Firearms Friday: Miscellaneous Parts

This summarizes the majority of the spare parts that I have... 

When sorting through the boxes, drawers, and safes around my work bench it is amazing how much stuff that I am able to uncover. Not only is it a useful exercise in updating my parts inventory but it is also a means to reorganize all the miscellaneous items that got put aside at one point or another but never properly cataloged. Not get me wrong, anything with a serial number is well documented but anyone that does any gunsmithing or replaces parts knows that there are always pieces that simply get consumed by the workbench.

However, what I find to be the most interesting part of the process if not finding the useful parts and pieces that I can either use right away or store in my bench for later but the parts that I have no idea how I got them. Well, that isn’t completely true. Many of the items revealed during the excavation are from firearms that I used to own. We all have that miscellaneous box or drawer of parts laying around full of items that we thought we would use but never did. Before we knew it, the parts had been swallowed by the work bench and the firearm was sold or traded.

Then there are the parts to firearms that I never owned. These come about because of three very simple reasons: I hope to own that particular make/model in the future; I didn’t read the box, bag, or description closely enough and bought the wrong nonreturnable item; or, it was too good of a deal on a part that I can easily use for trade fodder. I know that I am not alone in having some things fall into one of these three categories.

At this point it is a matter of pulling together all of the different parts and separating them into a system that will work moving forward. Actually, it is more about updating the current system. This basically comes down to parts that I expect to use immediately, backup parts and those that were swapped out, parts that I will use in the future upon acquisition of the correct firearm, and those that will be exclusively used for trade fodder or will be sold. Of course, this is all in the hope that I will be able to maintain this means of organization moving forward and now that my wife and I have settled down that is actually a possibility.

Sunday Search: Translation Please!

While conducting searches on different family members there is a variety of information that comes up usually requiring a lot of sorting, deciphering of handwriting, and frustration when the document that really piques my interest is in another language. More often than not I am at least able to figure things out not because I am fluent in multiple languages (I haven’t even mastered one) but because I know the basic format of what I am looking at. This hasn’t always been the case but after you have been doing the same kind of research for a while you generally know what information goes where largely based on where you find the name you are looking for in the document.

Early on in my research, these were pure moments of frustration that usually had me clicking on the ignore button before giving the document half of a chance to reveal itself. Now I find myself revisiting the branches on my tree and sorting through those forgotten hints so that I can again sort through them to see if anything is relevant to my family tree. I guess you could say that this is the curse of the world explorer membership on Ancestry.com.

However, this is only on instance where the language barrier can prove difficult or just flat out frustrating. While Google translate and similar programs are wonderful tools they are generally only reliable when it is strait text on a website. Add in the calligraphy element as well as the fact that most of these documents are in PDF or some other unsearchable file format and there is little that Google can do to assist. And I actually ran into this issue when researching my great grandfathers World War One unit.

When looking for information on the Motor Transportation Corps on the internet there is actually a limited amount of information that can be found as it pertains to the WWI incarnation of those units. When digging even further and specifying Unit 301, there is even less information available. After exhausting the limited resources that populated the first few search pages, I came across a PDF document of an account from one of the locals in France… you guessed it, the document is in French. Unfortunately, I understand very little of this language anymore having forgotten nearly all that I was taught in school and Google translate refused to assist in this matter.

Thankfully it is a typed account and a common language. Older documents found in dusty books are proving to be much more difficult. However, many are in the formats of which I am familiar and have provided me with a wealth of knowledge that has been added to my ever expanding genealogical database. But, and I will leave you with this thought, it would be nice to have the ability to instantly translate the material and I encourage researchers to know at least one other language and have a network of researchers who know a variety of other languages as well. You never know when your knowledge or theirs will benefit your research.

