Building (another) dance floor

That's right, folks.

It's not enough to finish summer school on Friday and start a vacation. It's just not like me to spend the first day of the break putting up that foot, resting that broken toe, watching movies.

What can I say? I know how to have a good time. So I spent the day with three other guys who are affiliated with the dance studio building a floor in the new studio, which I assume will be referred to in the near future as "Studio D."

Mark, Jose, Garrett, and I got started at 9:00, and in the course of just eleven and a half short hours, installed a floating dance floor--minimally anchored to the floor, with a marley surface to be installed later this week.

The only serious trouble of the day--other than when we realized that the eight by four sheets of plywood were actually around eight feet and a quarter inch long, which meant we had to rip an inch or so off every third or fourth sheet so it would line up with the sub-floor--was the rain. Garrett had run out for his grandson's birthday party, so it was just three of us there when the bottom fell out of the sky, central Florida style. We had a rather large stack of plywood outside, still sitting on a flat-bed wrecker. So we were grabbing them and hauling them in, each of us hoisting one of these eight by four sheets, three quarters of an inch thick and every bit as heavy as you might imagine.

There were at least two good outcomes of the rain, though, which I hope will compensate from the impending soreness. First, it cooled us off nicely. There's nothing like getting soaked and then sitting (well, standing...or working) in the air conditioner to really cool you down. And second, it solidified our stance in favor of beer. Up to that point, we had floated around the idea of having a few beers later in the day, but after carrying all that wood, it was time for a beer run. And the rest of the day went much smoother as a result.

One interesting conversation from the early afternoon:

• Mark: If my wife came by, she'd say, "You've been up here all this time, and this is all you've gotten done?"
• Jose: If my wife came by, she'd say, "The reason you haven't gotten more done is that you're drinking beer."
• Me: If my wife came by, she'd say, "You guys have gotten a lot done. Can I have a beer?"

They agreed: I'm the luckiest guy around.