On the Finca – Part 4

Yesterday morning I departed on the drive to the farm with a head full of plans and a heart full of excitement. I wanted to install a new door and rim lock, replace a toilet, and maybe even install the 1,100 L water tank up the hill in back of the cabin. Nine hours later, I returned to Julia’s family home deflated and defeated having barely accomplished a mere door installation. Suffice to say, it wasn’t the greatest day.

After a night of rest and a day off from cabin work (we have driving restrictions which on Fridays which prevent my going to the farm), I am happy to report that I’m feeling much batter and have come to some positive and painfully obvious realizations.

1. The only predictable aspect of our world is an approximate balance. For as many productive days and beautiful views as I come across, there are just as many futile endeavors and gray skies. Learn from the bad so that you may cherish the good.
2. Progress isn’t linear. The journey from nothing to complete can’t be graphed with “y = mx + b”. I once had a brilliant teacher who told me to imagine progress as “gradually lifting a large cloth into the sky, pulling by only one point at a time”. As one area improves, others may fall stagnate or even regress. In the end, though, every bit of work you put in is towards an eventual result of elevation and improvement.
3. This one’s a little more practical. Read the instructions. If a company provides specific directions for a product that they design and manufacture, they’re most likely accurate and necessary. If the installation manual for your rim lock gives you a method for determining the proper length of your torque bar, don’t go with a longer length because it “looks right”. Don’t ask me how I figured this one out…

Well, that’s about it for now. I’ll let you know when I finally do get those other projects done. Also when I get a new rim lock…

See ya.