The Shape Of Tomorrow

[Ryan]

I’m here.



Boulder.



The mountains are doing that thing they do at dusk where they turn purple for about fifteen minutes and make you forget every bad decision you’ve made in the last six months. It’s a hell of a trick. One minute your shoulders feel like they’ve been beaten with a ball-peen hammer, the next you’re standing there staring at a ridgeline like some wide-eyed tourist who’s never seen dirt rise above sea level. Then the sun disappears, reality comes back, and you remember you can barely lift your arms above your shoulders.



Moving a house is hard.



Moving a shop is hard.



Moving both at the same time is something else entirely. Somewhere along the way the math quits working. Every box you tape shut somehow gives birth to two more hiding behind a workbench you forgot existed. Engine parts wrapped in moving blankets. Shelves full of inventory. Books. Cameras. Tools. Half-finished projects bundled in oily shop rags like evidence waiting for a detective that’ll...

Continue reading...

 

[Bessy]

You're way more motivated than I am, because my shop is still nowhere near where I want it after moving almost 20 months ago, but it is getting there. One thing I have found is to pick a corner, or a wall, and finish it. Then move onto the next. Repeat until finished, or you've gone completely mad, whichever comes first.

In all seriousness, there is light at the end of the tunnel, Ryan. I'm sure you'll probably find it sooner than I will!

Cheers to you, Sir!

 

[y'sguy]

Thanks for checking in!

The place look workable. Enjoy Boulder, I'm sure you will.

 

[minke]

When one of my babies went to school there I went to church at

https://www.mcguckin.com/

Thirty years from now you'll laugh when you find yet another
unopened box.

 

[Squankum]

Wait, what happens in a decade?!

 

[Ryan]

When one of my babies went to school there I went to church at

https://www.mcguckin.com/

Thirty years from now you'll laugh when you find yet another
unopened box.

I didn't know about this place until this past Sunday ironically... Really great independent Hardware store. I was impressed.

 

[Sumboodie]

I moved a 3 bed house, 2 garages, plus outdoor stuff that I lived for about 12 years in 4 days. No pregame.
Garage alone took a full day.

Got home July 1 and was in the new place July 5

 

[Sumboodie]

I moved a 3 bed house, 2 garages, plus outdoor stuff that I lived for about 12 years in 4 days. No pregame.
Garage alone took a full day and 2 26ft U haul trips (even load so much the bumper scrapes? Plus 2 flatbed truck loads.

Got home July 1 and was in the new place July 5.

I even moved 15 yards of gravel.

 

[mike93lx]

Nice! Is the store front just part of having some shop space away from home? You mentioning reception was making me wonder

 

[OccupantRJ]

We got wiped out in the hurricane Floyd floods here in 1999. Lost two houses and had to start our lives over with three kids living in a Holiday Inn room. Today I am prepping one of the last two metal shop cabinets still left to refurbish from that event 27 years ago. That journey was the inspiration for my avatar on GJ. I can feel your pain from here. I’m still tired. Never ever give up the garage.

 

[larry4406]

We moved 12 years ago.

Still unpacking boxes….

 

[RonnieC]

…you’re standing there staring at a ridgeline like some wide-eyed tourist…

This made me smile.

 

[M.Brane]

Nothing in my life has worked out the way I thought it would. Not that that's a bad thing. It's taught me it's all about the journey not the destination.

 

[Ryan]

Nice! Is the store front just part of having some shop space away from home? You mentioning reception was making me wonder

Yeah… it’s a mixed use park. Old tenant was some CrossFit operation. My neighbor on the left is a cabinet maker and on the right is a guy that tutors developmentally challenged kids. Both spaces are far nicer than mine… i think that front room was used as reception.

 

[tarmy]

My son lived in Boulder for about 7 years…nice place and the University is top notch (they charged for that too). Ironically, I am flying out tomorrow AM to Denver to help him move back to CA for a job…loved hanging out and exploring in the Flatirons and beyond…

 

[nitroracer20]

The new shop is going to be great. Looks super promising. The moving grind *****…but keep going! It always comes together.

