Can someone please remind me what the reward for doing nice things for people is?

[Oneslowz28]

I was asked by my church to build a small deck and wheelchair ramp for an elderly lady. She was just put in a chair full time and had an existing ramp that was rotting. The church donated $500 for the project.

I get there this morning and the back deck is still in place. Its covered in stuff and the surface is made out of plywood. (big mistake as it rotted quick and was very spongy when I walked on it.) So I check the joist which are pressure treated 2"x12"s They are fine. So off to lowes I head to pick up the lumber. I start loading the wood I will need up and some [insert explicit word] nabs my lumber cart while I walk off to get an employee to move the stack of wood forward so I can reach it. I do not see the culprit in sight so I start over.

an hour later I have the 50 5/4 x 6" x 8' treated decking boards loaded and the 45 treated 2"x4"s. I must have rejected 3 times as many due to warp-age and crowning. I grab the two treated 2"x8"x12' boards for the ramp joist and finally Four treated 2"x4"x12' and head to the fasteners for screws and joist hanger straps. Forgot that screws were so darn expensive. $28.93 for 5lb of 3" decking screws. I grab hinges for a gate, the joist hangers (cut my finger on the sharp stamped steel edge of one) and then I grab 60 bolsters (those little 1"x1"x36" pieces that go around the railing.)

I get to the register and pay for the stuff. Pull my truck to the loading zone and wind up loading all the stuff by my self onto my trailer because the 3 kids who are there to help load and unload think that their job consist of sitting on a pallet of sheet rock and tossing a hacky sack around. While I am unloading a mexican guy is waiting for me to move and I am sure I got cursed out 3 or 4 times in spanish.

On the way to the ladys house I get a flat tire on my trailer. It takes me 15 min to put on the spare. By the time I get back it is 1pm, I am starving and none of the guys from the church have shown up or called me. So I drop the trailer, run to mcdonalds and get a bigmac and eat. When I get back I move the things of the ladies porch and find 2 black widows (i am seriously afraid of spiders. Seriously I scream like a little girl) I take a crow bar and remove the sheets of plywood only to find 1 large wasps nest with about 15 of the little guys on it. I drop the sheet and run. they buzz off and I get the rest of the plywood off.

its 3pm now and the guys still have not shown up. So I start laying down decking boards. It is then that I realize that the box of screws did not have the special driver bit in it like they normally do. Luckily I find one in my tool box. I get 1/2 the boards down when it clouds up and starts to drizzle. So I tell the lady I will be back in the morning and she thanks me. I drive back to my grandmothers and park the trailer full of lumber in my shop and head home. I get home and notice that my football team were loosing and that I was out of beer.

Now I am going to relax and drink the 6 pack I just went and bought and take it easy for the night. I forgot how much work it is to do actual work. :D:eek:

[Mark_Hardware]

just think about how happy that little old lady will be. Maybe she'll pinch your cheeks and call you cute.
Hey maybe she has a cute granddaughter....

[BuzzKillington]

When I get back I move the things of the ladies porch and find 2 black widows (i am seriously afraid of spiders. Seriously I scream like a little girl) I take a crow bar and remove the sheets of plywood only to find 1 large wasps nest with about 15 of the little guys on it. I drop the sheet and run.

I LOL'd.

Despite all of the BS you had to go through I bet the lady deeply appreciates it. If everything went smoothly maybe you wouldn't have appreciated your own efforts as much?

[Oneslowz28]

I am sure she will be happy and I can not wait to see the look on her face. That will be my reward. It did feel good to build something with my hands again. Cute granddaughter would be nice. Well as long as shes 18 or older.

[Oneslowz28]

It does sound like a lot happened but the porch is 3 years old, had overgrown grass around it so I expected a few creepy crawlies and wasps. Around here wasps build nest in door jambs if you do not use that door for a day. I once found a nest in the wheel well of my truck. It had been sitting for just over 2 days.

