Real Life
Real life has a way of interfering with one’s plans. When I started this project, I didn’t anticipate how much upcoming events would impact my time. But impact they did, to the point where I haven’t touched my mirror in almost a month, and don’t expect to start pushing glass again for at least another week. This is the way of things.
For the curious, here’s are some valid reasons for shelving your mirror grinding project:
- Your mother-in-law is getting married. Your wife is a bridesmaid, so you are left to run a house with two small children for long periods while she is out organising… whatever bridesmaids have to organise. Time sacrificed: Lots.
- You are busy moving house. ’nuff said. If you’ve never done this before, mere words cannot prepare you for the stress, the labour, the time, the chaos. It’s a pain in the arse and it dominates your life until the process is complete. Time sacrificed: All of it.
- You are studying part time and have a boatload of assignments due, which have been neglected till the last minute (refer points 1 and 2, above). Time sacrificed: Depends – how badly do you want to pass?
I knew these things were going to be a big deal, of course – I’ve done all of them before. But somehow, when you throw them into one big heap together, they multiply into one gigantic meta-hassle which saps all available time and energy for weeks. It’s not just my mirror which has been left to collect dust – www.urban-astronomer has been left to its own devices as well.
The good news, though? I only have the studies to catch up on, and four assignments to submit (due Monday). And I found an interesting source of ATM information: Carl Zambuto‘s ATM mailing list at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/zambutomirrorgroup/. Not much practical use for a beginner like myself, but it’s always interesting to hear the professionals discuss advanced technique. It’s all meaningful information, which provides a little more insight into the whole mirror-making process.