17 Shades of Gray

I'm currently working on a project that I first worked on back in 2007. Back then, I lived in Dallas and worked for a different firm, and I was master-planning the project.

Then, of course, 2008 had to go and happen, and I lost my job, and the project was shelved for a couple of years.

Fast forward to 2013.

When I graduated, I began work at an amazing firm in Houston, and I love it there. Here. Wherever. I'm also back on that 2007-era project, albeit designing apartment units for the client, instead of laying out the site.

I confess, I'm happy I'm no longer a part of the master-planning shennanigans. They were pretty miserable, because of all of the codes, covenants, and restrictions governing what could be done on the site, where, and how.

The client decided that they wanted us to design the units' interiors, as well, which is a bit of an unusual request, for us. Typically, the interior designer who handles the amenity spaces - the club room, lobby, gym, etc. - also does the apartment interiors.

Not this time around.

Since we technically don't have any interior designers working in our multi-family studio, I was nominated to the post of temporary interior-designery-type person.

It's been crazy. For three weeks, my desk - and the table I technically share with three coworkers - was drowning in a sea of carpet, tile, quartz, and cabinetry samples. Now, fortunately, I just have a few cabinetry samples and a few errant tiles lying around, because I claimed space in the Resource Center for my very own: a basket, labeled with the project name, containing samples of everything needed for three separate buildings.

I didn't mention that, did I?

Yep, three buildings, with three price-points for rental, three target demographics, and three distinct characters.

It's fun, but a bit overwhelming.

In a few days, I'll be drowning in 17 paint samples, because trying to go through the fan decks in our Resource Center to find a decent shade of white and a nice shade of gray was just overwhelming, so I ordered some that looked likely from the Benjamin Moore professional website.

Also, it's almost impossible to tell what a color's going to look like from a tiny little swatch on a fan deck.

The process of choosing a perfect white and a passable gray reminds me of this fall, when I helped my sister select whites for her new house (it's gorgeous. Seriously.). We painted umpteen-million swatches of paint on the wall in search of two whites - one for the wall, and one for the trim and cabinetry.

I think we did a good job, though the contractors probably thought we were insane, what with all of the whites we went through (a bazillion, in case I failed to mention).

I look forward to the next few days, when I'll receive my new paints - which will hopefully be neither too green nor too blue nor too pink, because apparently, gray can be too pink, as can white - and meet with two product reps about engineered hardwood floors, which I'm having some trouble pinning down for one building.

Fortunately, right now, all I have to do is pick fixtures for the bathrooms and kitchens - two of the buildings will probably end up with the same fixtures, because it's difficult to find ones I like and that I think the client will also like. The mid-priced building and the value-priced building already have their floors selected, fortunately.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to afford to live in even the value-priced building. Good thing it's in Dallas, so I don't have to worry about it!

Once in a Blue Moon...

Once in a Blue Moon, I'll decide to post something, come onto the ole blogsite, and then sit in front of my keyboard, absolutely clueless about what I'm going to write.

It's been about 6 months since I last blogged. The reason for my lack of blogs is that I now have a job, and I often work overtime at said job (and get paid for said overtime, at that), and when I get home, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of my computer and stare at the computer screen.

And when I am at home, looking at my computer screen, it's because I'm: 1) still working (but in bed); 2) looking online for things for my sister (like bedspreads for my niece's bedroom in my sister's and BIL's new house); 3) researching stuff for the story I'm currently writing; 4) on eHarmony, scoping out the hunks.

Yup, still on eHarmony.

Or, should I say, back on eHarmony.

For a while, I was "inactive", because I was dating someone (for about... 4 months? ish?). I really liked him, even though he was an architect.

Okay, he is an architect, but he's dead to me, now, so we'll say was.

Our relationship was going well: I'd told him about my health problems - which is always terrifying for me, because I've had guys find out that I have them and *poof* disappear - and he seemed okay with it. He was cute and funny and intelligent and could fix things himself.

And then, my candida infection came back as a result of antibiotic treatments during which (like an idiot) I ate a less than stellar diet.

It took 6 weeks of treatment - medication again, super-strict diet again - before it was cleared up, and during that time, I was really tired and weak.

And the now-ex-boyfriend found out exactly what I meant when I said "I have health problems" and explained them to him.

Essentially, after I got better, he disappeared. He just quit calling me.

At first, I thought that maybe he felt like he was having to make all the effort at communication, and so I called and texted him just to check in, and suggested we have a meal, or something.

We met for breakfast - for the first time in two weeks - the day before Thanksgiving, after which I went to a doctor's appointment and then flew to Dallas for the holidays.

Once I returned to Dallas, his lack of communication continued. And then he was busy.

