In spite of my initial resistance and (admittedly muted) protests, I seem to have fallen into a life as a contract engineer, at least for now. For a number of reasons, not the least of which is paying the bills, I’ve tapered off working on my own company/project in favor of short- to medium-term stints at a few different companies around town. Not that long ago, one of those projects wrapped up, and the next won’t start until early January, leaving me with a few weeks of funemployment (made more fun by the fact that I know where I’m landing when it’s over). I’ve been enjoying a bunch of time in the shop as a result, and have finished one of the big woodworking projects on my list.

This project was the first time I started with a tree and wound up with a piece of furniture; you can read more about that process here. For those interested in the quick summary: it was a satisfying process, I learned a ton, I’m happy with the results, and I’m sure I don’t need to do that for every project I undertake.