Changing Colors

I finally finished with the painting project I meant to do this past summer. Actually “finished” isn’t quite right. I still need to hang the pictures and art. I’ll need some new ones as well since the blue doesn’t match some of the reds and browns I had up before. What is it about doing one big project that makes everything else seem incomplete? Suddenly the kitchen needs a new floor, cabinets and light fixtures. Don’t forget the laundry room and that ridiculous looking threshold leading out onto the deck. Painting at least is relatively cheap. A lot of home projects, even for DIY superstars, get expensive quick. Usually something needs to give, either that summer vacation to Yellowstone the new F150. The paint, brushes, tarps and tape set me back a little, but I’m not giving up much. 

 I decided a few days ago that I really need to do the ceiling. Only after looking at the newly colored walls does the top look unacceptable. It’s sparse with bits of white paint spread thinly, like an Oreo cookie with the inside eaten out. The texture isn’t exactly smooth or regular and I have no idea what the finish was supposed to be. I guess it’s somewhere between an eggshell and a satin but it’s too shiny to be a flat white. I decided I like the flat white on the trim. Especially with a shiny satin finish on the walls, the contrast from dull to bright is noticeable. Honestly, listen to me. I’m going on like a Home Depot paint pro, wearing an apron, gesturing toward the brushes and blathering about contrasting color. I repaint walls in just under a decade and I’m qualified to opine about pigments and shades. It took 6 months to find the right blues. It might look too much like the bedroom of an 8 year old boy but at least it’s done.

Over the last few nights I’ve come home from work and put in a few hours clearing furniture and taping off windows and door frames. Here’s what’s strange, I imagined I’d be exhausted after the extra work but I enjoyed it. Anytime I can work and listen to a podcast or put on a football game, it’s a successful day. It must be the way I’m wired. I like to check things off lists, not just physical lists (but yeah those too) the mental ones that keep tapping me on the shoulder and asking when I planned to get to it. The only tough thing with painting is the mess and the cleanup. No one likes it but unlike say, framing a shed, it doesn’t come with the hassle of measuring and cutting. Not to mention poor measuring, bad cutting and throwing tools at the unfinished shed. So yes, I see more painting and list checking in the future, less framing.

I see similarities between writing and home projects. Both are outside of my regular paid job but necessary for long term value. Writing is educational, it forces me to think critically and organize ideas under philosophical principles even if I don’t always understand them. I write some copy for money but mostly it’s for me. Having home projects is practically rewarding because I’m adding value to the house, in very real terms. Both teach skills that translate to money with enough effort.

I’ve written in different ways about making the most of my time, partly because I tend to waste it. I’m far too likely to blow off a few hours watching TV or reading. Nothing against resting, we all need it. That nagging voice to stop wasting time gets louder every year though. Sometimes just changing habits is enough to shake off the laziness, the boredom, the sluggishness. Rearrange the way in which daily routines play out.

 I realize I’m writing this just a few days after the New Year. It’s a coincidence really, then again maybe not. Like most Americans I’m conditioned to start thinking about ‘newness’ at this time of year. What goes, what improves, what begins, what ends?

For me it’s about purpose. Be purposeful in every task, every essay, every project. So I started with paint colors and finished with New Year’s resolutions. Happy New Year.