I made one last-ditch effort - texted on a Sunday afternoon to see if he was free any night that week - and his response was "You can come over after I go for a run, tonight, if you want to."

In other words, if I wanted to see him, I'd have to drive 30 minutes (he didn't live close to me). And I had to work that evening - as I'd been doing quite a bit, at that time, because of a looming meeting. I was trying to plan my week - rearrange my schedule if need be - so I could see him.

When I told him I had to work that night but was free any other night, his response was "Bummer."  There was no suggestion that I come over another evening.

I waited an hour to see if he'd suggest I come over another evening, and then said, "Screw you, a*$#@*%!" (but not in a sexual way) and reactivated my eHarmony account immediately.

I've since been on two dates - one was a definite "Aw, hell no!", but today's was excellent if I pretend his hair is different - and I'm okay.

Oh bla dee, oh bla dah, life goes on.

(But seriously, f**k that guy.)

Ignore Previous Post

After absolutely GUSHING about the wonderful apartment I found outside the 610-loop, I had some serious renter's remorse. I quickly realized that 1) I will be working overtime, pretty soon, and a 30 minute commute each way was really going to be annoying when that happened; and 2) the increased commute - when calculated in terms of the IRS dollar/mile thingy - would mean I'd be paying MORE each month than if I lived inside the loop at a considerably more expensive rate ($226 more per month for driving, in fact). So I decided to keep looking, as I hadn't yet signed a lease for the palatial apartment in the Memorial area.

And I obsessively checked the Houston Area Realty website every night, hoping I'd find a gem.

Guess what?

I totally did.

It doesn't have a washer-dryer in the apartment, but there's a laundry room literally right outside my door. It's a secure access building - you have to buzz people in, and there's an alarm on the external doors, so if they're open too long, someone knows - with covered and gated parking. All bills are included, and it's 100 SF larger than my current apartment (200 SF smaller than the one in Memorial, but hey, it's also 10 miles closer to work). And it's $1000 per month.

I'm ecstatic.

It's owned by a doctor and his wife - the doctor lived in it when he finished medical school eons ago, and now they live in a larger condo near the Galleria - and they rent it out, preferably to single professionals.

I walked in and immediately knew I wanted it. It's on the third floor - of an elevator building! - with an interior entry. Because it's a third floor apartment, it has 10' ceilings, and the smallish kitchen manages to cram in TONS of cabinet space, while still leaving room for a crock-pot to cook while I'm away at work (once I buy a crock-pot, that is).

I had to sign a lease beginning June 15 - a full two weeks earlier than I'd hope for - but if I hadn't, another woman would have gotten it. I was the first person to see the apartment after it was listed, and I rented it on the spot.

So now, I've begun the task of purging my apartment of architecture studio supplies, books, and clothes that no longer fit, or are no longer how I want to dress. I took a carload of stuff - some dishes, some clothes - to Goodwill yesterday, and last weekend, I set a box of books outside my door with a sign saying "Free books! Take one! Or five!" Two inebriated young men took In the Garden of Beasts, after some very amusing conversation, and someone Monday morning cleared out all but three of the rest (so about 15 books) and scrawled "Thank you SO MUCH!" on the sign.

Always happy to share my literary treasures with others. After I'm done with them, anyways. Otherwise get your own damn books.

Time to get back to cleaning out and sorting and tossing things.

And dreaming about my new place.

I Will Not Be Homeless, Come July

I have an apartment.

(Oh, also, the date last Sunday was highly enjoyable, so he totally made up for his initial misstep. Just FYI.)

Although I originally wanted to stay within the 610 Loop - and thus close to work - I quickly figured out that if I wanted to have 24 hr access to a washer and dryer, a dishwasher, and more than 550 SF, I was out of luck.

One of my major concerns has been finding somewhere with a rent that would financially allow me to:

1) Join a gym so I can work on getting my physical strength back up (because I can't have a post without mentioning my health, can I?)
2) Save money for a rainy day, aka a down payment for a new car (in the future, because I'm driving the Civic until it falls apart), a down payment for a condo, etc...
3) Have a little bit of mad money so I can do things like slipcover my sofa.

I ended up finding a place close to my sister and her family, however, which will make my commute 20-30 minutes in the morning. Not too terribly, and plenty of time to down a cup of coffee and eat some bacon, en route to the office.

The place I found is also HUGE. It's 960 square feet, on the second floor of a 2-story building.

I am ecstatic about not having someone stomping around overhead at all hours of the day and night.

And I have vaulted ceilings, a wood-burning fireplace that will never get used, and washer/dryer connections, so I'm reclaiming my washer/dryer from a friend who's currently using them in Dallas.

Earlier today, I put the floor plan into SketchUp so I could look at furniture arrangement. I quickly realized that the difficulty I have in my 660 square foot apartment will not be an issue in my new apartment: namely, I will have more space than I can handle.

