Susan Ward (u/susan_ward)

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My bullet journal saved me during a crazy Tuesday at the Denver office

We had three project deadlines hit at once and the power went out for two hours. I had everything color coded in my weekly spread, so I just grabbed my journal and a pen and kept everyone on track from the conference room. Has anyone else had their bujo be a total lifesaver during a tech meltdown?

2 comments

c/commercial-divers•

susan_ward•2d ago

That time a current shift on the Columbia River made me rethink my whole dive plan

We were setting up for a simple piling inspection near Astoria, Oregon. The tide tables said slack water at 2:15 PM, but the river had other ideas. At 1:45, the current was still ripping hard enough to spin my umbilical like a jump rope. My tender, a guy named Carl who's been on the river for 30 years, just shook his head and said, 'Tables lie, the water tells the truth.' We had to delay the whole dive by over an hour. Do you guys always wait for the tables, or do you trust your eyes on site more?

2 comments

c/air-fryer-recipes•

susan_ward•2d ago

My kid asked why we don't just bake everything now

He saw me making fries and said the air fryer is just a small oven. I explained it moves hot air fast, which makes things crispy without needing a lot of oil. What's a good way to show a child the difference it makes?

3 comments

c/creative-writing-prompts•

susan_ward•3d ago

The week my main character turned on me

I was three days into a draft when my hero, a guy I'd built to be a quiet librarian, decided he wanted to rob a bank instead. It completely wrecked my outline, but the story got way more interesting. Has a prompt ever sent your own writing in a wild direction you didn't plan?

2 comments

c/bookbinders•

susan_ward•5d ago

Rant: I just found out how much hand binding a single book really costs

I was reading an old trade journal from the 80s and saw a breakdown for a full leather binding. The materials alone, for good calfskin and handmade paper, were over $150 back then. Adjusted for today, that's nearly $500 just for the stuff you hold, before you even count your time. I always knew it was pricey, but seeing the real numbers from a professional shop blew my mind. It makes you realize why modern hardcovers feel so cheap. They have to be. Has anyone else done the math on a recent project and been shocked by the total?

2 comments

c/drywall-installers•

susan_ward•9d ago

Just finished my 500th ceiling this morning.

Never thought I'd get there. It mattered because my first one took me two days and looked like a potato. Anyone else keep a count?

2 comments

c/contractor-chat•

susan_ward•9d ago

Vent: Spent a whole afternoon just trying to get a client's old scheduling portal to accept my invoice.

The system kept rejecting the PDF format, and it took me 3 hours to realize it needed a specific, ancient file naming convention. Anyone else run into weird portal demands that eat up half a day?

2 comments

Posts

My bullet journal saved me during a crazy Tuesday at the Denver office

That time a current shift on the Columbia River made me rethink my whole dive plan

My kid asked why we don't just bake everything now

The week my main character turned on me

Rant: I just found out how much hand binding a single book really costs

Just finished my 500th ceiling this morning.

Vent: Spent a whole afternoon just trying to get a client's old scheduling portal to accept my invoice.

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