Today I spent all day on home repair/maintenance projects. Most of the time, I was assembling PVC pipes to reroute water from our downspouts into a newly cleared drain (I also put sealant on a brick wall). It was beautiful fall day, a perfect day to be outside working with my hands. As projects go, it was ideal--I had to do some mental puzzle solving, but I arrived at the right answer; I got to use my cool Ryobi 18v cordless reciprocating saw; putting together the pipes feels a little bit like playing with legos; if I messed up, I probably wouldn't get hurt or cost us or the condo association much money; it was a task that was new for me, and I like trying new things.
It was one of those days when I think to myself, maybe I should forget the whole freelance editing/article work and hire myself out as a handyman to make the money I need. I have decent skills for a variety of small home repair and maintenance projects. I like working with my hands. The pay probably isn't too bad. I wouldn't use up my writing energy on writing projects for other people. I might meet some interesting people to write about.
Of course the reality is that it's not quite the same as working on your own house, and just like writing, it requires time to build up a clientèle. It's physically taxing-- I'm totally beat, trying to keep my eyes opens as I write this. My experience is mostly at an amateur level. The list can go on, I'm sure.
Still, on a day like today, it seems very appealing.
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