In-Flight Course Change
When I was young, I was famous (or infamous) for not challenging myself. Those days it was because I was really good and didn’t need to challenge myself to get satisfactory results — in other words, lazy. These days it’s because I’m lazy but also because I have a fuller understanding of my abilities and limitations.
And so, yet another change of gears on my rocketry projects. Once I thought I was going to do [A]. Then I said, “Oooh! I can do [B] instead!” and purchased the resources for [B]. And once I saw [B] for real, and began looking into the details, I knew it was right at the limit of my abilities and resources.
[B] now goes by the wayside (don’t worry, I have a good use in mind for it) in favor of [C]. The change of direction will now cost me a bit more money, but it will be well worth it. [C] is a project in which I have complete confidence in myself to finish well. It’s something I can be cheerful about, instead of stressed — a good thing for a hobby activity.
[A], [B] and [C] refer to different models to be built to satisfy the “scale model” requirement for my Silver achievement level. The implicit goal of the scale model requirement is to demonstrate a finicky level of craftsmanship. I can do finicky to a certain point, but then I have to give it up as a lost job — I’m just too ill-coordinated and time-strapped. [C] is going to be a good looking scale model that’s doable inside the envelope.