west of philly - bob

Keep a diary of what you're hitting, what's frustrating you, and your goals.
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Ian Brill
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Post by Ian Brill »

You are welcome- that is exactly why I gave you those challenges

Btw, I think Ken is on to our conspiracy... :)

EDIT: let me know if you want me to cut and paste anything into this top of the page posting.
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

to all the people out there that have garage doors but never lifted a finger to install it, and have never really reflected on how lucky they are.... as kathie griffith would say... suck it

ha ha, sorry, it sounds funny in my head

seriously though, my door is in and my front wall in the barn is sealed up and sheathed. and i did every bit of it. and it was extremely difficult. but man do i feel good that i got it done.

tomorrow, relax, footbag, maybe start framing the exercise room after kids are in bed
Bob R.
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

fun day yesterday. the rain finally stopped (at least for one day) so we met with some friends at this awesome park in Kimberton PA. All the kids had a ball, we had a picnic lunch, played on the playground etc.

Got home and played footbag in the shred barn. Loved it as usual. I'm improving at lots of stuff that is only obvious to me probably. But whatever, I'm happy with what's developing for me right now.

More hanging with the kids afterwards. While Emi was still napping, Keegan came out and hung out in the barn with me. He rode his trike in the barn, practiced climbing my ladder (I spotted him), threw my footbags.. Then we brought his gator out to the yard and he drove that around while I "bombed" him with various frisbees and balls. He loved that game. We were just chilling. Meg got home from wherever she was and Emi woke up. More good family times.

After kids bedtime, I got one wall of exercise room framed, and got the bottom plate nailed into place on the other side of the room. Again used the 22 caliber ramset which makes a hella lot of noise. Thank goodness I invested in good hearing protection at the start of all this work. Will finish (hopefully) framing the room tonight, then it's on to electrical work.
Bob R.
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

most difficult wall in exercise room framed last night. kicky tonight, maybe frame the "built in" area if I have time (that's where fridge/tv/stereo will be recessed into the wall). hoping to have all of it framed, windows installed by end of weekend
Bob R.
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

kicked for 20 minutes last night. I was too beat to do any more. So I switched to barn building when it was clear I couldn't play effectively. I just need to be done barn building for awhile. Pushing now to get to a good stopping place (i.e. having the finished room functional/closed up/insulated... electrical run)

got the bump out nearly framed. Did the hard part, ran out of lumber. 2 more sticks needed for that area to be done. Will get the wood and do that tonight. Probably work tomorrow night and friday night instead of kicking so I can get done faster. I have to frame the last wall, the exterior wall, tie in the barn siding, cut the window openings, install the windows.. then meeting with electrician saturday, should be wiring next week. That's gonna suck.
Bob R.
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

lowes trip (I hate lowes btw) with keegan last night.. he loves "just the guys" as he puts it. Put his car seat in my truck, that makes him feel like a real big shot. Let him ride on the skid that I used to pickup lumber. Taught him how to use rachet straps. Held hands as we walked around the store. Sometimes it's the little things that make you happy.

blah blah blah, barn building, blah blah blah. Probably won't kick for the next bunch of days as I put the final push on. So exhausted.
Bob R.
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

framed windows in exercise room last night. exhausted
Bob R.
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Ian Brill
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Post by Ian Brill »

Sounds like things are going well. This shred barn saga is truly epic. I can almost see a Frank Miller graphic novel coming out of it. Black and white- lots of introspection and profanity...

I may have some wauxpin footage to share with you. I'll just have to wait until it's sent and reviewed.

I hear you on bing exhausted these last few days. Pennsylvania has just been nasty. I think it's commendable that anything gets done in this sort of weather.