Colorado has a special place in my heart. My best friends from college moved to Longmont about 15 years ago - not too far from Boulder. Anytime i visit and drive down Diagonal / 119 looking west those mountains just blow my mind. Its breathtaking.

And i always love coming back from Steamboat - down in elevation from snowboarding - and winding up in shorts playing frisbee/soccer at their place.

Great luck. It always comes together. As always, i enjoy following along.

Don - down at sealevel

 

[Cruzan80]

…you’re standing there staring at a ridgeline like some wide-eyed tourist…

This made me smile.

Even after living here for years (and where I am now, I see an amazing amount of the Front Range from almost Boulder to the Springs), my wife and I still stop and admire sunsets. Not so much the purple, as the version where it is about 15 shades of red/pink/orange/yellow, all at the same time.

Watching storms roll in is fun too....

 

[smokey0810]

Just remember that altitude sickness is real. Let your body adjust to it before you do anything really stupid like riding a mountain bike or running a 5k….lol….there are not many things more breathtaking than a Mountain View, and it never gets old. I get to drive into Palo Duro Canyon everyday for work, and the view never gets old. Good luck with unpacking and getting settled Ryan.

 

[Sumboodie]

I moved a 3 bed house, 2 garages, plus outdoor stuff that I lived for about 12 years in 4 days. No pregame.
Garage alone took a full day and 2 26ft U haul trips (even load so much the bumper scrapes? Plus 2 flatbed truck loads.

Got home July 1 and was in the new place July 5.

I even moved 15 yards of gravel.

I should mention this was 4 years ago and I've still not unpacked much of it.

 

[littlebean]

at some point the unpacking ends and the enjoying begins - best pf luck

 

[Lassen Forge]

Hey, we jumped the pond 4 years ago and I'm STILL unpacking and setting things up. At times I wonder if I'll ever be done... but it's still fun.
And like you and the purple mountains, I go out before sunrise and watch the sun hit the olives and grapes and forest on the hillside opposite us, and it just blows me away we landed in a place that just grabs you and holds you, so beautiful it sometimes makes you tear up.
Welcome Home, Ryan, just be careful hitting the floor - I'm finding getting back up from that ain't as easy as it once was!!

 

[NUTTSGT]

Misc room would make a good spot for a kitchenette. Cabinets, counter, mini-fridge, microwave, Kuerig/coffee. . . maybe sink if you can tap into plumbing through wall.


Looks like sprinklered space. Use extreme caution around those sprinkler heads. You will not only be impressed but depressed if you ever find out how much water comes out of that little head if you accidently break it. Word of wisdom, find out where the shut off is for the system.


So you're about an hour and a half from Menard's now...Cheyenne,WY.

 

[mike93lx]

You will not only be impressed but depressed if you ever find out how much water comes out of that little head if you accidently break it.

And with how unbelievably nasty the water is

 

[Notgrownup]

We are looking a piece of land and then I think WTF is wrong with you. I’m 61, Mrs is 70. Do I really want to move. My neighbor situation will change eventually. I like my place but it’s the people around. I feel for you Ryan. I wish you the best.

 

[goldtang]

When one of my babies went to school there I went to church at

https://www.mcguckin.com/

Thirty years from now you'll laugh when you find yet another
unopened box.

You made me laugh with the unopened box , quite few years back I helped a mate move house, he was there for about 4 years , got to help he move again, in the back bedroom there was about a dozen boxes not opened from the first move , joking I said can we just chuck them in the bin , his wife’s comment was no we made want something in there

 

[kaehlin]

Nice! Keep us posted

 

[WisJim]

We moved 100 miles back in 1989 and then again (4 miles) a few years ago and there were boxes that had never been unpacked from 89. Lots got thrown out or donated. We've been in the new place 4 years I think and I'm still trying to find things that I thought I'd organized and labeled. And now the wife keeps showing me house listing in Colorado. We're now in Wisconsin.

