: I didn't realize quite how special it was until I opened the
: JobPack and saw that it contained one blackened 80 grit sanding
: disk which I can probably use for another 30 hours of epoxy
: removal.

30 hours? Hey, I tossed the wrong one in the box.

: One of the requirements for receiving such a fabulous item of
: detritus is to provide a testimony starting with:

: My name is Nick and I am a builder. I used to be an electrical
: engineer, earning good money without working too hard. I left
: that about 15 years ago so on a good year I can make half as
: much building boats as I used to make as an engineer - even
: after 15 years. I went from earning a reliable pay check with 5
: weeks of vacation plus comp-time earned on trips to Hawaii, plus
: good insurance and a 401K with contributions matched by my
: employer, to selling plans to demented individuals around the
: world, getting splinters in my hands, barely taking a week off a
: year and almost never getting away from work.

: There are well known 12 step programs that exist to rehabilitate
: people who have less damage done by their addiction than the
: boat building sickness has done to me. I make myself feel better
: by selling my drug of choice to those poor lost souls around the
: world who dream of building boats as a way to support themselves
: in their retirement. I am sorry for the damage I have done to
: these sad people's lives and beg forgiveness from their family
: and friends who lost their beloved spouse or parent to the
: basement and garage.

I would like to believe that my divorce occurred for reasons not stated here but some days I can't be 100% certain.

: I have spent weeks pulling epoxy out of my hair. I have a 1/2 long
: splinter permanently stuck in my hand. I have ruined dozens of
: pairs of pants to splashed epoxy. My garage has weird patterns
: of drips on the floor.

Hee! Hee! Linda cannot believe I own so many semi-new pairs of jeans and t-shirts and have a tough time finding one single outfit that doesn't have epoxy on it. I keep helping her to understand that the epoxy protects the material from wearing out too soon. She hasn't bought that logic yet and thinks I should buy new clothes so that we can go to a nice restaurant some day.

: So, for all those who dream of walking away from their job, I
: highly recommend it if you want to lower your standard of
: living.

Nick, thanks for the great story...now we all know where it started. I'll send you a replacement name plate during the new year. I noticed the error of my ways only yesterday.

Robert N(eeds to learn to spell check more) Pruden