The Blurb

This school year is in its death throes as summer plans tighten their stranglehold on our schedules. It's obvious by the glassy-eyed students scurrying about campus and the freshmen's complaining about how busy they are going to be studying for all their killer finals that we're reaching the break point. So I decided to kick things up a notch.

Enter the dumpster I call a job. I'm not complaining--I'm being descriptive. And accurate, as a matter of fact. See, Buddy-o-me works for Realtor. Realtor was contacted by Dude-who-bought-trashed-house for help getting House cleaned out. Realtor suggested Buddy, Buddy offered to let me help.

I couldn't refuse--a chance to earn a little money, get off campus, do some manual labor, and have claim to any cool things found in the house. So Andrew and I had a little meeting with the dumpster. Three hours later, Dumpster I succumbed to our onslaught and had to be removed. We went back today to finish off Dumpster II. A couple of basement rooms piled to the ceiling with trash indicate a third dumpacy will fall before us later this week. They can bring it, and its accompanying summer cash, on.

That's the manifest outcome of our labor. The latent outcomes may be equally rewarding.

• An old computer speaker system with a touchy connection and a kickin' woofer now crank out my iTunes playlists [I had to break down and play Pirates of the Caribbean of my own accord to hear some checkable bass].
  
• I enjoy my Kool-Aid much better drinking it out of my new cocktail glass.
  
• I've not yet determined how I'm going to use it, but who wouldn't want a blue light bulb. Seriously.
  
• I know how to use the bead necklace, but it won't be happening any time soon. It's always a joy to expand the "To Use After Bursting the Bubble" collection.

It's been a fun experience, all around. A bat (earmuffs, little ones) lost its head when it got in the way of our garage takeover. The bees-nest threatened to present a problem until we found it to house but one bee, who kindly flew away after chasing us around the garage for thirty seconds or so. We found a circular saw blade in the middle of the kids' toy closet. Messed up sense of fun, if you ask me. Some random neighbor decided to help us clean out the garage so he would feel justified in taking some parts off the junk car in the back. He couldn't stand throwing away all the cans, so he collected them, turned them in, and deposited his third of the proceeds. Hey, he got $3 out of the deal. And the car he decided to take. It's OK, it would have given us an unfair advantage on Dumpster IV.

It's been a learning experience. I've learned sometimes you just have to roll up your sleeves and get down and dirty if you're going to accomplish anything. I've learned that many—or at least several—hands make light work. And I've learned that guys' dorms aren't so insanely messy after all.