I am a terrible and recalcitrant procrastinator.
Comes from a genetic condition called being born bone idle lazy. There have been scientific studies of me just to prove the biological support for this condition.
Like any fabled grasshopper, I am averse to any challenging labor.
I would have happily existed without any completed major accomplishment.
Goes to show you what marrying a relentless taskmaster can do for your productivity.
Indeed, if I wasn’t married to an overly industrious woman, I never would have gotten off my ass, gone back to college, completed law school, or performed any one of the millions of tasks I have completed over the past 47 years, including writing The Claire Saga.
So, you must understand how frustrating it is as a professional lazy bastard when you promise to set aside some time to specifically handle a summer project, and try to actually get to it before the summer ends, and then something beyond your natural proclivity to avoid doing it gets in the way.
Just not fair.
Well, yesterday, I finally attempted to clean the feral cat houses for Smokey,
and Mittens a.k.a Mike.
Now Mike’s bunker has sat under the protective canopy of Jack the Spruce for a few years now.
It was originally Smokey’s but she vacated it when Lisa decided to offer her better accommodations actually on our front porch. It seems the new box matched the gestalt of the home exterior.
Anyway, yesterday was the day I allotted to actually spruce them both up. Now Smokey’s house was easy peasy, pop off the top and basically brush out the cat bed and wipe down the interior. Done.
The Bunker has more moving parts, you have to twist and turn the top cover like a Chinese puzzle box to get it open and the interior is a foam lining, which you have to handle carefully so as not to break it.
And we had a heater running to it which has to be maintained.
Well, I pulled it apart and gave it a good cleaning, and sent the heating system inside for Lisa to test.
Once I cleaned up the bunker, I was ready to reinstall the heating system and return it to its spot under JTS for another few years when Lisa came outside to inform me that, not only did its heating pad no longer work, but that she wanted a heating pad installed in Smokey’s cat house.
She had already found an upgraded set of two on Amazon. It was in the cart.
It would get here Tuesday.
Well, I for one was not having any delays in my completing this task.
I hopped in the car and then spent the next two hours going to every store in three towns that could possibly have those heating systems.
Nothing!
Well, it wasn’t a total waste, I did get to commune with a really cool Crow during my travels.
And managed to stop and pick up some delicious Tai food takeaway for dinner.
But even those traveling experiences didn’t quell the disappointment I had in now having to wait until Tuesday to complete that project.
Which reminds me, I now have to drill a hole in the back of Smokey’s cat house to run the wire for the new heating system to the outdoor outlet.
I knew I should have put off that project until the Fall.
And the day wasn’t a total loss, as we had a beautiful dusk when I went out back to serve dinner to Claire and Honey.
The house looked magical under the half moon.
And Boot Hill’s fairy lights were looking mystical.
I took solace in the knowledge that, as a proud procrastinator, I don’t need to complete tasks to appreciate beauty. As a matter of fact, bone idle laziness may have sharpened my aesthetic eye. Sitting on one’s ass, doing absolutely nothing, provides a wonderful perspective when it comes to observing the world around you.
The feral cats won’t mind the short delay in rehabbing their sleeping accommodations, as they more or less sleep al fresco during the warm summer nights, both appearing out of the Grotto brush when I come out to feed them in the early hours, and summer actually doesn’t end until the Fall Equinox, on September 22nd.
Mañana, mañana, mañana . . . .
Well, before tomorrow we have today. And that means some other chores that I can’t put off.
I hope you fine, five readers have BBQs and last minute pool parties to attend.
If not, pick up a good book, find a comfy chair and relax.
And no matter what else we get up to, let us make today a great one.
9 Responses
Aaah, no rest for the weary- or is it the wicked? In any case, the beauty in the accomplishment, and in the sunsets make it all worthwhile.
Sitting on my ass, watching my animals, is one blessing of having been unemployed for over six months. On 9/15 I start a new, entry level (at 50-years-old) job, and am already missing these times.
If it makes the life you enjoy living possible, then any/all employment has intrinsic value. Don’t fret over over the status level/title of your job, KW, as you will remain just as cool as you were on 9/14. And your extremely Willardesque, bad ass menagerie will love you just as much as always. Finally, if I could be 50 again, I’d jump at it. You have many years of better opportunities awaiting you.
In my case – definitely wicked.
You say you are lazy, I feel like I’m following a day of a young energetic child who floats from one shiny object to the next. I wish I had half your energy!
Those are two lucky cats.
I am lazy but complaint.
that was mean to be “compliant”
that was meant to be “compliant”