paloma's journal

the title of this post refers to a literal wall i removed, but it seems like it should be a metaphor for something, too.

i was just planning to sweep some crumbing drywall out of my garage, but i ended up removing all of the drywall because part of it fell off when i was cleaning. (it was kind of rotting since the garage has no door so it was basically outside. who decided to put drywall there in the first place? another mystery of my strange, neglected apartment building.)

then once i had done that, i noticed the framing of the wall was also kind of rotting and was barely even attached to anything (definitely not load bearing). so i just took the whole wall apart and stacked the wood outside and put up a free wood listing on craigslist. (i already have a bunch of random 2x4s so i definitely don't need it.) apparently lots of people want wood because i already got five messages.

that pretty much took up my whole day, and was a lot of work. it was quite humid and warm (though still not bad at all compared to the heat wave) so i got super sweaty and dirty in the process.

it occurred to me that the basement might have lead paint, since the building is from 1900, so i am pausing the basement cleanup until i am able to get a test kit and do some testing down there. if there is a lot of lead paint, i may need to rethink the entire plan. but either way, i could probably use a break from physical labor.

someone is lighting fireworks in the street, i can see it from where i'm sitting.

it's 8:31 pm and i'm sitting near an open window. here is what i hear:

• a weed whacker
• a child crying
• car doors slamming
• music (mostly just the bass and kick drum)
• distant fireworks
• neighbors chatting and laughing
• the whoosh of my window fan
• engine sound of a passing car

it's getting close to the fourth of july and people are definitely starting to have barbecues and such. meanwhile, i am having a quiet evening at home alone (andrei is still in wisconsin).

i had a nice, chill day off. i finally did the thing i needed to do for zine club (sorry for being vague, but i have a policy of keeping the mystery objects a surprise — not that i really expect anyone to read this but me, hah). it was finally a reasonable temperature and humidity out, so i was able to sand my new countertop in the backyard. i think it's looking pretty good. i also coated the bottom, so it will still be a while before it's ready for me to put it into the kitchen.

i also did some more basement fix-up stuff. applied more putty to the sink drain, and finally, i see no dripping at all underneath. i moved the neighbor's dryer vent duct so it actually vents outside, instead of venting into a boarded-up windowsill and getting lint all over the walls. (what went through the mind of whoever put it in that way is so beyond me that i can't think about it for too long or my brain might break.)

unfortunately, i sort of tripped on the stairs that lead from the basement to the backyard, and skinned my shin on the metal frame of the trapdoor. it didn't get scraped enough to bleed, but i might have some nasty bruises. that doorway is a bit awkward, but also i was walking carelessly while holding a container of liquid in each hand, so it was kind of my own fault. (i didn't spill any though!)

on the docket for tonight: another coat of poly on the table, dinner, and perhaps i will seek out some entertainment if i have time before bed...

the weather finally cooled off. i am not sure if i've ever appreciated cool, gray, slightly rainy weather before in my life.

today was my last day of work for over a week. i am enjoying my new job, but i am also excited to have a solid chunk of days to work on my own stuff. this is the first time in quite a while where i'm off work and don't need to be searching for my next job or freelance gig!

after work, i went to the gym. my abdominal strain seems to be improving, but it's not back to normal yet, so what i can do is still somewhat limited, but i definitely succeeded in tiring myself out. since i got home afterwards, i basically have had no energy. it's only 10pm right now but i might just go to bed anyway. it's not like i'm going to be able to do much else.

so, last night i did indeed do 1 of the 2 urgent things i needed to do. i'm settling in for the evening now, so i will hopefully finish the other one tonight (it's making something for zine club!)

according to the weather report, today is supposed to be the last super hot day of this heat wave. i am looking forward to more reasonable temperatures and being able to work outside again tomorrow.

after work today, i went to the yoga studio and worked the front desk, but i didn't participate in the class because i still have pain from my strain at the gym yesterday.

then i came back home and did a tiny bit more work on the basement cleaning project. it's slowly becoming a slightly less horribly disgusting situation down there. there is still a lot to do to make it a usable space, but i'm pretty sure that i've put a stop to all the active water damage, so that seems like it will help a lot.

another scorching hot day, with a high temperature of 99 degrees fahrenheit, mostly spent inside. i did some more tutorials in rhino, the 3D modeling program, and played around with making some fun shapes. i really like the program; compared to the other 3D programs i have used (blender and sketchup), i find it so much easier, more precise, and oddly satisfying. i had to admit that, after playing with it for a while, doing more would have been mostly for fun since i had already quickly picked up the basics. but i am thinking of using it for some home woodworking projects.

