Painting in a Boys World

During the school year, I'm surrounded by women.  It's what I know.  It's what I'm used to.  It's what makes sense.  But I have discovered a new world this summer.  It is a world of men.

Now, for the most part, I can hold my own.  During the long hours of painting at my two jobs, I can be one of the boys.  Want me to haul five gallon buckets of paint up the stairs?  No problem.  Need those bunk beds moved out of the way? I got it.  Want me to spend hours on the a ladder trimming popcorn ceilings and ignore the amounts of stuff falling on me? My ballcap and I can handle it.  Want to make up some lame excuse as to why I'm better qualified to do all the trim work while you take on the roller?  I can deal with it.

And then today happened.  I showed up to my apartment painting job with my bag of supplies.  Just your basics--paintbrushes, extra paint cup liners, rags, and the all important toilet paper.  (These are vacant apartments, after all.)  I walked through the apartment assessing the situation when I discovered a big problem.  It wasn't the incredible wall of odor that hit me when I walked in the door. It wasn't the fact that the windows were open on a day when the expected high was 107.  I've done this long enough to deal with these factors.  The problem was the lack of a toilet!

I remained calm.  I didn't react.  I waited to see what the menfolk had to say.  The solution was simply to use the bathtub as a toilet of the day.  What???  Use the bathtub???  Now, I can roll with most situations, but this was asking a bit too much.  Determined not to sound like the wimpy girl, I grabbed my brush and started my designated job of official trim painter.  Hour 1 passed.  Hour 2 passed.  All was well.  And then hour 6 was upon us.  It was time to face the situation.  I put down the paintbrush and grabbed my keys.  "And where do you think you're going?"  I looked at them and simply said, "To remind myself that I am still a girl.  I'll be back in five minutes."

A Couple of Things I Find Baffling

Spring Break on the Hill continues.  The lack of funds has given me a great deal of time to think.  Despite all the things I could be thinking about, this is the best I've got.

On Monday, I went to the home improvement store to actually buy dirt for my garden.  Today, I spent hours trying to get dirt out of my house.  Anyone else find this to be a strange irony?

I have spent the past couple of days cooking yummy meals.  I now have a fridge full of food.  Apparently, actually cooking food causes me to lose my appetite.  It makes no sense!  Perhaps it will be the latest diet crazy to hit the nation and I will earn big bucks to pay for all the food that doesn't get eaten.

There are other thoughts, but I think I've given you enough to ponder for now.

How I Spent My Spring Break--Day 1

Spring Break has arrived.  Most people I know have abandoned town in search of more exotic and interesting locations.  Due to the fact that I'm broke, I'll be spending an adventurous week in my little house on the hill. 

Today's adventure involved the front yard.  I decided it was time to pull up the landscape ties.  It was a rather spontanous decision.  Something about the sun being out and the promises of temperatures near 80.

While the decision was spontaneous, you can see that it was also necessary.  The pieces of wood were falling part.

Once I got everything up, I had to put something else down.  It was off to the home improvement store.  (I would end up there four times today.)  Now, my mother has always told me,  "It's okay to spend money if it's going to improve your quality of life--just don't go overboard."   I kept these words in mind as I purchased 48 feet of metal edging.  I also bought a rubber mallet.  (Dad will be so disappointed he missed an opportunity to buy a tool for his daughter!)

I have no previous experience at completing such a project, but I was determined.  I even created a new arc that was not included in the previous design.

When all was said and done, I had a better looking area, but more importantly, I had a sense of accomplishment.  That special sense of accomplishment that comes from trying something you've never done before.  It wasn't a big task and it's far from perfect, but it's better than when I woke up this morning.  And I did it all by myself.



The next challenge will be to decide what to actually do with the area.  Do I leave the rock or switch it to a nice dark mulch?  Wood mulch or rubber mulch?  Flowers in the ground or contain planting?  Suggestions (and donations) are welcome. 

Pain and Pressure

My friends call me the human barometer.  I can usually tell you the arrival of a warm or cold front within five minutes of its arrival.  My friends Pain and Pressure enter my head.  They bring with them their suitcases and proceed to make themselves comfortable.  After dealing with these two for years and years, we have reached an understanding.  Pain and Pressure are allowed let their presence be known for a day or two, but agree to downplay the need to completely disrupt my life.  Lately, they have been overstaying their welcome.

Unfortunately, I live in a part of the country where changing weather happens frequently.  My friends Pain and Pressure have been with me for two solid weeks.  When I wake up in the morning, there they are.  When I go to bed at night, they are still there. To make matters worse, they have been joining me at work where they don't necessarily get along with the 33 children in my life.  

So it's now time to issue an ultimatium to my friends Pain and Pressure.  It's either time to leave or time to start paying rent!

Tough Choices

Last summer, I rediscovered my love of swimming.  It felt so good to be in the pool swimming laps that I soon developed a routine of going at least twice a week, if not more.  All was well and happy. 

And then, school started up again.  Suddenly, I was forced to be back on a schedule that required the use of clocks in my life.  It was horrible!  What was worse, the only way I was going to get my precious swim times in was to, gasp, go in the early morning!

My entire family will tell you I am not a morning person. Sleep is very important.  I see no reason why I should be forced out of my cozy bed before the sun is high enough in the sky to greet me.  I do it because I have to, but I don't have to like it. 

And so, I was now face with a choice between two of my favorite activities.  Do I get up early and swim or do I allow myself an extra hour of rest?  It was a tough choice, but I eventually decided to swim.

So, now you will find me at six am two days a week in lane five of the local pool.  I'll be the one with the sunflower flip flops trying to figure out how to sleep and swim a the same time.

Lessons from Old Friends

I'm not a big movie person.  The mere thought of standing in line just to hand over my hard earned money to the person standing behind the glass window just so I can sit in uncomfortable seats surrounded by strangers seems more than a bit absurd. 

That being said, tonight I encountered an old friend on tv tonight.  It was total "chick flick."  One that I would deny watching repeatedly.  One that I had almost forgotten about.  Yet, I found myself tuning in at just the right time.  That moment when our heroine finds the inner strength she didn't know she had.  That moment when she develops that all important backbone and says what she really means.  That moment when she emerages as her own person.

How is it that these moments find us when we need them the most?  How is it that these old friends sneak back into our lives at those moments when we need an extra boost?  If only I could get a screenwriter for my life...