Overdue Project

Of all the projects that have been talked about at the lodge time and again there is one that piques my interest each time that it is brought to the forefront of the conversation. The discussions have been ongoing about reallocating different spaces in the lodge to fill our various needs one of which is moving the Secretary’s office to the main floor. I fully support this idea but I also do my best to stay out of the back and forth unless someone asks for my opinion. After all, it is just a room, I can do the work no matter where there is a place set aside in the lodge whether it remains in the back of the basement or it is right off the main hall on the ground floor. The change would be nice but it doesn’t really matter.  

Not long after being raised I began spending a fair amount of time in the basement assisting the previous Secretary with the various tasks that fill the weeks between gatherings and the nights after the meetings. For all of its flaws, it has always been a bit of an escape for me. However, when I assumed the office shortly after that, it was painfully clear just how much work needed to be done in the space to simply make it functional again. And in my first year as Secretary, the situation didn’t get any better when a leak was discovered streaming down the outside wall. Needless to say, the “organization” project never got back on track after that and I rarely venture below grade these days.

That is a projects that is long overdue… finding some sanity in the office and turning this old fallout shelter (designated by the town years ago) into a fully functional working space not just for me but for any of the brothers who need a place to privately meet at the lodge. What it really comes down to is setting aside the time, convincing a few brothers to do the same, coordinating with the Trustees to sort the material crammed within the walls, and cleaning out the entire room. It actually might be best to just hit the reset button and start from scratch.

We need to consolidate the furniture and figure out what is really needed in the space. Part of that will be consolidating the filing cabinets after sorting through the draws full of files with the Trustees overseeing this operation. And finally, it is about simply getting rid of all the trash and clutter that has accumulated over the years from old phone books and computers to empty boxes and brittle desk organizers. It seems like a quick and easy endeavor but I know that it’s not. This is going to take some time and some significant effort but I do have a plan together to finally get it done next year. Let’s just hope that it sticks on the calendar.

Sunday Search: Rediscovering What Was Already Discovered

The early days... it was easy to keep organize with few files. 

My wife and I decided to dedicate this weekend to cleaning and our son finally let us get the much needed work done around the house. With the washing machine humming, sloshing, and twirling in the background, we went from room to room cleaning, organizing, sorting, and packing. It took the entire weekend to get most of the house done and by the time my wife went to bed on Sunday night the only two rooms remaining were our offices. This is a wholly different task altogether as we both have more paperwork than storage space and more books than shelves. It is going to be interesting but hugely satisfying when it is done.

With my wife and son asleep, I ventured down into the basement and began sifting through the rows upon rows of shelves. I went down there with the goal of filling one box of books that had little value to me at this moment. As someone who enjoys information and having resources readily available, this is not a very easy process… many of the books that I have collected over the years are those that contain information that has yet to be digitized. Contrary to what some people say, not everything can be found on the internet. After about 30 minutes, I actually was able to fill a box and clear a shelf for the binders of new research that was going to be added. It came down to a small sampling of books that I know I can find again when I have the space.

Once this part was done, I began flipping through the binders on the shelves and files stored in boxes. It really is amazing what you can find when you it down and sift through the boxes in your office… this is especially true when it comes to genealogy. While slowly flipping through the pages and pages of notes and photocopies, I rediscovered small details that I had written on a pieces of paper while pouring through volumes and volumes of material. They are the small details (like the fact that my great grandparents were brought together by their love of horses) that I had forgotten almost as quickly as I was able to record them.

It is the dilemma of disorganization. While many of the documents and facts have been sorted and organized for later, many of these details seem to get lost in the pages. At the same time, rediscovering these details was just as interesting as when I first read them. It was nice to feel that same way about finding ‘new’ information and it makes me wonder what other documents I have buried (most likely from a scanning / photocopying marathon). With the rest of the house in order, I am glad that I am now in a position to take on this task… at least until the files get moved again.