I am excited about taking two days off from footbag as well. One of the most important parts of the sport.
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Sporatical_Distractions
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Post by Sporatical_Distractions »

you're hardcore. wake up. kids. work. house. kids. work. shred. work. sleep>rpt. one of these days, some random person, like me, is going to be sleeping in your pimped out barn. where are the spinning barn rims?
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

spinning barn rims.. nice, have to look into that :-)

I'm hardcore out of shape right now, that's for sure. I feel so fucking fat. This whole thing started with me wanting to save the building, and so that I could have a good place to get skinny/stay skinny. At the time I was skinny. Now, not skinny. Mother fucker. So close to being able to dedicate my free time to my health. So close. Can't wait to get good at footbag and be skinny!!!!!!!

anyhow, picture time!

The truck took its first trip into the barn!

Image


The windows in the exercise room turned out great. There's another window just like this on the other wall in that room. So TONS of natural light pouring in there. Really brightens the space right up.

Image


I got those windows done so nicely, that I thought I'd apply the skill set to the workshop windows while it was fresh in my mind.

Image

And then, because the windows will look out onto the street, and I don't want people to be tempted by all the tools to break in.. we prettied up the new workshop windows (sorry, blurry picture) so that I can close the curtains when I'm done working for the night.

Image


Tonight, I KICK. Tomorrow night, I KICK AGAIN.

This week is all about reading electrical how to books in preparation for wiring next week. So, that means I can kick a lot this week!!
Bob R.
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

kicking last night was so fun. My energy level was pretty good considering what I've been up to lately. And even though I had to mow the lawn before hand, and have otherwise been hard on my body lately, my legs were springy. And playing in the shred barn now that I have windows galore, really made a big difference. So much light in there, it really helped my energy even more.

My weakside is really disappearing on a lot of stuff. That's really cool. Doesn't make my game look twice as good or anything (because it's the same tricks you've all seen me do) but I know the difference, and some people watching will be able to tell too.

After kicking, shot hoops on the basketball court for a little. Then, started clearing off the 1/2 of the court that is covered with lumber. By end of tonight I will hopefully have it fully cleared off again.

tonight, kick again!

I need a day off
Bob R.
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

footbag was fun again last night. My runs feel so fresh and new to me even though they're the same as I've always done, the difference really being that they're pretty much entirely weakside instead of strong side now. Oh, and spins and gyro are incorporated more. And atomic is getting more consistent. And stepping set is better and more even both sides. Ha ha, starting to feel better about my game again.

My consistency is starting to shoot up now. All the weakside stuff that I was dropping on isn't getting dropped. I'm still a few weeks away from where I want to be, but I'm very happy with recent progress.

Will play again tonight, it's too much fun right now to take a night off.

Oh, and I really like my practices right now. Just freestyle strings with an emphasis on certain components and weakside. So it feels like I'm just shredding, but at the same time, lots of reps on needed tricks.

---
After kicking I shot jump shots. I attempted to keep count up until 50, but my brain gets side tracked, so I was probably off a little bit. By my count, I went 37 for 50. All turn around jumpers from about free throw range, but from all over the court. Embarassing showing. But my shoulder held up (and that's 2 nights in a row of shooting righty) so I'm going to try to keep it up each night. I didn't shoot any weakside last night.

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Then I finished clearing all the lumber off the basketball court and sweeping up. Yay, we have our play space back! The kids will be thrilled when they see that today.

Of course, that means that I have to get cracking on lumber storage solutions in the barn, because now the entire garage bay is filled again (in addition to the 2nd story being stacked with vintage lumber)

---
Oh, and I edged the yard last night too

---
Been doing very well in terms of eating right (that's never a problem really), and skipping beers after working. My weight is going to plummet quickly.

---
that was supposed to be a quick update.. it wasn't
Bob R.
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Drew
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Post by Drew »

Shred barn is looking great! Class is over on monday so I'll have to make a trip and check out the progress, looks like a ton more natural light!

Good to hear you're feeling good about your shred and flipside. I've been trying to be more both sided lately and it gets frustrating, but I know it's worth it in the long run.
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

what up diggity... yes please, come shred at the barn. just let me know. even a week night after kids are in bed (around 8 pm) works fine. weekends are better.

tons more natural light. you'll really like it, it totally changes the mood of the space.

my floor mats are still in limbo unfortunately, we'll see about that. but the concrete has been fine on my legs, just forces me to think about hard landings a little bit.

