What've You Been Doing?

I was talking on the phone to my sister the other day and she asked me, "so what've you been doing?" Hmmm...good question. I've just been, you know, doing my thing, I guess.

The architecture gig has been getting me down lately. Not really the whole gig, just this one particular job I'm working on. And not even the job in particular (it's a harmless little MRI suite build-out), but the co-worker I'm working with on it. Yeah, he's bringing me down. And the thing is... Here's the thing: He's not an asshole. Not by a long shot. He's a really nice, quiet, friendly, benign man. He's just...flakey. And wishy-washy. And IT. DRIVES. ME. CRAZY. He is not a "Big Picture" personality. It's a clear case of not being able to see the forest through the trees. Only he gets hopelessly lost in the trees for days and then I have to send in a search party.

In addition to the woes of working with Tree Man, I've been feeling oddly disconnected from my work lately. I'm not sure what that's all about but it's kind of concerning. I'm also not really sure what to do to fix it because I'm not really sure where it's coming from.

On the Getting-Out-To-Make-Friends front, Daniel and I attended a dinner at a local restaurant hosted by the Nashville Secular Life group. Remember I told you about them? Well, we finally went to one of their events and, surprisingly, had a great time and met some really interesting people. One couple we connected with were originally from Cleveland and knew a former Hiram College president (not G. Ben - the one before him). The male half of the formerly-of-Cleveland couple is a construction industry attorney, (I wonder if he knows my former Hiram employer who was also a construction attorney?) and his wife works as some kind of healthcare rep. So the four of us got along really well and it turned out to be a fun social evening.

Volunteering more has also been a priority in not only our effort to meet more people, but simply to offer community support. Thus, I recently contacted the Martha O'Bryan Center. It's a facility located in our neighborhood that helps fight cyclical poverty and assists the poor. They offer really great programs for both adults and children. Here's their website if you're interested in their mission or more information. I contacted them about getting involved with their volunteer program and right now they need help with the meals on wheels service they provide. So, starting March 5th, Daniel and I will help deliver meals to our neighbors. It seems like a good way for us to help out our community and meet more people.

Of course, the house still occupies a good deal of our time. The dining room is finally complete and functional once more as a place to dine. I was ecstatic to eat our first meal there - at a TABLE, instead of perched on the couch or hunched over the coffee table in the living room. It's awesome. We also FINALLY got switchplates for the kitchen. I don't know what the hell we were waiting for! I guess I just thought it was a little detail that wouldn't make much difference, so I kept forgetting about it. But, OMG, it makes a huge difference. It just feels so FINISHED now. And that is a good feeling.

Here are some before and after photos of the dining room:

BEFORE: Be sure to take note of the lovely wallpaper with not one, but two borders. Also absorb the spectacularly dreadful chandelier. And don't forget about the lovely white, institutional, aluminum mini blinds gracing the windows.







And AFTER: Wallpaper - GONE. Mini Blinds - GONE. Chandelier - GONE. Yay!





Clearly, Gwennie is enamoured with the transformation as well.



Obviously, we still have lots of bare walls...and the cabinets still need pulls...and we could maybe use a tablecloth and some seat cushions...but, it's a helluva lot better than it was and it makes me happy!

The next space in the house we're focusing on is the walk-out basement. Since ripping out the nasty disgusting carpet nearly 10 months ago, it's just become more and more disgusting and a catch-all for anything we don't know what to do with. I won't tell you what the plan is exactly but I will promise to post before and after pictures once the transformation is complete.

Okay, I realize this post is throwing a lot at you, but here's the other little thing I've been "doing": Like everyone and their brother, I committed to cutting out concentrated refined sugars in my diet for Lent (not for any religious reason, just as a place to start). And while this little thing may sound like it doesn't take much effort, I ate A LOT of sugar and sugar is apparently in EVERYTHING. So, I'm reading and researching about sugar, grocery shopping takes twice as long because I have to read every fucking label, I'm cooking a lot more so I know exactly what ingredients I'm ingesting. And all of that takes time. Maybe I'll go into more of the nitty gritty details in another post, but just know that simply eliminating sugar from one's diet when previously one ate a shit-load of sugar takes a lot of planning.

Daniel is occupying some of his time by taking a class at Middle Tennessee State University. Some advanced financial markets seminar that is WAY beyond my Geek Meter, but whatever floats his boat, right?

So, other than all of the above, I'm not doing much else except watching tv once in a while (LOST is SO awesome this season...yes, even awesomer than before if you can imagine!), doing laundry, cleaning the house...you know, the stuff people do.