I didn't ask to be born....

I spend a lot of this blog ranting about the wrongs and misdeeds of some of my fellow frame torchers but I haven't addressed my own library of congress card-catalogue of failures . I have said many things to folks that I regret and I have also witheld comment when I shouldn't have. What is life without regret ? Stillbirth. So what are my biggest blunders ? I really don't know where to start so I won't.....I'll just leave it to all to conjure up images of massive dumbass blunders that I have the sole responsability for. One thing I do know is this : Not a day goes by that I don't think of how lucky I am to be doing a job I like......also, not a day goes by when I don't fully realize that this livelyhood of mine can cease to be viable in a very short time. I know of three builders, talented guys who hung it up in the last year. I can't say why I am busy and why they weren't but I am thankful that year after year I have been able to keep at it and learn how to do my job better along the way. When I started out as a hobbyist I had no intention of going fulltime.....it just turned out that a lot of work was coming my way and my other job was getting in the way. That was 1988, a different time and a smaller pool of builders on the scene. Now , the internet and custom bike shows provide a place for new builders to get visible to the world. They are seen but that doesn't mean that they'll be able to make a living from framebuilding. I think it is important for anyone starting out that they realize that learning the craft is a great thing but that framebuilding as a livelyhood is a fleeting and uncertain pursuit. In 2003 I got down to two orders on the list and I took a part time job in a winery tasting room-only one day a week but it was a chance to look at another field just in case my buisness tanked. I worked at the winery for a summer for $8 an hour.....not a living but at least a little money and something to do with my new found idle time. Soon after taking the job frame orders started coming in and by the end of the summer the fun job at the winery had to go. Since then I have been busy , so busy that I have had to figure out ways to be more efficient in the shop. Stressful as keeping up with a big work load may be, I know of a lot of builders who would like to have this kind of stress. However long it lasts you know I'll appreciate it and try to show that in what I build.