My dining table - an antique gateleg that sits unused and unloved, folded up against a wall, at present - looks absolutely tiny in the dining room, which is 150 SF. That's twice the size of my current dining area, which is occupied by my desk and a buffet.

My living room will be over 400 square feet - it's 23' by 22', approximately. Fortunately, my desk and computer and computer chair and bookshelves will all be able to fit beautifully in the living room along with my sofa, end tables, TV and console, and chrome chair.

My bedroom is approximately 14 feet by 17 feet (all the measurements are approximate, because the floor plan I have has no dimensions, so I scaled off the width of the queen-size bed shown). That's more than enough room for my Scottish chest of drawers, queen-size bed, and bedside table.

Essentially, my apartment is going to be palatial.

And I need curtains. And possibly a bigger dining table, because it's seriously tiny, on the floor plan.


The dining table can wait, but the curtains...

See, the thing is, I already have curtains that I can use in the dining room. But the dining room is open to the living room. I can no longer buy the curtains I will use in the dining room, so that means I have to either buy curtains that intentionally don't match, or I will have to buy all new matching curtains.

What's a girl to do? Especially when she's a girl on a budget?

So I have a decision to make about the color direction in which my apartment is going - because you can't be a designer without being OCD. It looks like I'll by poring over the design scrapbooks for a few days, and probably wrangling my sister to get her opinion, while I'm at it.

At least I have two months to make a decision, right?

Right...

Two in One Week!

You lucky dogs!

So, I had intended to be at a design/art fair thingy, today, but I was stood up by the fellow who asked me to go.

I do NOT take kindly to being stood up, and I kind of made that plain when he called (45 minutes after we were supposed to go to the fair) to apologize profusely and beg for a do-over, to take place tomorrow. I am making an exception, this time, and granting one.

And I will give him s*!& forever about it, if he manages not to sleep through our appointed date time (we were going to meet at his house - near the location of the fair - and I sat outside the place for 20 minutes. After knocking. And calling. And texting.)

SO.

What am I doing, instead? Reviewing my annual budget figures using the new numbers from my salary (woohoo!) and looking for places to live.

My lease is up July 9, and I don't like to leave these things until the last minute. I'm in the process of negotiating to see an apartment in Montrose on Tuesday, hopefully, that's in my budget and will allow me to make decent contributions to my 401(k), Roth IRA, and savings accounts, because I have some serious catching up to do, now that I'm leaving grad school.

Because "smart women finish rich," according to an excellent book my mom once gave me (by the same title) that helped me target my financial goals. Of course, it also caused huge anxiety when my 401(k) from 2007-2008 lost 2/3 of its value, but whatever. I'm young, right? Right...

And now, I think I'm going to work on my much neglected design scrapbooks. They're big (12" x 18"), and I miss working on them. So here I go to wreck some scissors and get my hands all sticky! Fun!

Hallelujah!

I saw my doctor, today, about the whole candida infection thingy. I'm doing much better (with one major/minor exception, which we won't go into here, because it's not THAT big of a deal, usually). She was very pleased, as was I.

Huzzah!

Also, I asked her, during the appointment, if I could have 1) a glass of wine with my graduation luncheon; and 2) dessert at my graduation luncheon.

The answer: yes, but give it a trial run first to make sure I don't make myself ridiculously sick.

Wait, you mean I HAVE to have a glass of gluten-free alcohol and a gluten-free dessert between now and my graduation?

Oh, damn. I was really hoping... well, okay, I was hoping that I'd get to eat a gluten-free dessert and drink booze, so...

Huzzah!!!

In other news, I've been reading, since my thesis presentation took place. And, I mean, reading a lot. I just finished reading Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, which was spooky, but not keepyouupatnight spooky (unless you're upatnight because you're addicted to the book. Melatonin took care of that, for me).

Neverwhere is about a guy named Richard Mayhew. And a girl named Door. And people who speak to rats and don't ever keep their lives on their person and hunters and bloodthirsty assassins and angels and general amazingness. Because Neil Gaiman is generally amazing.

I recommend it.

Highly.

(I also just discovered that it was a TV series in the 1990s. Crazy.)

And now, I'm reading Where'd You Go Bernadetter?, which has a chick-lit looking cover, so I never would have bought it, in the book store, if not for the fact that one of the bloggers on BoingBoing.net recommended it.

It's told through multiple viewpoints: emails, first-person narrative, etc. and it essentially involves the disappearance of one Bernadette, mother to Bee and wife to Elgin, who has some emotional issues (like severe agoraphobia), along with a virtual personal assistant in India ($30/week? Sign me up, baby!). So far, it's pretty engrossing. I'm about 1/3 of the way through it.

