Apartment After!

You know I had get a shot of myself with the roller.



[Leaving the tape on for now, because I think I'm going to do a quick second coat tomorrow, to get the surface even and pretty.]

I'm so excited that I got this all finished in just three days. I was almost nervous or confused to do the real painting today. I was enjoying having a project, and I was really surprised at myself for getting started straightaway. One of my best traits is having great ideas, but one of my greatest downfalls is not always following through, especially in a timely manner.

I think one reason it shocked me, going so quickly, is that I've done so much painting in the past, but it's always been for someone else. Meaning that it all had to be set up, materials bought and set out by the time we got there, and someone else calling the shots, basically.

So to get myself a great project and to take care of the whole thing on my own is definitely new for me. I'm used to being self-sufficient and independent, but most of the time it doesn't involve hands-on things like this. When it does, I invariably have help. Setting up the apartment when I moved in, organizing and cleaning the bookroom, and other large projects, there was at least one person there to help. Not only that, but I often felt like I could not have done it without those people, even for patience's sake. You know, someone to hash out plans and to chat to. Even for this, Boyfriend was going to help me. And look--I decided on a color, bought all the materials, did all the preparation, and completed the painting ALL by myself!

I'm very happy and proud of myself! So much so, that I wouldn't mind finding another big home improvement project...

That said, I've really appreciated your supportive comments! You guys definitely helped motivate me, if only to have another step to show off. :)

Which actually brings me to my plea for help (see? knew I needed other people after all...) I think I still want to do a different accent color on the door and window trim. I'd been thinking about a bright yellow and a red, to create kind of an island feel (since that is what finally inspired this color choice). Online, though, they looked weird. So I figured that I'd get this much done and see what I thought. Though this process was a little tedious at times, it did go pretty darn fast (I could have easily squeezed this all into two days instead of three), and I think it would look even better with an accent. I definitely want a completely different color, something bright and cheery.

So I'd love to get your ideas!

Apartment During

Taping is complete!

Apartment Before

Random Student IM

thank 4 not fallin me
and 4 some reason
i got to say
thank u
so so much
bye

New Project

I've lived in this cute apartment for a year and a half. It has frame moldings on the walls, but everything is white. I told myself that this summer I would try to do some painting.

After loving the Whitsunday Islands, I decided to use that vivid aqua as my main color. I had been thinking about a yellow and a red for trims, but they didn't seem quite right when I played with the preview tool online.

This afternoon I returned to Home Depot (I'd been there, scouting, a couple times before) and bought paint (a pretty near match to the color above, named Mermaid Treasure) and supplies!

So here is what I need to do, in order. [New teachers, this is what educrats call a narrative procedure; you will see it on your standards lists! :)]

First, take down fairy lights and other things on the walls--DONE

Second, move furniture away from walls--DONE!

Tape the edges of the frames (god, that's going to take forever)--DONE!!!!!

Fill and sand nail holes--DONE!

As well as look for and sand any random rough/sticky-out bits.--DONE!

Be sure to wash the walls-they're dusty!--DONE!

Before opening the paint, put down drop cloths--Easy done

Carefully and tediously cut in edges of all frames (also going to take forever)(but I'm really good at it)--DONE!

Finally, paint inside frames with rollers!--ALL DONE!! WOO!!

Stand back, tilt my head, think about whether I should use another color for trim

And of course, take pictures at every stage. Naturally.

Wish me luck, folks. I'll try to update as I progress through my long list.

It is 4.42 in the morning!

It's been over a week now since my return to the States. I figured I would be jetlagged, but this is ridiculous. Every other night I crash for twelve to fourteen hours, and the in-between nights I can't sleep.

Last night I tried to go to bed at 12.30, but got up at 1.15. Back to bed at 3, brain started thinking about school, probably drifted off close to five. Alarm at 9.45 to move the car.

I did not go back to bed after this, thinking that missing out on sleep like that would tucker me out for the next night.

But I easily stayed up until three this morning, polishing off TWO chick-lit novels. After a shower and some flickr, I'm feeling more tired, but not sleepy.

Oh, and also? Four or five days before leaving Australia, my lower left eyelid developed a twitch. It got worse as our departure date came closer, and it was especially bad on the plane day home, but after my complete return it subsided. It flared once or maybe twice a day, and I thought it was gone. Ho, no siree. That twitch has been acting up a lot in the last day or two. And it's freaky. I can feel and also see it; it impedes my vision from the bottom up. It's like an involuntary upside down stuttering wink, sometimes for almost ten seconds at a time.

What the hell, dudes? I can't sleep and my FACE is TWITCHING. I'm a freak!

Giant Swing

Sydney, part 2

Sydney

Longreach Rodeo

For Shame!

I saw on a random blog today that this is Blog Against Racism week.

Oh, the irony.

Now, I've only been in New York since 2004, but it didn't take me long to figure out that the Post and Daily News were disgustingly sensationalistic excuses for newspapers. But apparently I underestimated them--the Post is also openly racist. Not surprised? Yeah, me neither. Still disgusted? Yep, me too.

