CONSTRUCTION: OFFLINE FOR THE NEXT WEEK

Much delayed, the remodeling on my home is finally getting underway early tomorrow morning. Most of the work involves the replacement of all the PVC piping in my walls, floors, and ceiling (along with new showers, toilets, dishwasher, and washer/drier). Not only will several walls cease to exist during this construction, but there will also be gaping holes in my bathroom and ceiling ceilings.

The work was actually supposed to begin at the start of this month but was delayed by several factors. The latest past start-date was this Monday but that was postponed until tomorrow. Now it's do-or-die and I talked with one of the contractors today who assured me they would begin work promptly at 8:00 tomorrow morning.

I had originally planned to stay at home during the construction but I realized that just wouldn't be possible. Almost everything in rooms not affected by the piping, etc. will have to be covered to protect my personal property from dust and damage. It's kind of difficult to work at the computer or do audio/video editing under a plastic sheet! Also, I wouldn't have been able to use any running water during the entire time.

So, I've decided to move into a motel for the 5-7 days work is estimated to take. This means I will be completely offline during this period (unless I sneak a few minutes on a friend's computer to check e-mail). For someone who actually conducts most of his work online, that will be difficult.

But at least it's an opportunity to get caught up on some reading (I have three or four books I'm working on right now and have only been able to manage a couple of pages per night, if at all). Maybe I'll do a bit of in-city sightseeing as well -- I tend not to visit many of the local sites unless I have visitors to show around and then I don't always get to spend as much time as I'd like at certain places. It's actually been almost ten years since I drove over to the Petroglyph National Monument (on the west side of Albuquerque) and it's been a couple of years since I rode the tram (the world's longest) to the top of Sandia Peak.

Or I could take a day-trip: When I first moved to New Mexico I spent all of my free time exploring the mountains and forests of northern New Mexico but virtually ignored the southern part of the state. Although I have gone to Carlsbad Caverns a few times (in the extreme southeast corner of the state and a regular family destination when we lived in west Texas in the early 1970s), the farthest south I've driven to a "new" destination has been the Socorro area. There's a lot to explore south of Albuquerque such as the NASA facilities and museums in Alamogordo or the historic and scenic areas around Cloudcroft. Silver City is probably too far for a day-trip, however (it's very scenic around there), as is Las Cruces (a very historic little city -- my only journey there was a flight on a tiny plane, one that shook like crazy causing me to think we were doomed, to testify in the Hollywood Video murder trial six years ago).

We'll see what, if anything, I end up doing. The one thing that is certain is that I'll be very happy to move back into my own home (and be able to use the plumbing without worrying that it'll burst!).