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Originally Posted by Wahine
I wanna see the post too!! :))
LBTC - Thanks for the tips. Ya.. I had no idea the class would kick my apparently sorry butt so much. I'd never done these types of classes before. Or hell maybe it's jsut age these day. Will attempt more stretching.. Ow...
OMG! Clean house!?! Clean car?!? Trek's response:Quote:
Originally Posted by KnottedYet
"Toto, we're not in Hayward any more"
Trek is on her way back to San Francisco. Somewhere over Oregon right now, I'd guess.
whine........ :(
Won't see her until next month. whine....
awe.... hugs knot.
just think, the next month will just fly by.
I'm home! Spazzdog picked me up at the airport, aaack Oakland Airport is a mess. My dog is very happy to see me and looks well cared for by my pet sitter. See you in a month, Knott.
For Knot and Trek, in the words of some dead white guy ;) , "Parting is such sweet sorrow." Try to focus on how much fun the next homecoming will be.:)
Next month we start condo-projects. Painting, flooring, kitchen. I love to paint, so this will be fun. Trek is using two different colors, turning one of her windowless (adjoins the other condo) walls into an accent wall.
Anybody got any favorite painting tips?
(one of my favorites: paint early in the day, then leave the house while it dries and airs out. Like, go for a bike ride! :D )
1. Decide place needs a new coat of paint.Quote:
Originally Posted by KnottedYet
2. Hire a painter.
3. Go on vacation while painter makes magic happen.
Today or tomorrow, the banker's being a jerk about the time
Trek "I have the day off today, I would rather sign today because it's a day off which I took to do this thing"
Wells Fargo "Oh, but we can do this Friday after your work, we have a mobile notary, it's so handy!!"
Trek "I just told you, Thursday is more convenient and after work...I wanna be home..."
anyway I'm supposed to refi my mortgage so it goes from :eek: :eek: :confused: :mad: :eek: to more like merely :eek: :eek:
This should allow me to do some much-needed nesting.
The condo looks like I foundaplaceboughtaplacemovedin and then preceded train to do back to back AIDS rides where all you do is work_eat_sleep_train...because I did.
The carpet has just gotta go, but it does make a handy back up tarp so might as well do any re-painting before I rip it out.
Knott but also Spazzdog both suggested that a warmer white in the living room should make it feel larger and warmer. Good thing about the living room, shaded by stand of 3 redwood trees in the geenspace bad thing about the living room....
The kitchen's a disaster, a lot to do but it's got potential and character.
But on the other hand if the sellers had done any of this I would not have been able to afford a place in the Bay Area.
That was going to be my painting tip: repaint before re-flooring. Been there, done that. :eek: Also, have you considered a very pale yellow--that could warm up a room, too. Some paint brands now offer little tester jars so you can actually paint a swatch of wall and live with it for a few days before sinking money into 5 gallons of whatever.Quote:
Originally Posted by Trek420
And if despite your best efforts, you end up with a color you don't like on the walls as much as you liked on the paint chip, you might try a faux-painting technique. In my bathroom, I painted over what turned out to be a yucky mauve by splatting on brushfuls of white and tan, then smooshing it with plastic bags. The mauve is still there, underneath, mostly hidden, but showing through here and there and lending a nice depth to the overall effect. This is just one idea--there are lots of things you can do with paint.
Sounds like a great place, with redwoods, green space, etc. Good luck with it!
Bad JuJu,
splatting and smooshing sounds like great fun! I would like to stencil on walls or floor someday when I have a place I really want to stay in but there i go building condos in the sky. :)
But since my intention has been to turn the place within a few years I don't know about having a border of bicycles around the room :p The next buyer is likely to prefer to see SUV's :o
Queen, hiring a painter sounds great. I don't have the butch gene :(
So I'm not likely to put down my own flooring, and even less likely to install my own cabinets. But paint? I can do that though help is nice and fun. I did what I did to date, this'll just be much mo' better colors.
Spazzdog (who has an incredible eye and decorative sense) says when it's done I should hang my art and light the accent wall.
Who wants to go to Ikea with me?
When it comes to remodeling I don't like to go away and trust that it'll all happen while I'm gone. This is not Extreme Makeover where they send you to Disneyland (or in my case I'd want a bike tour) and you come back and it's done and fabulous.
What happens is contractors get to a decision point "uh, lady? This sink won't fit" and stand there scratching their heads, drinking Diet Pepsi with the clock running and the project stopped. Been there, done that....oh 3 or 4 times.