 

[OccupantRJ]

And with how unbelievably nasty the water is

Usually smells great too!

 

[gahrajmahal]

You can take a day off too. Letting your mind shift gears to something else will restore your will to live. Can you say Hawaiian weekend?

 

[67King]

We just moved into the new house with workshop in December after a nearly 4 year long build. We had been in the old house since 2007. At first, I was desperately working to finish the old house to get it listed in the Spring. Had a setback with some cracked ribs and broken fingers along the way. Since then, I've been focusing on things here. And I finally got the last cabinet hung a few days ago, so I'm finally getting most of the stuff off of the floor. Still have to run power to my mill and bandsaw, and put in some shelves to get the last few things off of the floor, but it has been a long process.

 

[FJ 432]

Congrats.

Just keeping remembering the old adage

How do you eat a 2,000 pound elephant?

 

[wandrur]

Love Boulder. Lived there for a good number of years and grabbed a few degrees, too.

Enjoy the beautiful scenery and keep us updated on the shop progress!

 

[CoogarXR]

2 years ago, we bought this house out in the boonies because it was cheap. We weren't really planning on moving, we just thought it would be a good investment (as we have had experience fixing up disaster houses before).

After a year of working on it, we decided to move into it.

Long story short, I didn't even have a "shop" at the new house. Just a tiny 1-car attached garage. There was a 30x30 barn, but it was too far gone. But we loved the peaceful location so much that we moved anyway.

I crammed all my shop contents into that 1-car garage. It was stacked so tight, it was a misery to do anything in there. I usually just took whatever I needed outside and worked in the driveway.

Over the last year, while still working on the house, I had the old barn demolished, utilities trenched in, concrete poured, and a 30x50 metal shop built.

But then, I got to move my shop contents again. Sure, it was only 100ft across the yard, but I still had to touch every damn item again. Everything is moved, but my shop is still about 40% what it needs to be. I have to finish the utilities, frame/build my offices and bathroom, ugh. So much still to do.

So yeah, I feel ya.

But at the end of the day, I walk the dog outside and I see the stars with no light pollution. I hear nothing but the occasional car on the nearby rural highway. And the peace is so worth it.

 

[BMWBOB2]

I grew up just north of Boulder in Timnath, just across I-25 and just off Harmony Road on the banks of the Poudre river. It was idyllic. FoCo had about 35,000 people when I left town: virtually no air pollution, driving College Ave end to end took about 20 minutes.

Just after Boulder started the “Zero Growth Ordinance”, I was temporarily transferred from MT back to CO at Longmont. Luckily, I was able to find relatively cheap housing for the 11 months I was there from a family friend: an 2 room old miner’s shack.

 

[RonnieC]

Even after living here for years (and where I am now, I see an amazing amount of the Front Range from almost Boulder to the Springs), my wife and I still stop and admire sunsets. Not so much the purple, as the version where it….

Actually I smiled because I was thinking Honda Ridgeline.

 

[Smilodon]

This is a curiosity question, not a value judgement.

Why would you get your shop setup in a rental space not at your house? Is a more rural area that would have the space for that not desirable for one reason or another, or is there some advantage (tax, cost, better choice of homes/areas?) that I'm missing? Or do you just like that arrangement better?

 

[Cruzan80]

Actually I smiled because I was thinking Honda Ridgeline.

All good. I completely missed that (subtle) reference. Here in CO the top of the Front Range is called a "Ridge Line", the same way we have an actual "Telluride" and "Palisade", not just Kias and Hyundai.

 

[Old Man Roger]

So is this like Joe Dirts mullet? You know, business in the front party in the back?

 

[Codyboy]

I should mention this was 4 years ago and I've still not unpacked much of it.

4 years! Come on man. Those are rookie numbers.
I've still got boxes from 20 years ago.
In the process of moving again and at least those boxes are already packed!
lol

 

[trexdoink]

I think there’s an atomic clock in boulder. It use to flash on the TV, 5 seconds before the news started so you could set your watch.