It’s early-March 2023 now, and my next trip back to Mississippi is in July. A few weeks ago, the five piers for Container #2 went into the ground.
Next steps are a whirlwind. In June, Container #2 will be delivered, and in early July, when I’m next in Mississippi, the crane will return to lift it onto its piers.
As a reminder, I (Clay) live and work in California, and I go to Mississippi four times a year for a week or so. Our project-completion goal of October 2026 might seem a long way off but the other day I did an exercise that really put the fear in me.
First I wrote down every imaginable task that has to be completed before move-in: framing, electric, insulation, flooring, drywall, kitchen cabinets, bathroom tiling, plumbing, HVAC, etc. It was a long list, given that only one of our three eventual containers is on site.
I then created a spreadsheet with a block for every trip home before retirement. There were 14 of those blocks, and I began plugging in the various tasks. There turned out to be room on the spreadsheet and time on the calendar for everything that has to be done, but with absolutely no room for error or delay. This is where the fear hit me.
Now, some of these jobs will move faster in the future than the first time around, such as framing and insulation, for which we devised techniques and worked out the kinks already. And once the piers for Container #3 are in the ground later this year or early next, pretty much all our work can take place rain or shine.
Everything is therefore doable, but because I tend to worry about everything I’ll surely be worrying about this.
Time will tell…
You got this, Clay!