So you wanna be there or at least reachable by phone.
The other thing I don't let contractors do is clean up. "you there, tear things out, put them back together, I don't know how to do that. I did not hire you to sweep the sawdust. Go home." ;) :rolleyes:
Another idea with cupboards. If they are generally in good shape, you can go to Home Depot and have new doors and drawer fronts made. I did that in my bathroom, it made a huge difference, and didn't cost as much as redoing an entire double vanity.
me! me!Quote:
Originally Posted by Trek420
i was just talking about that yesterday. there is no Ikea here in alaska. so many things we don't have. :(
Don't feel bad CWR, we don't have one either (actually, I've never been to one).Quote:
Originally Posted by chickwhorips
They are not.Quote:
Originally Posted by snapdragen
I took the doors off the kitchen cabs and the drawers off right away, tossed 'em, repainted the kitchen. The drawers were horrific.
Kitchen right now is open cabinet but I can't live or cook that way.
There's molding around the dining nook, don't know what it's called but about 1/3rd the way up the wall like waist high that goes around and that's now a deep deep red, below that is now a lemon curd yellow, above like a capucino foam white.
Picture the sellers huge blended household living in much too small a space for them and with an all fried food all the time diet with original 1970's dark pressboard cabs, I don't think they'd ever painted. Ewwww.
Let's not even talk about the floor. But again, I have to thank them because if they'd done even a lick of work I would not be here :)
Took a lotta TSP and TLC to be able to paint there. I don't even like to think about their circulatory system.
In life as in home remodel you choose your battles.
I don't like the layout of the cabs, one simple change could give me a whole lot more prep space. I ((((heart)))) counter space.
But maybe just want to make it liveable and or sellable.
I've heard that Ikea kitchens are even less expensive and I sure like the look. The only drawback is I hear you'd better measure about 20 bazzilion times because when they deliver you have 24 hours to discover "oops, I'm a millimeter off here". No returns after that. Where Lowes, Homeless Depot they will even come out and double check your work if you want. .
Gawd, Trek, if I didn't have a job and all I'd just fly down there an' help with all the mz-fixit stuff. oh, the things we give up in life to be practical! :rolleyes: :D
Kit, thanks but let's not ruin a good friendship by working on a condo shall we? You know anyone who likes their contractor/carpenter once they get done? I don't;) :cool: :rolleyes:
But yes, oh the things we could all do and places we could see if we didn't have jobs and such. Fie on being a grown-up.
Queen, CWR, The in-person Ikea experience is highly overrated, huge ungainly store, be happy they don't have one.
Their herring in sour cream and Swedish meatballs available near the checkout line, those are good. :)
Avoid the crowd and parking lot, get the catalog, shop online, they deliver!! :D :D :D
TreKnot - I love to paint and I'm a pretty decent carpenter. Anything I can help with just speak up. Even just measuring, and remeasuring, and remeasuring... Um, just don't ever ask me to wallpaper. :eek: My Mom still gets palpitations from my last adventure. Wait, I won't do carpet again either. I swear, my knees hurt for a year. :(
Oh, I looooooove Ikea. I like to roam around and sit on the chairs, bounce on the beds, check out all the little kitchen gadgets, click on all the lamps... and then just get some meatballs/sauce and head home. :o (Hey Jen, they've got Lingonberries!!!!)
