So, I went back to my notes and realized that I had skipped over a significant part of “My Renovo Adventure.” Before I started focusing on going to Jackson, Wyoming, I had started a woodworking class at Seattle Central College in the beginning of 2024. But then I stopped. Why?

The class itself took a bit of effort to get into because it was the class after the intro class which was full. So to get into it I had to demonstrate that I had some woodworking experience already. If memory is correct I showed the instructor this picture with my request to be allowed into the class.

That’s my canoe paddle which I decided to repurpose as a cane and perhaps ultimately a breadboard too.

Why I was needing a cane and decided to make it out of my paddle, well that’s another one of those stories that I may return to at another time.

But, believe it or not, I just went back and found out that I had done a whole post on starting up with this woodworking class in which I use that exact same pic for the featured picture. So, if wanting to go back in time for more, see [HERE].

Returning to the question of why I paused. Perhaps, I should note that it was not because the shop teacher and her his pronouns were out of whack. That’s common fare for Seattle. Nor did the fact that “he” take 10 minutes of class time to “kumbaya” about the unfairness of “Israel’s aggression to Hammas.” See, that’s the kind of shit you just have to determine the end goal is not worth pointing out its stink.

No, instead my mother-in-law was failing and my wife asked me if I wanted to go back with her to China.

Here, I will readily admit that I still enjoy going back to China to visit my in-laws. But, there have been a few times when I have refrained. But, I sensed that this meant a bit more to my wife and her family this time. The fact that my wife made all the financial arrangements certainly helped too. So, yes I decided to drop out of the shop class.

To miss too many projects would just not due and as it turned out my instructor was a bit on to me as there were plenty of basic safety protocols which I hadn’t been recently trained up on per their shop rules. In particular, this amounted to remaining muzzled with a mask – now not necessarily because of COVID, but rather to mitigate sawdust inhalation – and the continual use of safety googles.

As someone who has always believed my eyes are the greatest of my five senses, I took no umbrage with the later. But, not being in the habit this is where I think I failed to have them on my last day while using the wood planer. So, the idea was that it would probably be best to start from the 101 course at the time of my exit.

And this is kind of the point. Seeking to skip over the fundamentals is generally far from ideal.

Here’s a picture of the block which we were tasked with making in addition to a table and the toolbox (from both sides) from which were to accomplish this.

The fundamentals are the foundation of any skill and one just has to go through them in order to progress up any competency hierarchy.

So, both for the sake of being supportive of my wife and due to the need to return for the fundamentals, I paused my pursuit. It’s as simple as that and I’m glad I did. It was great to get back to China. While back we took a day to witness the old haunts in Hangzhou where I had worked for a real estate developer a decade and a half ago.

There is something eerily familiar and yet dissimilar returning to see what remains the same and what has changed from a place which had been at one time a fundamental part of one’s life. Now, my experience working in China feels more distant than many of my memories from childhood, high school, and college. How that is the case, I don’t know. But it’s a strange trick of the mind … about which I will no longer digress.

Instead, I would like to consider the next point of focus with respect to the purposeful pause. I’ll make that tomorrow’s entry.

Cheers! BZ/JUSTICE SMILES, pllc