i also played with the dog more. he was much better at not peeing on the floor today, seemingly because he was mostly crated while indoors, but brought outside to the yard often. he mostly napped while i was organizing paint buckets and it was very cute to watch him being comfy and lazy. i also remembered to take a photo of him today. (i try not to use my phone much while at work so i forgot yesterday.)

after work, i went to the gym. i did some lat pull downs, but then when i went to do an upside-down sit-up i strained something in my abdominals and had to stop completely and recover. after that i just went on the treadmill and worked up my pace extremely gradually to make sure i didn't trigger it again. a bit disappointing since i didn't really get much exercise. i have yoga tomorrow so i hope my weird strain goes away by then.

now i'm back home, and i am definitely going to do the things i have been supposed to do for a while but didn't because i was obsessed with my basement project. (right? yes. definitely...)

so, it turns out that the artist couple i work for did indeed get a puppy over the weekend. his name is thor and he doesn't yet know that peeing on the floor is not considered polite, but he is very adorable. i enjoyed taking him out for walks and playing with him.

the heat wave continues to hang heavily over the new haven area. i have mostly been working inside so thankfully it hasn't been a huge problem, but even at night it's hot enough that many fans are needed.

i spent some more time this evening working on the basement, although i probably should have prioritized other things. it is hard to convey how truly filthy it is down there. but the shop vac seems to be able to handle most of it fairly well. i also took a closer look at a leaking drainpipe which i will try to seal with putty.

i am actually ready for bed at a decent hour this time.

it's past 11pm, and still well over 80 degrees fahrenheit outside. the fabled heat wave is upon us!

i headed back home earlier today, and began the process of cleaning out part of my basement — enough to make a space down there to store the newly unloaded tools. though it is quite dirty down there, at least it's a reasonable temperature, being mostly underground.

i got sucked into working on getting various devices in my house to talk to each other. now, i can watch movies from my computer on the kodi (raspberry pi media player). of course, by the time i got it set up, it was too late to watch anything.

i made a tofu and rice "salad" with raw carrots and cabbage to eat for lunch at work this week. i think it will be a good thing to eat cold, since the weather seems to call for that.

now i must go to bed, since i have work tomorrow!

since my parents are moving out of their house to travel for a while, i am taking a bunch of saws and other power tools from their barn and bringing them to my house to set up a little workshop of my own. so mostly today i sorted through some of that stuff and loaded up my car. i also hung out with my family, went for a walk down to the bridge with my mom, and cooked dinner with my dad. then my younger sibling showed up and now we are all watching a cheesy bollywood movie.

andrei headed out this morning to wisconsin to visit their family for a week. i got a bunch of stuff done at home while i waited for the car shop to look at my car.

they called and told me that my front control arms were worn out, and needed to be replaced, along with the sway bar links. it was a hefty chunk of change, but my car seems to be in otherwise decent condition, so i went ahead with it. i felt stressed out at the unexpected expense, but i guess i sort of knew i was going to have to do something to the car and was delaying taking it in until now.

thankfully, the shop was able to finish the repairs this afternoon so i could still leave for my trip to visit my family in upstate new york. on the drive up, i saw some breathtaking views, which were particularly impressive because i have lived in the mountains for a lot of my life and am somewhat desensitized to their aesthetic value. but i was driving west up into them right at golden hour, and there was mist involved, so. fill in the blanks.

there was also this amazing cloud situation with a bunch of different layers and textures of clouds, all lit through from behind by the sun, with lots of detail and contrast. it was like one of those hyper realistic HDR photos of the sky or an exaggerated sky in a video game. as if that wasn't enough, there was a large sundog about 20 degrees to the left of the setting sun. as the sun turned more orange, the sundog became this shard of flame hovering in the air. i was like, holy shit. but i was also driving, so i couldn't really take a photo of any of it. though possibly it would have been quite difficult to capture anyway.

when i saw that, i decided that i was going to let that moment be the deciding factor of the mood of my day, rather than the car situation.

i hung out with my family, ate some dinner, gave my mom and sibling the birthday cards i made them. now it's dark and hot and misty and i can hear the stream through the open window and i am going to sleep.