Btw I might really need to call on your assistance to help install the drywall in a couple weeks. It's just too heavy for Megan, and it's not a one person job. I can mud and tape solo, but getting the sheets screwed in will take us probably 4 hours or so. You'll get beer and burgers after though.... let me know if it's doable.

-----
Last night I took a night off. Damn it. ha ha. Man did I need that. I went out to play and realized that I was just sooooooo sore and soooooo exhausted. So I did no barn, no shred, no yard, no nothing. Well, I did move some plywood to the second story, clear out part of the basement, and shoot 100 jump shots on the driveway. But that's nothing. :-)

But otherwise, I spent the night reading my electrical how to book. It's all making sense pretty easily. I've done a lot of research already, so this is just pulling it all together. It feels like studying for a test. As I read, I take notes on key topics, mark the page number for future reference etc. It's a method that is tedious, but works well for me.

Tonight I should feel good enough to kick. I'm looking forward to it.

need to get that room buttoned up soon... heat wave season is upon us. Need to be able to run the AC unit
Bob R.
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slapdash21
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Post by slapdash21 »

imma pm yo ass.

everything looks good.

i bet making something awesome like this exactly the way you want it must be SO much more gratifying than buying it/paying someone else to build it.

i dunno if i could ever play you in one-on-one...i doubt i could take losing to a peyton manning look-alike with a bit of pudge :wink:
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

you'll see the lack of pudge next time you visit... burning so many calories on this stupid barn it's ridiculous. I tell ya what you little skinny bitch, I'll play you lefty (seriously.. shoot only lefty, dribble with either hand) and spot you 5 points (game to 11) and it sill won't be close. Then we'll talk some more. How bout that? :wink: right back at ya

i totally look like peyton manning, my neighbors say the same thing. too bad I'm not rich, funny, or talented like him. Hmmm, that's a bummer.

edit: I'd never want to renovate another barn like I've done this one. That is, if I were to do another barn in the future I would want:
- barn entirely empty from day one
- separate, temp controlled, work trailer (most likely a moving POD as a workshop)
- I would completely strip the building down to frame only so that I could more easily lift and move it
- Then, the rest of the steps pretty much as I've done them except I'd only want real board/batton finish at the end.

The way I've gone is WAY more cost effective, and the building will be very useful, but it was REALLY REALLY REALLY hard to do it this way, and it will never be perfect. The other way, I could get it perfect.

But yes, the short answer is that it is very satisfying to take something useless and make it extremely useful, and to do it all myself. I don't think many people can say they've accomplished something like this, and I'm honestly very proud of it.

I will someday build something major from the ground up. Possibly our future house. Maybe another barn. I'm not sure yet, but I know I want to do something big and have it end up perfect.
Bob R.
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Post by C-Fan »

Rieferman wrote:i totally look like peyton manning,.


:lol: :lol:

I never thought about it, but now that you mention it, it's completely true. That's pretty funny.

And for the record, I still really want to come visit and play some footbag and basketball. If I do though, I need to play some pickup before I go, cause I haven't balled in ages, and I'd be super-rusty. I figure that without a reliable jumpshot, there'd be nothing I could do to prevent you from just standing under the rim the whole time waiting to block my layups. :oops:
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

nah, I'll enjoy picking your pocket all day more than blocking your shot. :-) I might have to play righty against you though.. Bowler is a spaz and I know that, so I'm more confident against him. ha ha.

gots to love footbaggers trying to talk trash.