[Zephik]

Dang! What a day! You just can't help but to think of the old saying "when it rains, it pours". lol

I once found a spider in my bed right before I got into it. It was huge, brown and ugly. I slept on the couch for two weeks full well knowing that I had killed the little ugly thing as soon as I saw it. Yea, I don't like spiders either. lol

The other day I killed a wasp with disinfectant spray. ...it was dead long before I stopped. I don't think ANYONE likes wasps. lmao

I blame school with all those videos with the creepy violin plucking music every time a spider came onto the screen. Seriously, who's bright freaking idea was that? I'm probably only afraid of spiders simply because everyone treats them like something to be feared. If nobody did, if everyone treated them like whatever, I bet I wouldn't be nearly as afraid of them.

[slaveofconvention]

Sometimes you get something for your trouble...

I use a local service called freecycle - I'm picky and never offer stuff, but I'll reply when people want puter parts, especially those that catch my eye for one reason or another..

Last week a guy was on there asking for a PIII HSF and a black CDROM... If someone is trying that hard to keep a PIII running, thats the kind of person I like to help - there are too many people on there just trying to get whatever they can for nothing so I sent this...

"Might be able to help you out here.

I don't have the Fan but I do have several Drives - although to be honest I can't guarantee they work which isn't the best offer.

How about a new PC? I have a Dell PC here, Intel Pentium4 2.0Ghz, 512MB RAM, 20GB hard disk, CDROM, Full legal copy of Windows XP Home and a load of other legal software too."

His reply...

"I don’t know what to say! Firstly, apologies for the late reply and secondly thank you very much indeed. If you are sure and please do be sure because it sounds too good to give away (if you change your mind I’ll totally understand), I will gladly accept the upgrade. I don’t work with computers, so I am using my local library, family and friends with computers to use the Internet as and when I can. Therefore I can’t guarantee when I will next be able to check my e-mails, but never more than a couple of days goes by without there being an opportunity. "

Anyway, I hooked him up with the PC - it's little more than a doorstop to me with the gear I have lying around here and today, after sending him a lil extra info (like how to get into the thing - it's one of those dells you need an engineering degree to access) he came back with...

I just wanted to say thanks again for your help. I hope you don’t mind me saying but you’re a blend of Santa Claus, PC World and ‘Jim-l-fix it’.

"I’ve had some fun setting it up. Before reading your e-mail I spent ages trying to open the computer case to plug in my hard drive. I kept pressing the rubber feet on the side of the case expecting the side to slide off. Occasionally I pressed the big button on the top, but it took me a while to realise that there is one on the bottom as well."

Once in a while, yeah, you get that warm fuzzy feeling instead of that "Why the hell do I bother?" one - and on top of that, he also gave me a couple bottles of wine as a thankyou - I don't drink wine myself, but I'm sure the wife will get her own warm fuzzy feeling from it ;)

[Oneslowz28]

I got the floor of the deck down and the ramp built. I am going back tomorrow morning and finish up the rails and gate. 1 person showed up to help me today but other that then stopping a shovel from floating away by him propping up on it I dunno what he did..... Wait I do remember him handing me a hand full of screws and a level at one point.

I forgot how much work it was to build a deck, and to think I used to build houses... Well I paid other people to build them. I put in 9 hours today on it and only stopped for 15 min to eat a sub. I screwed in just under 500 screws and only went through 1 bit. This has to be the strongest deck I have ever built. The original floor was 3/4" plywood and had joist spaced on something close to 18" centers. I have been putting down 2 screws on every joist which amounts to 14 3" deck screws per 8' board. My back deck which is solid as a rock has joist on 2.5' centers. This deck should last this lady the rest of her life and then some.

She did bring me some more lemonade today and kept me supplied in ice cold water. On another good note, I am about 4 shades darker now. If I work in the sun I tend to tan really dark. The g/f said she can not wait to see. lol. Hope she realizes that its a farmers tan.

