Day 19: Off My Mark.

Today was a tough day. It started out with my first breakfast of a banana, an apple, and some grapes, all washed down with breakfast tea. It was wet and rainy, so I had to pack extra clothes to change into once I got to Dwain's. He called and offered to come and get me, but there are a couple of reasons that I said no thank you. The easy one is that the less of a burden I am on him the better I feel about our relationship. Secondly, I like to put myself into extreme situations so that if I'm ever in an extreme situation I can deal with it.

Okay, so this isn't a hurricane and there wasn't lightening, but it was raining and I had to navigate the wet streets on a bike in traffic--I've not done anything like this in years. So it was good practice to put myself out there.

We had a nice breakfast of eggs and fake sausage, which is really real but not meat. Dwain said that his friend asked why he ate fake stuff that tasted like the real stuff. And Dwain said that it is not the taste that he wants no part of, but, rather, he doesn't want the animal. Me too.

We talked a bit, but we were both off this morning. Maybe it's the weather; maybe it's the stars in the sky; maybe it's world in which we live.

We got into the shop, and I know that I'm making my own instrument because I stamped a number into it: 1-1. It is number 1 because it is the first and the -1 is the model, which is a student model. I told Dwain I have a problem calling my machine--or one that I'd build in the future--a student model. He said that it is called thusly because it is what his students would make in a workshop with him (Dwain calls these workshops classes, but since I'm writing I'm using what I think it should be--if you work in a shop setting it's a workshop. But if I'm lecturing to you and perhaps we work its a class. Stupid semantics!). So it makes perfect sense to me to call a machine a student model.

I worked for quite some time to get the fretboard flat and straight, but I did it. I really enjoy using planes, but it will take some time and practice to get good with them. One important thing that I've realized, and I'm sure this will translate to a lot of things in my life, is that with some focus and detailed attention I can correct very specific and minute imperfections or wrongs. I wonder if there is a plane for war; I'd call it a war plane. Or a harmony plane.

We got to have the company of another set of legs. This cute guy has a set of lungs, for sure. I'm not sure what he says all of the time, but I think he was calling me out today because my beard is redder than his! I'm not totally sure, but I just put my beard up in a bun and hoped that he forgot about me because he'd already bitten one person today--and that was the woman who loves and feeds him. And she bled!

Dwain tweaked, twisted, compressed, or did something to his back. He was in a cursive L shape for a while. Plus, we were having a lot of difficulty getting a machine set up. And then once it was set up one of my great book matched sets of wood came apart. There are several things that may have happened, but it is tough to say which one. But I will make sure to check my work more carefully when I'm doing that in the future.

So we knocked off early and went to get fried foods. I ended up getting a turkey burger smothered in cheese, and I piled on pickles and peppers. Plus I had french fries, lots of french fries.

We talked a lot about business stuff and possibilities, how to set up my shop, how to work into a bigger place. It is in these moments that I know I'm in the right place because I realize that sometimes I talk at people too much. I forget to listen and converse, to let the words ebb and flow with the ideas that are dancing behind another's eyes. I know I'm in the right place because Dwain and me are creating memories, stories, and even myth that I will take into my future. I am so thankful for a wonderful wife who can see the potential for our growth in art and music and supports me as I'm worlds away learning much from a teacher who is giving all.

Then Dwain dropped me off, and I did some research on stuff, you know, homework.

We were measuring my fretboard to make sure it was not becoming wedge shaped. I planed it so that there were less than .008ths of an inch difference on opposite edges of the board all of the way up. Not bad for my first one, but it took quite a bit of work to get it there!

But my point is homework. So sometimes I look at images of dulcimers or read luthier's blogs or look up materials or whatever. But sometimes we use tools with which I'm not familiar, like calipers. I know what they are but have never used them. Dwain just started using them one day and gave me a quick lesson. But the lesson didn't quite stick and numbers and measurements that small are just foreign to me. So I found this online tutorial on reading calipers. Now I'm a pro, and today I got to prove it. I don't think that Dwain questions my sincerity, dedication, or work ethic. But he did acknowledge them today, and I'm glad.

Then I had a teleconference with the Zinn Committee guys. I like being involved in action for peace, although, as I've told you, I don't really know what peace is. Maybe someday I will, and I'm seeking harmony now, which makes way more sense than peace.

Then I walked around a bit because I had to go to the store. I took the long way, and I'm glad because it was a beautiful sunset!