*X-I'm at one with Home Depot-rayted* (they actually know me by name here :cool:)
I'm still married to mine. Wanna borrow him for a few days this summer? We'll be flying over to watch you and UK ride in to LA. Maybe he could do a bit of cabinetry work when we're back up in NoCal? He's slow, though, so not much would be finished. He measures and draws and plans for days before cutting and nailing, and meditates over the tricky bits (like moldings around corner cabinets) for hours. Which is why our kitchen looks so gooooood. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Trek420
Are you sure you're not married to my husband? That sounds just like him. It must have taken him 5 days to put the 6 or so tiles next to the toilet cause he wanted it just a certain way!Quote:
Originally Posted by Duck on Wheels
Uh. Yeah. I take the zen approach to decorating/building. If it doesn't match up right? Plane it down. Use filler. *shrug* It ends up exactly the way it's 'supposed' to. ... but everything is 'supposed' to be just a liiiiittle bit different 'round me. :D
oh, so many things you don't have; gridlock, traffic jam in "the maze" any time they have a sale .... we feel so bad. ;) :rolleyes: :cool: will trade you for wildlife, peace and quiet ....Quote:
Originally Posted by chickwhorips
Kit, are you sure you're not the gal who tiled my bathroom? ;) :cool: :rolleyes: "tiles schmiles, these boarder/edge tiles can go .... oh, just about anywhere I want like here in the middle, just add more grout" :rolleyes: :confused: :o very creative :D :cool:
na that's ok.......Quote:
Originally Posted by Trek420
Darn! ;) :rolleyes: :p Well, a girl can always ask.Quote:
Originally Posted by chickwhorips
I think that's called a "chair rail". Can't get up the energy to go to wikipedia to check that, but I think that's what it's called.Quote:
Originally Posted by Trek420
That would explain all of the strange, strange dreams I had, heading to Cali with flowers in my hair, jeans and birks, only to... um... tile a lady's bathroom.Quote:
Originally Posted by Trek420
Good luck on your test today, Trek! I'm sending out good vibes from 7:30 to 10:30! (pacific standard time:D )
Queen, we're not missing *anything* not having IKEA IMO. Yukky stuff.
Crate & Barrel, now, I'd like to see a nice outlet tucked in behind the Meijer they're going to put up on Philo & Windsor...
A Crate & Barrel and a Trader Joes and I'd be tickled pink! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Geonz
Yes, it's a chair rail. We got rid of ours in the dining room during the Christmas holiday kitchen repaint. So happy with the change!Quote:
Originally Posted by KnottedYet
Colour is great! Don't be shy with it. Choose colours that set the mood you want, and that have enough brightness you don't need to have the pale washed out colours....
Hugs and colourful butterflies!
~T~
Good Luck Trek!!!!!!!!!
Good luck Trek!! :) :D :) :D
SHE PASSED!!!!!!
:D :D :D :D :p :p :p :p :D :D :D :D
I'm so proud of my electrical engineering telecommunications electronics technology mathematical genius!!!!
WOO HOO, WAY TO GO TREK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by KnottedYet
I think this calls for an extra birthday-celebratory-and-exam-congratulatory donation to her AIDS Lifecycle ride :D :D :D Perhaps also one from her electronics engineer BIL ...? That's rider #4223 -- http://www.aidslifecycle.org/4223Quote:
Originally Posted by KnottedYet
WOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOO
HOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
Thanks all.
The test is called the DTSAT. Everything's an acronym @ da' phone company, this one stands for Digital Technology Skill Assesment Test. It's a test of basic electronics knowlege including digital switching systems, transmission, digital logic .... it's 3 hours long and it's a doozie.
Midway through the tester said "we're calculating the results and you're all doing well so far" but that was before the section where :eek: :eek: I was muttering "shoulda paid more attention when Kit was specking in ASCI and 1's and 0's because I sure could use that now". :o
There are many many traditions in da' phone company.
One is when they announce the test results they call up the ones who did NOT pass first.
So we were waiting in the lobby, about 20 of us, all the others took the 3 month long class for this test and knew each other.
I studied on BART each day. :o
I'm off to the side kinda collapsed on the couch and the tester calls me over.
"Oh well, guess I can take it again in 6 months". :o
But she just wanted me there .... when she announced that the whole group passed!!
We applauded each other as we each got a copy of the results.
What this means is that I can now put in for jobs in the "technical side of the fence"; testing tecnicians, FACS admin, Comtech, they are really pushing for fiber to the prem tech's for Project Lightspeed but I don't think I want to do that.
Does not mean that the openings are there although there is what we call "movement in the company", people moving around and creating openings by doing that...but it does mean I can apply for them, more ways to move around and get a change of scenery from this cubicle here and more $$$.
But I told my manager "I passed the DSTAT :) :) but I love it here of course :cool: "
WOOHOO TREK!!!!!
*X falls over a cracks her head on the floor, xray geeks come in, haul her off to the "the room" and start cutting off her clothes.* Hey, wait! Ya don't gotta cut my clothes off for a head xray! :eek: *smackin' patties and kickin' shins* :D
hee hee hee...... way to go Trek. I had no doubts. ;)
X-I'LL SAVE YOU!!!!
*starts ordering people around* You! I want an AP shot here and a PA shot there and YOU! HAND ME THOSE SCISSORS!
*naughty grin*
Way to go Trek - congratulations!