By popular demand...

The living room with some of the furniture.



The living room with no furniture.



The hall



Although it has been a couple of weeks since the floors has been finished, I haven't really put the place back together yet. I'm now interviewing painters, and when they come, I'll have to move everything again anyway.

The walls have needed paint since I moved in - oh four years ago - but I haven't been able to figure out what colors I want. Now I have no choice. The floors are so beautiful now that the walls look ridiculous. So I'm looking for painters who also do color consulting.

Ah, the joys of home ownership!

Floors!!

My on-line presence might be pretty sketchy for the next week, as I'll be living in a very posh hotel as my NEW FLOORS are being installed.

I've been moving stuff out of the rooms with the warped hardwood floors to the kitchen and guest room, and I should have everything completed by the time the crew comes on Friday morning. I imagine I'll come home to all kinds of dust and nastiness, but beneath it all will be beautiful, shiny, freshly stained oak.

In other news, I'd like to thank the House, the Senate, and Drinky McDumbass for finally passing the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008!

Sure, there are some annoying provisions in there, but on the whole, I really believe this thing will create a more organized regulatory structure. It will force banks to assist homeowners in need, which will in turn bolster the work of banks, thrifts, and the bond market.

Oh, and it sort of saves my job for the time being.

Today's Horoscope

It always freaks me out just a little when the horoscope makes perfect sense and can actually be applied to my life:

You've got increased staying power now and can hold your own position, even in the stormy seas of change. You can feel the shifting tides, but remember that they aren't necessarily harmful. Get ready to engage with the unknown, for if you try to ignore your destiny, the faint music you hear will only get louder and louder until you cannot possibly shut it out.

By Rick Levine

Well, I'm glad to learn that destiny won't let me blow it off. Tides are shifting, no doubt.

This Visit is Barney-Free!

My horoscope doesn't bode well for today:

A close friend or family member may get on your nerves today, for your needs may be mutually exclusive. Instead of struggling to find common ground, it may be best to simply go off and do your own thing. Later on, it will be easier to connect and enjoy the company of others.

Binky is in town with me for the next few days. She's 16, she's beautiful, and she's mine, alright. But she's easily distracted and requires a lot of attention. And she seems to have inherited my two finest qualities: My smart ass and smart mouth. Good girl!

She got in a day and 1/2 late because Newark couldn't get it together. We chatted on the EL back to my place, where, upon arrival she made a b-line for the laptop, signed me out of everything and commandeered the machine. She ate. A lot. And then accused me of being Greek for "encouraging her to eat." Then we watched the first half of Little Miss Sunshine. She might be a little young for this one yet. She keeps asking when the action is going to happen. Of course, when there is some action, she's lost anyway, because she's talked and IMed through all the dialog that sets up the scene. We finally made it to bed at 2 am.

It's 10:30 and she's still asleep. I'm trying to use subtlity to wake her. So far, the sounds of making coffee and running the dishwasher haven't helped. I'm trying to remember back, visit after visit, to see if I can remember when she started sleeping through the morning. Once upon a time at the crack of dawn, she would have crawled into bed with me at dawn and tried to rouse me with the Barney Song. If that failed, she'd just have started jumping on the bed.

It's an idea!

Home Improvement - Sort of

It may shock you to know that it takes me forever to make decisions about The Condo. For example, it took me five years to find the Couch of My Dreams and three years to find the kitchen table. I don't agonize over all my decisions like this, in case you're wondering. I just feel like if it is for The Condo it is somehow a commitment - a covenant that has to be honored respected for ever and ever, (amen.)

One of the purchases I've been needing to make for about two years is that of a garbage can. I used to have a crappy Rubbermaid one that I bought at some dollar store in Ohio when I was an undergrad. I had it here at The Condo for about a year - big, blue, beaten up, and stained - until one day I just couldn't stand looking at it anymore, and I tossed it in the dumpster.

Since then, my kitchen has been without a garbage can. Trash has been collected in grocery store bags that hang from the back doorknob. This works well for one reason, and one reason only: it makes me take the trash out every single day. But that isn't always convenient and it makes it a little gross to use the door. So the search for a garbage can began.

I looked at every housewares store in the area. I looked at Target and Walmart, I looked at Home Despot and some local boutique-y places. Most garbage cans are too large. The smaller, nicer, non-rubber ones I like cost over $100. No receptacle for my trash is worth that kind of money. So I continued my search. Bed, Bath, and Beyond was too expensive and Linen's n'Things didn't have anything I liked.

For whatever reason, I woke up this morning thinking, "I've got to stop the garbage can nonsense TODAY!" Maybe I had a dream?

So on my shopping trip today, I walked right into Bed, Bath, and Beyond, intent that I was not leaving without a garbage can. I felt that twinge of anxiety I feel whenever I have to make a commitment, but I was determined to ignore it. Such strength, such honor, such fortitude!

And instead of biting my nails in indecision, I looked at the high-priced ones, I looked at the crappy brightly-colored plastic ones, and then I found this:It's perfect! It is small without being tiny, it is black, which matches my counter tops, and it will fade into the background, rather than to direct attention to itself. What's more, it has a secret clippy thing on the inside that holds the bag up. It also cost $30 with tax.

And so I dragged the thing home with me on the El with all of my other purchases, spent about 1/2 hour removing the stupid stickers on the front, and I installed a bag - a real garbage bag. And now I'm just waiting for something to throw away.

Maybe someday, I'll find something to put the TV and stereo in. Elapsed time since beginning this search: five years.