Wednesday, February 21, 2007

The Bathroom Renovation: How Oliver de la Paz Became a Master Electrician

That's right. I've decided to stop writing poetry so that I can pursue my bond, license, and certification as a master electrician. Why? Because I rewired my bathroom all by myself and established my awesomeness.

First, I crawled around in the attic and moved the wiring from a flourescent box over to a wall. Then, I moved an electrical outlet from one wall to another wall. I upgraded and installed a new box for two light switches and the newly moved outlet. I also installed a new box for an over-the-vanity light (where the wiring for old flourescent light box went). Nothing blew up. The light swiitches work. The outlet works and is grounded. I rock.

***

The poet Truong Tran will be reading at Western Washhington University on Thursday. I've met Truong on a number of occasions, but we've never had a chance to talk. Maybe this time I'll be able to chat with him.

***

I'll be heading over to Whitworth College to give a reading. If you're in Spokane, WA, do come over and say hello.

12 comments:

Justin Evans said...

Oliver:

I just read your post on Mary's page, and how you taught Dave Lee's The Porcine Canticles. I am really good friends with Dave. How did you become acquainted with his work? Have you read his So Quietly the Earth?

bjanepr said...

um, excuse me, but that's The Reverend Truong Tran ... go ahead, ask him about it :-)

Oliver de la Paz said...

BJ, 'scuse me. Reverend Truong Tran will be reading at Western on Thursday. ;-)

And Justin, I've got most of Dave's books. I've been a big fan since I was a grad student at ASU. He came to read for the AZ Festival for the book a few years back and I got him to sign all my books. Hell of a reader. I love how he's practically memorized almost all those REALLY long poems. It's incredible.

Justin Evans said...

Oliver:

Dave told me in his last letter that he was about finished with his next book. If I get a heads-up from him, I'll be sure to pass it on to you.

Oliver de la Paz said...

Sweet, Justin. I'm a fan of the epic and Dave's certainly embarking on an American epic.

marybid said...

Electricity scares the bejeezus out of me. I think I will stick with plumbing. And poetry.

Oliver de la Paz said...

Mary, I was totally scared when I had Meredith flip the power back on. I was convinced I was going to burn the house down.

Justin Evans said...

Oliver:

One last thing. I have both of Dave's audio cd's. If you want them, I will be more than happy to burn off a copy of each for you.

Lee Herrick said...

Dang, Oliver. That's awesome. All the wiring.

I would prefer plumbing too, but I've screwed that up also. Once, I tried to fix the master bathroom shower. I broke a whole through the wall and hit a pipe, releasing a strong bolt of water straight out like something from a firehose. I panicked and ran out of the room like a frightened cat.

It wasn't pretty. If you ever offer classes, I will be the first to enroll.

Unknown said...

hmm i could actually use some electrical tips...congrats on mastering it. it's given me hope in a strange way that I too can do it!

Oliver de la Paz said...

Jenni,

First tip . . . turn off the power to the whole house. Second tip, have a Sharpie pen and label the main wires. Be sure to immediately identify which wire is the "hot" wire (the wire feeding power to the other wires. There's a little device you can purchase for under $20 that beeps when it senses a current passing through a wire (you'll have to have the power on at this point. Make sure the different wires are separated from each other)). Wow. I just had parenthesis within parenthesis!

Oliver de la Paz said...

Hey Justin,

I actually have Dave's CD's already. :D Thanks for the offer.