An American Girl doll dressed up as Bernadette, standing next to the book. Awesomeness.

And now, on to plan my gluten-free dessert-fest, because I'm going to space out the consumption of dessert and booze. You know. Just to make sure...

Since FOREVER

That is how long it has been since I last wrote.

And, yes, I understand that almost every one of my most recent blog posts begins with me confessing to how terrible a blogger I am. It's part of my guilt/anxiety issues. You can talk to my former psychologist about it. (Actually, no, you can't: she legally can't discuss it with you, regardless of whether you buy her a beer or not).

Lots of things have happened:

1) I began the candida (yeast) cleanse and have seen pretty good results.
2) I discovered I have a benign cyst in my brain (because I need another medical issue. No really.)
3) I was informed that I have the 2nd highest GPA in my graduating class. WOOT!
4) I got a job. WOOT WOOT!


#1 Candida Cleanse
 
I've been dairy-, grain-, vinegar-, mushroom-, sugar-, and soy-free for over a month, now. I think it's actually been about 6 weeks. I've completed all the anti-fungal medications I've had to take, and I feel better.

Up until about two weeks ago, though, I did NOT feel better. I was exhausted constantly, despite the cortisol and hormone supplementation, the vitamins, and the B12 I was taking. And, due to some hormonal abnormalities my non-holistic doctor noted before I began the yeast cleanse, I had to go in for an MRI to see if I had a tumor on my pituitary gland.

The good news: No tumor, and I've now met my $2500 deductible for the year (okay, the second one is only sort-of good news).

The bad news: I have a cyst on my pineal gland.


#2 Cyst on my pineal gland.

What the hell is a pineal gland? Well, it's a gland shaped like a pine cone (thus the pineal part) that regulates the body's production of melatonin. And what does melatonin do? It partially helps regulate your sleep cycle. And when does your body create melatonin? When you sleep (it's a whole big cyclical cyclical cyclical thing). When I did some research into my pineal gland and its function, I realized that its presence - and hindrance of melatonin production, because mine is large enough to be symptomatic - might be why I'm constantly tired.

Solution: supplement with melatonin. Result: feel more rested, less exhausted, and the full effects of the yeast cleanse kick in because I'm now sleeping.

Granted, I'm doing the whole "sleep four hours, awake 20-60 minutes, sleep four more hours" thing, but apparently, according to anthropologists, that's the way people are really kind of supposed to sleep. The problem comes when you stress out because you're not getting 8 solid hours of sleep. Don't stress out, just accept it, read a book, needlepoint, do whatever, and you'll go back to sleep eventually.

So, overall health: vastly improved. Migraine frequency: decreased. Energy levels: increased.

WOOT!


#3 Second-highest GPA.

I'm smart.


#4 I'm employed!

I interviewed with a large-ish local firm, and was hired. Granted, I interviewed three times - twice in-person, and once by phone - before I was hired, but still, I'm hired.

And it's a firm for which I REALLY wanted to work. And I'll be doing what I love: residential unit design.

"And the people rejoiced!"

I had hoped I'd have a week between the last week of school and my first week of work, but alas! It is not to be. I will actually be starting work on May 10, the day before my graduation (it's a Friday, which is an excellent day to kill by filling out forms and making 401(k) decisions, etcetera).

Fortunately, after my thesis presentation tomorrow (Monday, April 22, that is), I don't have a heck of a lot to do. I mean, sure, I have two papers due, but writing papers is one of the things I do best, and one of them is already (mostly) written. I just have a few graphics to create and then some blanks to fill in my paper, and the blanks are noted in bright red so I don't miss them when I'm looking at the file.

And it's a good thing that I don't have a ton of stuff to do, because I have a ton of stuff to do. I've been going through a "get this $@!^ out of my house!" phase, and as a result, I have a few bags of $@!^ piled up by my front door, mostly clothes I no longer wear - or have any desire to wear. I've even sorted through some of my books so I can purge them from my shelves.

That's how you know $@!^'s real. I have no intention of being completely altruistic and giving away all this bounty, however. Oh, no. I'm heading to Buffalo Exchange on this upcoming Tuesday to see how much I can get for that BCBG party dress, and that chiffon and lace shirt that's ten years old, looks brand new, and is WAY too big for this gal.

Did I mention I lost 10 lbs on the yeast cleanse? And that I'm considering sticking with the yeast cleanse uber-diet because I just feel better? And because I'm terrified of another candida infection? Because I totally am. Terrified. And feeling better.

Hopefully the cash from selling my clothes will be enough to help me on the route to buying an additional pair of flats, because I only really have two that I wear, and I'm afraid my favorites are getting worn out. Also, I need some pants, because I don't really have any work pants, these days.

So much to do. So much to do.

But for once, it feels nice.