I'm not the most informed of citizens (too much of the news is sensationalized, silly [Lohan and Hilton escapades?], or too upsetting [our President?]), and I'm not the most articulate writer, so I apologize for my bumbling efforts, but even I can't ignore this.

The Post has published two very racist, name-calling articles about the woman trying to open the Khalil Gibran school in Brooklyn.

"Almontaser, a community activist and Muslim, has said the new grade 6-12 public school will be modeled on other dual-language city schools and have no religious component."

"Intifada is a war. Isn't that what Arafat had?" said Pamela Hall, a Manhattan mom opposed to the academy on the grounds that it violates separation of church and state."

So many things wrong in just these two sentences. First, calling her a community activist but then basically qualifying it by referencing her religion and cultural background? This reporter has taken an innocent direct quote from Almontaser, but by invoking Muslim as basically a racial epithet, implies that she cannot be trusted and is wrong or lying.

For who is a better judge and expert on Middle East troubles than narrow-minded Manhattan moms who clearly can't read?

So naturally, the next step is to actually call the educator and activist the 'Intifada Principal.' Read on into the article, and the controversial t-shirts,

"were being sold by an Arab activist group headquartered in the same storefront as a Yemeni-American association that Almontaser heads."

So what exactly did she do to 'earn' this slur? Merely be of Middle-Eastern descent and work NEAR another Middle-Eastern group. Propinquity now determines guilt?

An established educator has been working for years to get this school going, a school that would TEACH future generations about different and foreign cultures and ways of thinking (has that reporter ever even read any Khalil Gibran? Read before you throw stones, please), which, one hopes, would help those future generations to be more accepting and open-minded; instead, the racism she's trying to overcome is thrown right back in her face.

I am literally trembling with anger and disgust. These stories make me sick to my stomach.

SHAME on you, NYPost. SHAME on you, anyone who fell for this racist claptrap.

Something needs to be done about this all-too-pervasive attitude, in New York City and in the United States in general. You know what's 'revolting,' Post? Your small-minded tabloid attitude and its 'tenuous' grasp of ethics and cultural acceptance. Shame on you.

That was easy

Yesterday I was very productive, so I was worried about today. What would I do to keep myself busy and entertained?


Silly me!


I slept for fourteen hours for the second time this week, so basically, my day was over when I woke up! Awesome!


Yesterday, besides finishing Harry Potter, I did laundry, got my eyebrows done (phew! so much better!), worked out, procured some groceries, and of course, uploaded photos. I felt really good about Getting Things Done, especially as it was So Bloody Humid.


During the night (erm, I mean, during the day, apparently), while asleep, I could feel the difference in the weather--still hot but not sticky and humid anymore, thank god. I had thoughts about going for a walk in the evening sun, but obviously that didn't happen; it's dark now.

The Last

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released July 21st, while I was in Australia. So my first glimpse of the book happened in the Brisbane airport on the 22nd, and I was excited--finally! it's here!--but also sad and disappointed--I didn't want to buy it right away. They were charging AUD$45 and it was a heavy hardcover, so I told myself I just had to wait.

The night I got back to the US, Boyfriend lent me his copy. With the return errands and sleeping, I began reading it Monday night and finished it this afternoon.

Oh. My. Goodness.

On Tuesday, I read until the twenty-first chapter, and holy cow it was like an action film--packed with suspense so that I rather felt on the edge of my seat.

Today I picked it up again and DAMN! I had to read the entire rest of the book. There was really no choice; it was impossible to put it down. She really packed so very much into one book, and in under 800 pages!

The emotional turmoil started much earlier in this one than in five and six, but I guess that's what has to happen in the final installment. There were lots of tears and anguish (ha--from the characters and from me), but I was happy with the way everything wrapped up.

Wow.

Recovery and Readjustment

Returning from a big trip is always a letdown. Sure, you get to sleep in your own bed and you don't have to live in the same three outfits anymore. Sleep cycles are disrupted, of course, but it's bigger than that.

A long time ago, I wrote in a trip journal about how it feels. It's like the normal world is one of those wooden toy boards with different shaped holes in, and each person is a peg that has to fit in their own slot in the board. When you go on a big trip, you do all these new things, you see who you are without the creature comforts of everyday unchallenging life. You grow new bits and pieces, you expand and feel an awakening of the possibilities.

Upon your return, the hammer of life tries to force your now-explanded shape back into your slot. It's uncomfortable, because you've got new things about you that the normal world doesn't care about, wants to eliminate, wants to get you back, complacent with dullness. And eventually, you can't resist and succumb; sliding back into your place.

You never get back to complete normal, though; the scars of your experiences remain as a testament to the new growth that you sought. Sometimes those scars fade until you barely remember them; other times they scab and bleed and they're all you think about. Or they seem to have healed, but flare up and remind you--hey! over here! look what you've done! look what you're capable of! normal life doesn't have to be the end-all be-all!

It's disappointing because other people can never really understand the change that you go through. Too many people never travel; worse, too many people never *want* to go anywhere. And let alone going anywhere alone! If you are lucky enough to go somewhere with other people, you'll share that bond, that brotherhood, forever. You got to see and grow and wonder together, and you'll all understand the difficulty of returning home after an amazing new experience. Most of all, those fellow travelers understand the pull of wanderlust.

