The last few days have been as close to being back in college and having summer break as I will ever get again. I got a new job (!!) that starts tomorrow, and was given the option of taking Tuesday-Friday off from my previous job last week. Though my bank account is sorely upset, that was an offer I was not prepared to pass up. So for the last 7 days I have been laying at the beach, sleeping in, being lazy, and doing whatever I feel (or don’t feel) like doing. It has been GLORIOUS. Even better, Adam took Friday off of work so we got to experience the perplexing “LA lifestyle” of brunching and having coffee during prime hours on a workday. Someone please teach me how to make a living out of that because I am GREAT at it.
On this idyllic day off I ran a few errands with my live-in-lover, one of which was going to surf shops to “see what they have.” We walked out of one with ANOTHER surf board for Adam, making the grand total in our baby apartment 3. When I asked why 3 was necessary he informed me “it’s like shoes.” I would like to point out this is not a valid argument. Not because the point is off the mark, but rather because this is the excuse Adam uses for EVERYTHING. Why is the storage unit filled to the brim with your crap? It’s like shoes. Why is the hall/coat closet filled with 5 plastic crates, a saw, 2 helmets, a bike pump, and unusable bike parts? It’s like shoes. You get the point.
Friday also marked the day of an infamous Victoria meltdown due to the disarray and clutter in our home. In addition to the storage units and closet being filled, the top of the wall-to-wall units was covered with ish and Adams nice, shiny, new computer has been sitting on our dining room table for weeks. It was all too overwhelming and it had to stop. So I freaked out, yelled a bit and made Adam promise he would clean out his “hobby” bins and either find or build a desk for his computer (this desk, I might add, has been in the “drawing phase” for WEEKS).
Saturday while Adam surfed (which he better do all the effing time now that there are 3 boards begging to be used) I got up and went through my clothes. Clothes, shoes and bags…these are the only things Adam ever uses as ammunition when we are fighting about space, so I figured I better beat him to the punch and organize on my end before the bickering started. This was also part of my master-plan to kick start the cleaning and organizing so that it wouldn’t get overlooked (like it has been for the last 5 months or so). After [not enough] organizing and a break at the beach we headed to Adam’s mecca: The Home Depot.
I am not opposed to working outdoors, getting dirty (if forewarned), and DIYing. I understand Home Depot is a means to an end: if I want a desk, we need to get the supplies to build it. I do not, however, enjoy spending my Saturday night there. I especially don’t like making a task longer and more drawn out than need be (I pride myself on efficiency). Adam, however, does not see the same value in doing it right the first (and only) time. We frequently buy more supplies than needed (literally, we get a box of screws EVERY SINGLE time we go), mis-measure and subsequently buy incorrect materials and browse the aisles with no real purpose (other than to grab more unnecessary supplies).
Generally I pay no real attention when project planning…usually I am along for the ride and am completely content supervising and project managing. Recently, however, I have started adding some input in the hopes of expediting the process (note: doing it right the first time). Before leaving Home Depot Saturday I was assured that, though my input was noted, we did in fact have all the supplies we needed and each item was the right one. We got everything up into the treehouse, I fell asleep, and we woke up early Sunday for pancakes and projects!
The first words out of Adam’s mouth on Sunday were conveniently the words I did not want to start the day with: I need to go back to Home Depot. Why? Yep, you guessed it…incorrect measuring and wrong materials. Perfect. Add another snafu involving the fore mentioned screws and you can imagine how I was feeling about this project. Luckily, the issues stopped there and a few hours later we had a desk! We even fancied it up a bit with stain (ballin’) and now we are just waiting for it to dry. Organization will be mine!
Check back soon for pics of the finished desk. In the meantime…
xx- Victoria