Keeping Busy

The Smith household is a project household at the moment.  The previous owners took good care of of our house structurally but not so much aesthetically.  The orange short shag carpet in the basement was perhaps the most obvious and egregious attack on good sense, but it was far from the only example.  Most of the rest were just better hidden.  And by "hidden" I mean "painted over."   Every room in the house was a flat beige "neutral" when we arrived.  Well one room had wall paper but we're still not ready to discuss that particular atrocity.

Actually, lots or rooms had wall paper.  That one room is just the only place where they chose not to cover it with beige paint.  Elsewhere we keep finding bits of wallpaper beneath fixtures, behind switches, and tucked into numerous other places the contractors didn't think anyone would ever see.  Well we've seen it and let's just say we're glad the place was painted.  Their style and our style are not compatible.  At all.

So we have a house full of beige.  We don't mind the beige.  No one minds the beige, that's the whole point of staging with it.  It goes with everything.  Or to be more accurate: it doesn't clash with anything.  It's safe because it's boring.  So it's going.  Room by room we're clearing it out.  And we're getting the hang of it.

Sarah's sister painted the master bedroom for us when we first moved in.  Then Sarah and I tackled the basement.  Two weeks ago we painted the kitchen.  Last week, we painted it again.  See, we didn't like the first color very much.  We were aiming for pale green but hit a little too far on the pastel side of things. The result felt like living in a giant scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream.  It was almost right, but not quite.  So we redid it.  This act has met with surprise from coworkers and friends which has in turn surprised us.  We have to live with it and "not quite right" is just another version of "not right."  It never occurred to us NOT to repaint it.

Partly that's because we're having fun.  Turns out we're good at painting.  Or at least we're happy with our work.  Both of us have plenty of previous experience and we approach the project with very similar attitudes about how and what needs to be done (and were also armed with several helpful tips from an expert).  Fortunately, Sarah and I also have similar attitudes about color schemes and styles.  Although I suspect there are times she wishes I hadn't gone to design school (ask her about my issue with outlet screws sometime).

We're not crazy, though.  We don't paint ALL the time.  Sometimes we replace doors, switch locks, hang artwork, install fixtures, clear flowerbeds, repair banisters, or assemble furniture.  Right now it's a lot of fun to be us.

Less Consuming, More Writing

For someone who thinks of himself as a writer, I don't spend nearly enough time actually performing the act of writing.  I always feel bad about this, of course.  "I really should be writing" I tell myself, but there's always another level to beat, another chapter to read, or, more recently, another wall to paint.

Actually that last one really is a valid excuse, but the others are not.  Right now, I spend a little too much time "consuming."  I have that down pat.  I'm not a big TV person, although living with cable in the house has changed that.  I certainly watch more TV than I used to, but I'm still pretty far down on chart for overall viewing time.  I do, however, spend a good chunk of time playing video games and a significant chunk of my time reading.  Video games are at least interactive so I'm participating rather than simply absorbing, and I'm often co-operating with friends.  Still, at the end of the game, all I've got to show for my time is another pile of digital trophies, the modern equivalent of a high score.  That's nice, I guess, but not all that fulfilling, and not something I'd be proud to put in the annual family newsletter.

Books are just about the same.  I consume them and at the end I have a new experience, something I can talk about with others who have read the same book, but not much to write home about.  It can be enriching and, especially if I want to be a good writer, it's necessary to build up piles of these experiences but that's not really a concern for me.  By this point in my life, I've probably read more books than the next five people combined so I could probably afford to slow down a little.

Also, there's the Internet.  I think I may have mentioned my inability to walk through a room without stopping if someone is watching a TV show in that room.  Well, the Internet is worse.  I just get sucked in.  Stop to check one thing, don't surface for hours.  And it's all crap!  I occasionally find a useful resource or an insightful writer, and I'll follow that for a while, but it's not what I gravitate towards.  Those "getting sucked in for hours" incidents are mostly webcomics or internet fiction (sort of like reading books but much more variable in quality).

I just finished reading Clay Shirky's "Cognitive Surplus" which is all about how people are starting to use their free time in more productive ways than simple consumption.  It's a decent book, ties in to some things Bruce Sterling claims about spimes and wranglers, namely that our culture is headed towards a more participatory model: one where "amateur" is no longer a slur on the quality of work.

In other words, I'm feeling more guilty than usual about not posting anything here for a while.  Blogging isn't the most culturally beneficial form of participation, but it beats re-reading webcomics.  And besides, for a variety of reasons (guilt included), I've had a burst of inspiration in my fiction.  I'm producing there again, too, and, as with the end of every previous hiatus in my writing, I realized just how much I missed doing it.  I really do love this thing I claim to do but never quite get around to.

Clearly I haven't solved my procrastination problem.  There are a number of factors here, many of which I know and recognize, but I haven't quite worked out how to fight it yet.  Guilt is not a particularly healthy or (ultimately) effective motivator but at least it will get me started when I stop too long.  I'm not going to promise anything, I'll work on the doing instead.