to do everyday and several new leads, which was very encouraging. Its also been good that I'm not "full-time" right away since we have lots of transition stuff to still take care of. Also I want to organize both of our businesses correctly from the start so we can focus on quality and not quantity.

We don't have another wedding until October 10th, so that will allow us some time to catch up on photos.

Neshoba County Fair

I'm pretty behind on my blog. I go back and forth about whether to go back and catch up or just move on and don't miss the next thing. I'll try a slight recap.

This was probably my fourth time to the fair. I was introduced my Simon, whose family owns a cabin on the fairgrounds. If you don't know about the Neshoba County Fair, it is unlike anything else of its kind. The fairgrounds turns into a bustling city 10 days out of the year. Three story cabins sell like penthouse suites. I like to think of it as a week long family reunion. People who grew up going to the fair anticipate the 10 day event the whole year. The area is somewhat frozen in time, forcing many attendees away from modern conveniences and to focus on relaxing and conversing with family and friends. The slow pace was very much welcomed by myself.

We merged Simon's bachelor party into opening weekend of the fair due to everyone's busy schedule. It worked out nicely. Plenty of time with all the guys, good food, and lots of rest.

Haircut

Its been a crazy couple of weeks. We've spent a total of 3 nights in our new home since we moved 10 days ago. We spent 4 in California for ASHS conference and 3 back in Mississippi for Simon's wedding, both of which I hope to write about soon.

We got back to Birmingham around noon and I tried to organize the mess we've already created. Its hard to keep things neat when you're living out of boxes and on top of their stuff that's already here. We've managed to spread out over all 4 rooms upstairs. I have claimed one room as my dresser, just organizing my clothes into piles on the floor. Rebecca is using the entire base of a wall to line her shoes up. It makes sorting laundry much easier.

I was due for a haircut and per a request from my wife, I buzzed it. I think she likes the way it feels more so than how it looks.  The times I have done this in the past was in order to save money, but I already cut my own hair, so its not saving any money. Maybe a little time and shampoo. I think my mom has always associated it with me being sickly. Don't worry Mom, I'm not malnourished, just trying to streamline things.

One of my favorite lines from Gary the Barber, where I used to get my hair cut:

"You know what the difference is between a good haircut and a bad haircut? ...... About two weeks."