So this week was pure insanity.  The kin folk are here, the wedding is tomorrow, and I have had not a minute to reflect.  However, in spite of this, I realize that my motivation, though originally extrinsic because I wanted to get a good grade, though intrinsic, as I wanted to feel good about the results, was really truly about my self effacacy.  I believed I could get the wall up, get the job started, and so I did. My husband has been a bit irritated that I took on another thing, I'm sure.  But because I knew that I could put the wall up, I could begin the process to this stage, per my schedule, I would do it. If you build it they will come.

So in completing this weeks work, I thought extinsively about Rodger Bannister, and the breaking of world records.  What he did was break the ceiling of personal public belief regarding how fast a man could run.  I feel this way at times as a woman learning a skill that is traditionally only reserved for men.  I feel there is a disbelief in what I can accomplish, and it's not a personal thing.  It's just based upon what most have seen done, and abandoned.  I also feel motivated to do this thing because it is not traditional for me to do.  Doing things that one has been told is not possible or likely is a challenge in it's own rite.  It is self affirming when one does something that only could have been done with a strong desire to actually do it.  Somehow it is like a mark one makes upon the universe, that would not have been made, without a concerted effort and dedication on the part of the doer.  And like the passage in the text, once one has made the decision to do that thing, like crossing the Rubicon, there is no longer a decision to be made, and the motivation necessary to accomplish the task is no longer a matter of will power.  I know it's just drywall.  But this week has been a bear, and making it happen in the face of that adversity is empowering all on it's own.

I started off, filling each of the little dents made by drywall screws with drywall compound.  It took some work to develop a technique that would lay the compound even across the plane of the wall, and will fill in the dent smoothly.  I had to use these tools

I also used drywall tape for the seams.  It has an adhesive backing to help it lie flat.  For the case where there was a rather large gap in the seam, I had to lay down the compound first, the cover it with the tape.  I then smoothed it out.  I did the same for the corners, at the corners of the wall and the ceiling.  This also took some practice.  I was getting better with each attempt.  There was a marked difference with the beginning of my work and the last of my attempts.  Expertise?  No, but the information on how to do this became tacit knowledge.

Then I had to wait for the compound to dry which takes a day or so.  So I will begin again, and do this again the next day.  But the wall is decent enough looking for company to sit in my living room without having wires hanging out, or insulation falling out. Also, we should be able to get our foster care license now.  Exciting stuff!  The next segment will be mudding.  I look forward to it!