How to Renovate a Bathroom for Free a.k.a. Spring Cleaning

Laurel vs Spring Cleaning I

There was never a plan for this. I didn’t think, Spring approacheth, thus and therefore shall I eradicate all putrescence from mine humble lodgings. Two Mondays ago I got home from work and realized that I had only four days until my supervisor would come to my home to help fix my Internet, and the state in which my apartment lay was plain embarrassing.

The hair went up, the apron went on, and my grandmother’s pearl earscrews went in. This was a task for the 1950s Housewife..

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A Case of the Februarys

This month. Man, oh man. Is there anyone out there who loves February? The Christmas and New Year’s high is gone; we’ve stopped going to the gym and given up on nicotine patches and regular bedtimes. Valentine’s Day brings either anxiety or bitterness, sometimes both. Though the winter solstice is past, why is February the darkest month? February sucks.

I’ve had a bad case of the Februarys as I do every year. I caught a wicked cold, stopped cooking, skipped taiko and aikido (see “wicked cold”), started watching really awful TV shows online, and gave up on living in anything but squalor. Speaking of terrible TV, if you ever think to yourself, “I wonder what the Brits have done with the legend of Robin Hood lately?” I urge you to squash that thought like a bug. It’s horrifically bad.

Last Sunday I got a boost. Continue reading

Over the New Year (and an elephant question)

In that long week of no computer whilst you pined for an update, here’s what happened on my side.

Christmas. It was surprisingly busy; I partied like a fiend. Which is to say that I ate out a lot with many of the same people. Look, I have friends on Christmas Eve.

Admittedly, most of this dinner was about Kim-Chi’s new haircut. We have the same hairdresser, hence this picture. See how I’m smizing so hard?

I finished the fruits on my mural with crayon. Why had I ever thought that using Posca paint pens was the best way to go? Done learned my lesson. Now all that remains is to turn these random circles into a fruit tree. I might break out my old calligraphy brush for this job.

My chopstick light fixture was coming apart because I kept hitting it with things. I figured it was high time I redid it, and maybe made it look less cock-a-hoop. Geometry or a degree in architecture might have really shortened this process, because it took me four hours and a lot of Christmas music to figure out that I would never be able to remake the bird nest structure with the giant fluorescent bulbs in the way. I settled for a more modern Japanese aesthetic. Materials: Kitchen paper, hot glue, chopsticks. Continue reading

Out of Touch

I am without a home computer without further notice. Last night I took mine to the Apple store in Shinsaibashi to get the display fixed. Weirdly enough, the same guy from my last trip to the Apple store helped me out. Dear Ingen told me that because of the holiday rush (New Year’s is bigger than Christmas in Japan) the repairs would take seven to ten days. City Hall will close from tomorrow through January 2nd, so I’ll have only my iPod to keep me connected online. In a way I’m looking forward to it. I’ll read some books or play some music. Constant internet access is my biggest distraction; who knows, perhaps the upcoming days of disconnect will spur me to knock off a few of my goals on ye old Projects! list.

Anyone else gone computer-less in these modern times?

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