Ex-Painter

I used to paint for a living, when I was in college. Not one of those "college painters" but an actual member of the paint crew on my college campus. So I spent my summers painting the dorm rooms and school years painting the academic and office buildings. It was a great job. We took long breaks and every Friday went for a long lunch at Godfather's Pizza and made malts in a 5 gallon bucket with a special attachment that we used on the big "drill" we used to mix mud and cement. We painted above and beyond the call of duty one summer so our boss took us to Valleyfair for a day. Just like the last day of school or some other fun field trip memory. That job kicked ass.

So you would think that I would know my way around a paintbrush. Which I do, mostly. What I don't know are the answers to questions people have surrounding painting. Like how to patch any kind of hole, spread mud over drywall and the proper way to use a spray gun. A few of these questions came up while prepping and painting my bedroom today. We had a moisture problem in the distant past that wreaked havoc on our one wall and part of the ceiling. Not too bad, but it did require some extra attention. And that is the last thing you want to do when painting is your goal. Prepwork is the horrid part of the task that no one wants to do. All the friends say, "Painting? Oh, I'll help!" knowing that you have to have all the prepwork done before hand so that it's ready to paint when they come over. No one says, "Painting? You want me to come over the day before and help you prep the area?" If anyone ever says that to me they will immediately become my very best friend ever.

I finally got the prepwork done and the first coat of paint on the walls. Stan took Noah to the park while I worked so I was able to listen to adult music at an adult level (i.e. LOUD!). I finally got a chance to listen to the new Weezer album that I got my grubby little hands on a couple weeks ago. Jeppa has a friend in Norway who gets music before it's released here. A very kick ass connection. So I listened to that. Twice. And some recent Beck with a Beastie Boys chaser. It was the best part of my day.

So the room is looking good. The valances are gone. I don't know how people can pair 25 inches of material with a set of cheap shades and think, "Yeah, that looks good!" when it's obviously the trashiest thing ever. They will soon be replaced by curtains from IKEA. I need to do some hemming, but that's no big deal. Especially after the mega curtain project I completed in the basement to close off my massage space.

And it only took 3 years to get around to it. We have friends who have gorgeous homes with matching furniture and tastefully decorated rooms. But we console ourselves with the fact that they are also in serious debt because of it. It's hard to be patient sometimes, but in the end it's "Totally worth it" (must say in Strongbad voice).