i succeeded in my plan from yesterday of getting extra sleep and i had much more energy today. i also didn't have to leave for work as early as usual so i had time to put another coat on the tabletop. it just needs to cure for a while, and then i can sand it and coat the bottom...

it was really hot out, but luckily i was working most of the day inside. one of the things i worked on was learning rhinoceros, the 3d modeling / CAD app. it actually ended up being pretty intuitive and pleasant to draw and model in, and it seems like a very powerful app, so i was excited to learn something that seems like it will be useful in the future.

i dropped my car off at the shop on the way home so they can look at it tomorrow. it was making that odd noise on and off; i don't think it's anything serious but i wanted to do my due diligence before driving to visit my family.

my bike lock anchor arrived, so i installed it by bolting it to the cinder block wall in our garage. we are quite pleased to have one less bike taking up space in our hallway.

then i took a semi-nap in the hammock.

it's finally cooling off a little, and it looks like it might thunderstorm. looking forward to a chill evening, maybe we will watch a movie...

this morning i woke up and my body told me that i didn't get enough sleep, so tried to take it easy today. after work, i skipped my yoga shift/class (after confirming that the other volunteer would be there.)

the people i work for might be getting a puppy soon. i hope they do so i can vicariously enjoy it.

i made a little workstation in my basement and started coating the tabletop with polyurethane. i also planted a little shrub in the backyard — it's called blackhaw viburnum. i made a little rock garden around it to hopefully make it apparent that no one should mow or weed wack it down.

also, i saw the skunk moseying around outside. it was very cute.

hope i can get some extra sleep tonight!

today was rather wet and rainy. at work, i mostly worked on the computer. i figured out how to do some neat scripting in photoshop for batch processing files that will save a bunch of time. then we cleaned up the wood shop and david helped me cut down my giant sheet of baltic birch plywood for the kitchen sideboard. it came out looking very nice. on my way home, i picked up some wood finish and screws. but i will probably have to wait until it's not raining to coat the wood outside since the finish is smelly.

when i got home, we had a meeting with our friend tim about the future plans for polyphase portal. then i called my mom to wish her a happy birthday.

i have a lot of ideas right now about setting up a small wood shop in my basement. maybe too many ideas for my own good, as there are other things going on that i also need to attend to. between working during the week and traveling on the weekends, it can be difficult to balance everything. i'm going to visit my family this weekend, but after that i want to stay put for a while.

it's fun to have projects going on, but it's also important to give myself a chance to rest and go into parasympathetic mode. it will be a busy week, but i can still find little moments to chill out and remind my brain that i don't need to keep going nonstop.

i had the day off, so i mostly worked on various projects in a scattered manner. i have continued to ruminate on some woodworking/furniture ideas for things to improve around the house. three things i want to make soon, in order, are:

• the larger tabletop for our kitchen sideboard
• an angled speaker stand to point a speaker downward that's at the top of a shelf
• the coffee table / cabinet that hides a retractable tv

i found out that the makerspace sells sheets of high quality baltic birch plywood, so i went over there during andrei's shift and they helped me load a 3/4 inch sheet onto the roof of my station wagon. turns out that a full sheet of hardwood ply is actually quite heavy; i had planned to rip it myself on the sawstop at work tomorrow, but i might need some help handling it. i hope that the people i work for don't mind too much (they seem pretty supportive of me doing my own woodworking projects.)

other than that, i worked on a small coding project for andrei's business, watered the plants, made some designs in sketchup for the woodworking projects, and other miscellaneous things. now to try to get my sleep schedule back on track for my work week...

woke up a bit late, and started the day slowly. hung out a bit more with brenna, we made some music and tidied up from our cooking and craft projects.

on the way back home, i stopped by LSD, the venue we played at last week, to pick up some items we left there by accident. i got there via subway and citibike, then rode the citibike north over the pulaski bridge and caught the 7 to grand central.

on the metro north train, i came up with some design ideas for expanding our kitchen counter tabletop and building a new coffee table with a hidden tv that can lift up from inside with a motor. not sure when or if i will end up making it, but it would be a nice way to have our living room feel more open when we are not watching movies.

i got home and andrei had made a very delicious soup. then we watched a ridiculous korean sci-fi movie. and then it was now.

a rainy day hanging out with brenna and eitan in brooklyn. motivation to go out and about in the wet weather was quite low. we spent most of the day cooking, baking, and making cute tiny figurines and props out of modeling clay (brenna enjoys arts and crafts so i brought some clay along).