You have changed, but when you get home, nothing has changed. Your room is still messy and the city is still dingy. You still have to do the shopping and the dishes and go to bed at a reasonable time. You still have to make small talk and condense your adventure into twenty interesting, yet nonthreatening, words. The alarm in the morning doesn't signal the start of another adventure; it signals Just Another Regular Day. Not something to be looked forward to, not something to document with photos and an internal narrative, not something that holds the potential of New and Different and Exciting.

Ha! Awesome!

I stayed up until 2.30 last night/this morning, fiddling around on the computer and watching tv. I was fairly sleepy before that; I was just being a lazy stubborn night owl. So with the jet lag and stuff, I figured I might sleep until ten or maybe twelve.

I forced open my eyes after a nice sleep, and checked out the time. I did a double-take squint--it said 4.45pm!

Fourteen hours on my first night back. Wow. I feel a bit swollen and achy, especially in my hands and back. And my throat hurts (but that's been there for awhile already. Also a little restless and lost, as the day is fairly much over by now and I haven't done anything on my prioritous list.

Just now the photos have finally finished uploading, and the final tally is...da da dum...2,033!

The Return!

I tried to post a hello yesterday (the day before?), but it didn't work.

Right now it's half-past midnight. The longest day of my life is ending: awake at 6am on Sunday morning, boarding a plane at 11am, traveling for a full twenty-four hours, then doing the arrival business (bags, car, settling in). Going to bed after midnight, still on Sunday.

That makes a thirty-four hour day! Those of you/us who declare there needs to be more hours in a day, I found the solution--travel eastbound across the international date line!

So our Australian Adventure has come to an end. After three weeks, it's kind of a shock to come to a standstill, after moving every one or two days, living out of my silver suitcase (very proud of myself for that), seeing all new terrain every single day. Now we're back to the daily grind of humidity and preparing for the school year.

I haven't really mentioned much of what we did, but right now I have to gush about two standout places: the Outback--wide open spaces with a harse and spare beauty unlike anything I've ever seen; and the Whitsunday Islands/Great Barrier Reef--the most amazing blue water and glorious flora and fauna. I already miss them both and very much hope I get to return.

There are so many things I need to do right away, but I began with a quick mail sort, booting up my computer, tossing together laundry for tomorrow, and best of all, a shower. Ah, that felt great. Nothing like a shower in your own place after a long time away. For the last thirty minutes or so, I've been going through email and uploading photos (come on, you knew I was gonna do that straight away).

I'm hungry; I'm not sure if I've had a full proper meal today. Qantas had some meals on the plane from Brisbane to LA, but I really couldn't tell you how long ago that was. Possibly yesterday, technically.

Tomorrow I have a lot to do to catch up with normal life again: laundry of course, an eyebrow wax (holy crap! the sun down under must have spurred their growth!), opening mail, balancing my checkbook (ie, figuring out how much money I did actually spend), finish uploading photos, go food shopping (I seem to have a lot of frozen desserts, and cheese.), get the disposable camera developed (an underwater camera from the Great Barrier Reef! Those will be some hilarious self-portraits, and I hope the sea turtle picture came out), SLEEP, eat, begin catching up on recorded television, start reading Harry Potter #7 (eee!!!), and attempt to catch up on blogs and flickr.

Phew.

Cheers!

I'm at the public library in Charters Towers, Queensland (the Sunshine State!), the first opportunity I've had to grab some internet time. So far Australia is fantastic and I love it. The first two days in Sydney were awesome and now we're in the Outback! The people are great and the scenery is really interesting. I'm taking photos and working on postcards. Can't wait to share more here when I get back!

Heading Down Under

Get it? Upside down? Australia? Get it?? Ha!

And this is me *before* jet lag. Sigh.

I need to leave my apartment in 2 1/2 hours, so naturally my first step after a shower was my self-portrait, and then uploading it. But now I'm going to go finish packing, I promise.

I shall do my best to keep up the self-portraits on my trip, but no promises, I guess. And I'll bring my cable, so I might be able to upload while I'm away. I"m pretty sure there will be some time for quick blogging and mass emailing. Otherwise, see you all in three weeks! Take care and look for postcards!

Update and Stuff

Okay folks, I need to leave my apartment in 23 hours, and I'm so not done.

Things I got done so far? Contacts, table, charge iPod. AND I found the adaptor plug I was looking for! It was 'hiding' on my floor in almost clear sight. Still no luck on finding the official journal, however. I have begun packing, and have most of the stuff taken care of--toiletries, vitamins, wallet stuff. Clothes, not so much. I've pulled two pairs of trousers and a couple shirts and one dress out of the closet, but I need to decide for sure and then make sure everything will fit in my not-very-big suitcase.

Things I will almost surely do today: eyebrows, library, read HP6 (halfway through now), freak out

Things that will most likely fall by the wayside: all cleaning and tidying

There is *nothing*...

...cuter than a handful of baby kitties playing and exploring and scampering.

Squee!!