---
had a fun session in the barn last night. I can dyno very reliably on my strong side now. Weakside quickly catching up. That's sort of fun. Goal is to basically replace osis with dyno unless I really need to bail to osis catch. Oh, and weak osis is basically equal to strong now, so that's a win. Ummm.. what else. Weak diving is caught up. Could always duck on that side no problem, had trouble diving. That's fixed. Hit 5 b2b ripwalks starting on weakside, and then later on starting on strongside. That's a record for me. All the rest continues to improve steadily. Didn't do atomic, was sort of tired.

afterwards, wife continued helping me in the barn which has been realyl nice. She's working on cutting out this metal mesh stuff and blocking up sofit area so squirrels can't get in anymore. She's doing a really nice job and it's saving me from having to do it. Big win, big savings on my time - I really need to spend my time on skill work, so this is super valuable.

Meanwhile, I got the last of 6 windows completely framed. Just need to pop the window in tonight after work. I'm so sick of framing and installing windows at this point. It really makes a huge difference in the space though so I'm glad to have it done.

Little projects and lots of reading electrical books this weekend. Hope to start wiring after work each night next week. That would leave me one week to drywall (but not mud the seams) before my daughter's birthday party. My folks and others are coming to my house for the weekend, so I'd really be psyched to have the space semi-decked out for showing everyone.
Bob R.
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slapdash21
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Post by slapdash21 »

the last person i played in bball was jenn and i'll still skool yo ass
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

change of topic

I am hunting for someplace else to continue my blog. When I find that place, I will come here to let anyone know where it is.


---
06-29-09
until I figure out where I want to blog, I think I'll just edit this post.

really nice weekend. Good weather for once.

barn: got last window in above stairs. pain in the ass, won't miss putting windows in. built lumber storage, installed some shelves, put up tool storage for shovels etc. Place is organized and ready for electric. also had an epic fire pit on saturday night to get rid of old wood scraps. And then I moved the rest of the wood scraps pile down yesterday. It's stacked as high as my head. Another epic fire is on the horizon.

electrician is supposed to come over tonight so we can plan the project.

my neck went out this morning, hopefully I can take enough pain killers to get through it.

family: sunday was like mega day. In the morning, Keegan and Megan went to church. Emi and I went to flea market. Afterwards, we went to this amazing train exhibit. PA Steamers they're called. I don't know what scale they are, but you ride on them. But they're miniature. But really fed with coal and going through mini tunnels etc. It was really fun. After the kids rested, we took them to the pool. After they were in bed, Meg and I went out for dinner.

Neck hurts, can't think

-----------

06-30-09
neck still hurts.. really tired, hard to sleep with neck that kills. I won't be doing much for a few more days it seems like.

still thinking about homes for my blog. if I'm not blogging here, I don't think that there's actually anyone that would give a shit about reading. hell there's barely anyone here that gives a shit. So that means I'd just be doing a private diary. In which case, might as well just store it on my computer. But why even write it? Will I want to see it someday later?

later

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07-01-09
fucking neck is killing me.. and I'm getting a little depressed from it. I was so psyched to be through my hardest barn work, and to focus on getting skinny and shredding a lot.. and I got through the hardest barn work, and now I can't fucking do fucking any fucking thing.. damn it. fuck fuck fuck.

oh god I wish half the freaking people on modified would shut the hell up too. no one cares, can't we just talk/hang out on here without all the bull shit arguing? who cares? jeremy, shut the fuck up. everyone else trying to respond to him, shut the fuck up. all the weirdos and trolls, shut the fuck up. let's just talk hacky sack and be cool like we are at events when we see each other. it's no different here than at a tournament, at least it shouldn't be

--
07-02-09
HD trip last night to pickup all the electrical supplies. $861 later, I think I have everything we need. Electrician is coming at end of month to do the work, I have some prep to do between now and then but not much really.

we're officially broke at the moment. So, other than some wall covering (drywall and plywood) and some insulation, all other barn phases that aren't basically free, will have to wait until next year probably. And I'm FINE FINE FINE with that.

neck still fucking hurts, but mowing in the heat last night actually loosened it up. I will try to play footbag tonight and see how it goes. I really want to just have fun now for summer. Work's basically done, let's shred and do pushups and play with the kids and shoot hoops and have fire pit parties.

btw, youtube "firepits"
Bob R.
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