The past week now I've been working with my wife's father on a landscape lighting project at a mega-rich person's house in the DC area. Rich as in huge house, gorgeous yard, two german sports cars, multiple custom motorcycles and all the trappings. I've learned a few things from the experience of installing landscape lighting that are worth noting.
First, manual labor in 90 degree plus weather sucks. I'm proud to admit I'm an air conditioning afficionado and it's only with a great deal of difficulty that I've learned how the other half works. The first day of the project, I thought I was actually beginning the process of dying just as we knocked off for the day. The second day, I learned that losing some weight might not be a bad idea for more than just my health. Dropping some weight might help me reduce the surface area of my body available to the nearly infinite number of mosquitos hovering around me in the chokingly thick air.
On day three, I learned that wearing shorts without mosquito repellant on day two was a really, REALLY bad idea. My legs look like I absorbed several shotgun blasts at medium range, and the itching is unbearable. I also learned that chiggers are not your friends. OFF brand 'Active' spray is effectively the defensive hand of God.
Day four taught me to drink ice water directly from the dirty spout of an unwashed cooler without flinching, as well as to appreciate an unexpected gift of gatorade as if it were liquid life.
Time to go rest up for day five.
