Eye of the Tiger

[Leevibe]

I'm finding that I have a cycle that kind of follows the seasons. Summer is my low point for building because I have a lot of responsibilities related to work and family. Plus the weather is too nice to be inside at the bench.

I've had a bigger struggle this year. Part of it is that there has been a lot of death and sickness around me, and with it I've been trying to be as helpful as possible. I had to be with 3 kids back in December when they found out their mommy was never going to wake up again. I then had to officiate her funeral. I'm a pastor, but I'm a Kid's Pastor - as in elementary age kids. I never imagined I'd be doing funerals etc. Since that one, I've been asked to have some official role in 4 other funerals. It's been surreal. One was my grandpa's, but he was 103, so that one felt kind of good. The rest just sucked. My sister was diagnosed with cancer back in July. She's doing well, but that was a shock. Then, last month, my lifelong friend went down on his Harley. Pickup pulled out in front of him. He's alive but has brain injuries. I've been spending time visiting him in the hospital waiting to see if he will ever be himself again.

I came into the year with plans to have a really sweet 1590g project going. I've worked a lot on it, but I'm waiting on a piece of formed sheet metal that a friend is supposed to do for me. It's something I can't do myself, so I'm stuck. I could force the issue, but I've been kind of unmotivated anyway.

But, now that the weather is turning, I'm finding myself doing a lot of creative thinking/planning again and I feel like I'll be back in the saddle soon. My workbench is a wreck. I need to clean it up and focus on organizing. A few hours would do wonders to get me in the mood to build. Working on the Hammond project has really snapped me back into a music electronics frame of mind too, so that's good. I hope to get at least one good pedal build done before the end of the year.

One thing that bums me out about having so many of you guys in a slump is that I rely on you all for inspiration. I don't want to name any names, but some of my heroes haven't posted any build reports for a while. There's something about seeing an amazing new build that inspires me to join the party. eldzsi's 10th Anniversary Deluxe Wah build is a good example. He's my current hero.

[nzCdog]

Awww... This community never fails to inspire me!  Y'all be good dudes, thanks for the replies.  I guess when I look at what we've been up-to the last couple years, its no surprise I'm in a creative lul.  It's encouraging to be reminded it's just a phase.  There are still pedal builds inside me, I know it!  Woo!