[slaveofconvention]

I can just picture it - in 150 years the deck will be there and the house will be long gone - future archaeologists will be wondering why the hell someone built a wooden platform in the middle of no-where :p

[Oneslowz28]

Thats a possibility because the deck is treated lumber and the screws are guaranteed not to rust for 80 years. They have like a parkerise type coating on them. Kinda like a super hard powder coating.

[nevermind1534]

are guaranteed not to rust for 80 years.

Unless they're sanded/ground down.

[slaveofconvention]

I often wonder about these very long guarantees - I mean, lets face it, it isn't like they've used a set 85 years ago and just seen the first signs of rust last week so thought "Right, knock off 10% to cover ourselves, and there's your warranty period!"

[nevermind1534]

I often wonder about these very long guarantees - I mean, lets face it, it isn't like they've used a set 85 years ago and just seen the first signs of rust last week so thought "Right, knock off 10% to cover ourselves, and there's your warranty period!"

lol

but the ones on the deck at my house have lasted 20 years so far without rust.

[Oneslowz28]

As long as they last a 15 years I am sure the lady will be happy. Oh and @ $30 a 5lb box (about 300 screws) they better last for years. That's $0.10 a screw. I am sure they are making them for something like $0.000000000001 each.

[slaveofconvention]

Oh and in response to the actual title of this thread....

http://www.slaveofconvention.com/imagestore/forums/winespoon.jpg

A hand carved spoon and the two bottles of wine the guy gave me as a thankyou for that 2Ghz P4 rig...

[Crazy Buddhist]

The reward for doing good things is the knowledge that you did them. It's all you need. You will carry it with you forever and no one can diminish or change it. But it will change you in ways you may not even notice.

CrazyB

[YesNoMaybe61]

=) Karma, the good you do will always come back to you eventually. It's very nice of you to do this for the lady, and like others have mentioned I'm sure she does appreciate it.

Btw - bless @ the hand carved spoon and wine - very sweet.

[Omega]

I don't believe in Karma, but I think CrazyB has the right idea... the satisfaction of knowing you did something good.

On my way out from an Autocross event, I saw some guys broken down because their alternator had **** out on this late 80's honda accord... I stayed there and helped them change the alternator out on the side of the road, just 'cause I could.

On a similar note, when I was out picking up a package for my boss, some guy ran out of gas next to me at the bank and I gave him a ride to the gas station (and back), let him use my gas can, and then when his car still didn't have enough gas in it, I helped him push it to the station.


All just because it feels good to help people. And even if the rest of my day goes ****ty or what have you, I'll know that I made somebody else's day a little easier in their time of need, and that makes it all worth it.

[Crazy Buddhist]

I don't believe in Karma, but I think CrazyB has the right idea... the satisfaction of knowing you did something good.

It's a much misunderstood thing Karma. The reality is that what I described is Karma .. your actions, thoughts and words you carry with you. And each action, word or thought helps condition your future actions, words and thoughts, be they wholesome or unwholesome.

It works both ways. If you have deceived people this will affect your mind and future actions because you know you did it - not because Karma is some magic payback machine that will kick you when you're down.

It's much nicer walking the earth knowing the actions you take are wholesome - especially when others are involved. This is good "Karma" - good actions, words and thoughts conditioning a more harmonious and less troubled life for oneself and, naturally by extension, for those you meet on your journey through life.

:)

CrazyB

[billygoat333]

never really thought about Karma in such a way, puts my thoughts into words exactly. I also never really took stock in "karma" but I pretty much believe exactly what you said, CB :)

[Crazy Buddhist]

never really thought about Karma in such a way, puts my thoughts into words exactly. I also never really took stock in "karma" but I pretty much believe exactly what you said, CB :)

As soon as you see Karma as a part of human Psychology it makes sense.

As a cosmic payback machine it's about as believable as me finishing all the mods I plan :D

CB