Today I’m writing from our freshly painted office at the new factory! We got our desk and computers set up exactly 6 minutes before we had a meeting with the government yesterday to discuss how they can help businesses like ours increase our output to help meet the state's requirement of 800,000 plus homes in the next ten years.
Talk about timing! From their perspective we were two people sitting in front of a crisp white wall, discussing our plans for growth in the future. If I’d spun the camera around they would have seen a working construction site. Ladders and paint trays scattered across drop sheets is the vibe we have right now.
This week has been so physically demanding. I’ve done my 10,000 steps on the ladder alone. I have also discovered that painting the ceiling is my least favourite job. I have new found respect and admiration for painters who do this every day. I’m sure they’ll have far more efficient methods for getting the job done but I feel like I’ve run a marathon every day this week.
I also appreciate the meditative quality of painting a wall. The physical act of transforming a space is quite wonderful. Most of my professional creativity happens within a 25 inch iMac screen so spreading it over two whole rooms has been quite rewarding.
I still have the second coat to do in the kitchen today which will be the last of the painting then we can finally regain some order. I plan on being at my desk next week. Working. For money. I’m lucky that I have some very understanding clients… Thank you.
I’d also like to take a moment to thank my body. This last week I’ve put it through hell. At one stage I was helping Matt run 100 kg of inch thick electrical cable from one side of the factory to the other. We had to thread it through the steel beams along the roof which basically looked like that exercise that people do at the gym throwing that really thick rope. Only it wasn’t just a few 10 minute sets, it was two hours straight of running back and forth feeding Matt the cable so he could secure it to the rafters.
I was wrecked.
But I also did it. My 41 year old body has held up well to the punishment this week. I’ve put this down to my general fitness being pretty good because of the running but more importantly I’ve got yoga to thank. On non-running days I do a 20 or 30 minute yoga session through the apple fitness app when I first get up. The reason I do this is because a lovely older friend of mine told me a few years ago that I have to do yoga everyday for the rest of my life if I want to have good mobility as I get older.
I’ve been doing yoga (via the app) ever since and I 100% believe that it makes me feel better than any cup of coffee in the morning ever has. Spending the first 20 odd minutes moving my body deliberately sets me up for success. It's also very low impact so not having the energy is never an excuse.
Over the last week I thank yoga for preparing my body for doing shitty jobs like craning my neck for 10 minutes at a time as I paint the ceiling. For crouching down and painting metre upon metre of skirting boards. Most of all, I thank yoga for being able to touch my toes. The amount of stray screws and carpet nails I’ve had to pick up has made me feel like a human hinge.
With only one room left to paint I’m going to cut this week's entry short. What I’ll leave you with is an invitation to come to our next open day so you can see my painting skills (and our amazing Prefab Building system obviously) for real life!