Not The Kind Of Day I Look Forward To Or Enjoy…

I had been dreading today for weeks now (i.e. procrastinating) and I have, unfortunately, done everything that I could to postpone, delay, and generally ignore the issue for too long. Of course, every time I did that things got a little worse with a little more dust collecting in the corners. Today, like many times before, we finally took the time to clean the apartment. Well, at least most of it as there is still about twenty five square feet that is still unusable as a result of the delays in getting the leak ‘fixed’. It’s only been about six weeks (or more).

Anyway, even with that section of the apartment out of commission, there was still plenty of areas that needed to be addressed and sorting projects that needed to be checked off the list. What was a little different this time was that we were both finally ready to get a handle on the problem so we were able to go back and forth getting small things done one after the other. Of course, I made sure that my wife had a few projects to do where she could sit at the dining table which was were much of the sorting took place.

As a result of this deep dive into the dust and unsorted mess, we found a number of things that we had both forgotten about as they were set aside for one reason or another to be dealt with at a later time. From books, to papers, to cloths, we had a variety of such discoveries and now they have been put back where they are supposed to be and where they are readily accessible. However, one of the things that is all too common is the realization of how much crap you have accumulated and how many things should have been thrown away but, for some reason, weren’t.

Between cleaning and sorting out the crap, I hauled nine trash bags to the dumpster throughout the day. Also, as is a natural result of our deep cleanings, we set aside a few bags of things that we will be giving away and a few items that we will be selling (mostly books and DVD’s). It was just one of those times when we realized that we hadn’t been missing them and haven’t taken them off the shelf for such a long time that it wasn’t worth the limited space to keep them. I am sure there will be more stuff once we are able to complete the cleaning and sorting (see roadblock above).

So now, after some sweeping, vacuuming, and dusting, I am finally taking the time to relax for the day knowing that this project is far from over. In addition to the things that we need to take care of in the main living space we still have piles of laundry to do and an entire office to sort. But, we made progress and the apartment does feel a lot better than when we got up this morning. Finally, there seems to be an end in sight.

Are You Balanced?

I have gotten into the habit of stopping by the lobby in the morning on my way to work to pick up and packages and mail that arrived the previous day. It is a system that seems to be working so far at least as a means to keep our mailbox from overflowing but it also has its shortcomings. In addition to sometimes not having enough time or simply forgetting to stop by in the morning, there are weeks when the mail enters the black hole that is my work bag and doesn’t resurface until the end of the week when I try to clean it out. Sometimes the stockpile goes a little longer and doesn’t get addressed until the excess weight is substantial enough.

Today was one of those days. While it had only been a week since I last went through all of the mail, the stuff that could wait (items that did not require a check) had begun to put a noticeable bulge in my bag. So, not wanting to lug around the extra weight or bulk, I began sifting through the correspondences, solicitations, and promotions. It was a process that took place throughout the day whenever I had a minute here and there to tear open an envelope or two (usually when I needed to come up for air for a very brief time).

One thing I noticed was the number of items that I had missed, or entire days that had slipped by, that required the assistance of my check book. Nothing major and all well within a reasonable time of the deadline/due dates but an annoyance nevertheless. This added an extra step to the process as the occasional item that required a response and/or a check was put aside to be dealt with later in the day. This was the second round of sifting and sorting.

Again, when a minute or two was discovered during the late afternoon, the forms were filled out, replies were filled in, and surveys were taken. Lastly, the checkbook was pulled from its safe place where it lay cowering in the corner like and insecure puppy. As to not frighten it too much, I filled out the few checks needed and put it back in its safe place to recover for the next time it needed to be out in the light.

The work day done, it was time to head to the lodge for an early and, hopefully quick, evening of office work. A tax form, multiple calls to government offices, the signing of about a dozen checks, and 90 minutes later I headed out the door and made my way home to recover. I honestly can’t remember ever having to sign that many checks at one time in my life and it really made me think about how much money I was sending out that day. Then I had to stop because it was making my head hurt. But that is all part of life and part of my new responsibilities at the lodge. Essentially, what it really means is that I now have to keep two sets of books balanced.