CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

digitalayon · Joined: 02 Mar 2009 Posts: 921

Well this has been a fun year boys. Got a new position at work that pays a bit more but requires 50+ hours a week. Then I got stuck working on my roof for a few months. My parents decide to move from Cali and be only 20 miles away from me. My mother drives me nuts. My wife's father got cancer again and decides to not opt for treatment. So we have been making trips to see him as much as possible. 675 miles one way on those trips. Last week my grandfather passed away. Dude was 92 but did a lot of visiting in the hospital and nursing home the last 2 months. I had several procedures resulting from gallbladder removal including stones in my bio-duct this last year. Both of my boys are now heavy into sports so I support all events and games and have been pulled into volunteering. And now my oldest daughter has started piano and violin while my youngest has started toddler dance classes. All I want to do is work on my f*cking theater sometime. I jack-hammered and removed brick months ago and that's where I left off. I was all set to send Mike Parker my neck boards and VIM but got ran over by the life train. Even if it was all finished, when would I get to watch a flick? Sorry for the rant boys.....just frustrated.

CasetheCorvetteman · Joined: 09 Nov 2008 Posts: 6326 Location: Australia

Sounds like a busy time there mate, although i have no family other than my mother and grandmother as well as live on my own, i too work well over 50 hours most weeks. Although im much better than i was a little while back, i still feel very tired and run down by the end of my working week, one day off and then straight back into it.

I had two weeks off from work back a few weeks ago after my employer became quite concerned about my health, and while i had every intention of doing some work on my projectors, i pretty near did nothing at all.

I only finished putting the XG back together and setting it up last week after the conversion to LC, it only took me 5 months or so!!

More recently ive installed the new MOOME in my CineMAX, then wiped all settings and redid them, had a go at getting the 3D working with no real luck, and wound up buying a 3D Fury to try as well.

Id love to get in and solve the minor issues with the 3D and complete the XG settings, but i just never find enough time to relax!! I have watched a few blurays lately though, but ive also got a half finished home thats been on the go for a few years now. Its been difficult to get anywhere with that on my own because putting up a ceiling isnt really a one man job sometimes.

I dont where you find the energy to do all youre doing!!

digitalayon · Joined: 02 Mar 2009 Posts: 921

Thx Case....I'm actually running on empty right now. I would also like to get my four wheel drive project of of the ground as well. But I have no clue when that will happen. As for the theater itself, I am pretty much ready. I mean I bought wood to build the framing for the stage. I have the speaker wire purchased as well as the wall plates. Drywall and insulation are sitting in a storage shed. I even bough some acoustical flat black latex paint for the ceiling and walls. That was pricy sh*t right there. And carpeting cannot happen until I Install the sump pump. I did buy it but I need to get the jackhammer and it is going to be a mess. Projector has been up for 8 months covered in a sheet. Screen is covered in painters curtain and needs a pressure wash i am sure. But at least I am taking a week off in April. My old lady and I are celebrating our 15th anniversary in Florida.

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 4:02 pm Post subject:

Now that IS life getting in the way of play.

Sorry to hear about your grandfather. The old guys are some of the best guys.

digitalayon · Joined: 02 Mar 2009 Posts: 921

well its even worse now.....Christmas eve I will be assembling toys toys and more f*cking toys!!!! Wife just brought home 2 wagons in addition to 3 bikes we ordered online, and a play kitchen. All in boxes and un-assembled......DAMMIT!!!!!! Just once I'd like to sleep on Christmas Eve. Raising 4 kids will put me in my grave. How my grandfather did it with 8 and a smaller house I WILL NEVER KNOW!!!!

digitalayon · Joined: 02 Mar 2009 Posts: 921

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 5:38 am Post subject:

Wow you were lucky to have known him. A guy like that is irreplaceable. Did he ever write down any of his mods? If so save them!

digitalayon · Joined: 02 Mar 2009 Posts: 921

Mr. Green · Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2014 5:30 am Post subject:

Wow, I thought I had a lot going on and you take the cake man! WOW are you busy. Sorry about your granddad. Those old guys were the most amazing. I often think how "they don't make them like that anymore" is a true statement. Sure everyone knows someone like that, but everyone from that era seemed to be like that. What an amazing and interesting life he seemed to have. My dad, who was in the Australian air force in WW2 had all kinds of great stories. He would have been 90 this year. To this day I feel a fool that I didn't visit him more when he got sick and recorded all his stories (which he told more of near the end). It's been 5 years and I can't remember much of them. I would have loved to been able to re-tell them to my kids. That or video record them so the kids would know who he was.

Back to task at hand. I've been slowly picking at my basement just so I can have the projector roof mounted, 2 comfy chairs in the rumpus room with ottomans and a pull down screen. That way the rumpus/play room turns into a theater at night and we've even watched about 10 movies in the last couple months. I've been picking at it during one of the three "half hour" naps the baby gives me these days. I've even made some good progress purging and tidying. If only I had a full week of 10 hour days to do nothing but work on the basement, I think I could get somewhere. I envy any of you who will actually end up with a true theater when they are done. So many look amazing, but I hear you when no matter how much you want it; there's never enough time. For now I've given up on my idea of turning half of the 6 foot high crawl space into a theater behind a hidden door of bookshelves. If I'm here in this house long enough, I'll do it, but I'll be going back to work in February (approx) and I know from the theater section of the forum I need a full year based on the amount of free time I get.

Is it possible for you to maybe ask family to watch the kids for a weekend Even just a Saturday from 10-5? That way in the days before get "everything" you need to work ready. Then, the minute the house is quiet, you can head down without needing to find anything and just start working on it? I don't know you personally nor how you work or organize your time but having been pulled to my break point due to being busy/stressed; I've found a method that works for me. I've found myself using a white board and putting things up in the most basic terms. So instead of "build stage" I'd actually list each step so the stage which is probably a few days work now is broken into say five 3 hour long chunks so everyday you can wipe something off the board. It always feels good to take something off the list.

I found when I was overworked with work and kids, even if I had time I'd stand there looking around with my hands on my hips wasting time being too clustered to do anything. As soon as I put things out in simple terms it was literally: "Take all moving boxes out of crawl space and stack against rumpus room wall". Move 20 boxes. No instruction, no thought, I just did it and I found I was getting more done. If I had a half hour instead of "sort the moving boxes and put stuff away" which would have seemed to daunting. I'd aim to empty just one box. After I did the one, I'd check on her and if she wasn't stirring I'd do another. If she woke up half way through, I had already completed the needed task and had a head start on the next days task. Instead of being overwhelmed I found I was getting lots done and there wasn't much stress involved. Not sure of that will help you, but I can't function without it these days. The great thing for me is the work I'm doing now should end up with that part of the crawl space being completely empty so when I do get time, it's game on!

I wish you luck and look forward to your theater thread having lots of progress posted very soon.