March Madness: Part 2

I live in a condo and toward the beginning of this month I was doing little home improvement projects. These were things I had been putting off for a while and finally got my ass in gear to complete: 

Moved into the bigger room: I was supposed to do this when my mom moved out, but got lazy. I finally made the move and like having the extra space. However, more space does not necessarily mean more storage. Half my closet is taken up by the stairway underneath it so I lost a bit of storage space there. I still have a bunch of crap laying around. I should give it away to the Salvation Army, but you know what's going to happen??? I'm going to need it 2 weeks later. I think I may be a bit of a Hoarder, but it's not terrible. I can still see the floor of my room. I just need to get some plastic bins and organize the chaos. 

Installed a lock on my old room: These are the parts that come with a door knob and lock:

Since the installation instructions were really more of a step-by-step picture guide, I got the gist of it and proceeded to install the lock. After screwing in the strike plate quite easily, I moved on to installing the deadlatch. It was a little tougher than the strike plate (I installed it the wrong way on the first try), but I still managed to get that done. I was so excited, that I wanted to test the latch out. Well, it worked perfectly...then I realized there were no knobs to pull back the latch and open the door. 

Naturally, I freaked out because I had locked myself in a room with a door that doesn't have knobs and without a cell phone. I started pulling hard at the door in hopes of breaking the latch or the door. That didn't work. I looked out the window and considered climbing out of the 2nd story window on top of the patio shade and jumping down to the back yard, but I would still have no phone or keys to get in, not to mention I was in my pajamas. I went back to trying to break the door and the latch and could feel the tears forming (I have bad memories of being locked in rooms thanks to being a mischievous little kid). Finally a took a deep breath and started looking at the latch. There was a release for the latch and the door opened up. I felt like a dumbass and supreme being at the same time. 

Installed wifi: Unfortunately, I don't have a personal laptop or computer. I have a laptop provided by my work, but I don't like using it too much because it reminds me of work. BUT, I can use my iTouch. I think I might have been a cavewoman in a past life because I'd be totally fine without a computer/laptop/gadgets that use wifi. I didn't say life would be as convenient or fun, but I would survive just the same. 

Added another lamp in the living room: I had my Christmas tree up until February. Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year, the tree looked decent (even though it was plastic) and it provided a lot of light in the living room. Then my mom said that I looked like a crazy woman with a Christmas tree still up in February so she made me take it down. It was pretty dark in the living room after that, especially since part of the living room is painted a dark plum color and Ikea lamps don't really cut it after a while. I finally found a lamp with enough light as the Christmas tree. The tree was funner to look at, but this lamp will do...until December.

I've done a little more stuff to the place, but there's still lots to be done - it's a work in progress. Home improvement/home decor is endless, that's fer sure. Anyways, doing all that stuff was part of the madness know as March 2010.

Another Kind of Victory

I lost in both of my Fantasy Leagues this week.  The Steelers were less than stellar in their win over the Vikings (although I'm really glad they beat the Vikings because I am WAY OVER Brett Farve) and I played Antonio Gates over Vernon Davis, which left a lot of points on the table. Anyways, since my teams lost I don't feel like doing a fan email, but I will say that Wes Welker continues to impress me every week. Obviously Tom Brady is the star of that team, but Welker is just SO solid and gives 100% in every game. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to watch the game either (local channels weren't showing it), so I don't have specifics on why Welker was so awesome this week and I basically owe him an email. Wes Welker, if by some off chance you're reading this, Tom Brady is lucky to have you on his team.

Now, on to the victory I DID have this weekend! When my mom and brother moved out of the condo in May, I remember looking at the place and seeing all the changes I wanted to make. I started watching HGTV and reading up on interior decorating to get some ideas. Sadly, all the changes I want to make cost a pretty penny so it's not happening as fast as I would want it to. I decided to tackle what I could...starting with the downstairs bathroom. All it needed was a new toilet seat cover. You're thinking, "Piece of cake!", right? I thought that too until I actually started the process and found out the bolts of the old toilet seat were SERIOUSLY RUSTED onto the toilet. Below are pictures of the nastiness:

The toilet seat and I have been battling each other ever since. The first day, I spent a good portion of the afternoon wrestling with the nuts and bolts. I ended up stripping the bolts of its grooves. I was in tears when my boyfriend came over. He gave it a try, but they wouldn't budge. I closed the door to that bathroom and basically took an out-of-sight-out-of-mind attitude toward it. In the back of my mind I knew I would have to face the toilet again, especially if I wanted people to come over. I went to Lowe's and asked how I can fix this problem. The guy I talked to suggested spraying WD-40 onto the nuts and bolts, but if that didn't work I would have to saw them off.  The WD-40 didn't work and I swear the toilet seat was actually laughing at me for being so frustrated with it. I shut the door and decided to get a hacksaw or blow it up with dynamite.

Once I got a hacksaw, I watched youtube videos and tutorials on homedepot.com on how to use a hacksaw. I was a little bit nervous because I know I'm not the most coordinated person, so there was a chance I would end up slicing off my fingers. One night last week, I made myself dinner and started to watch my usual line up of shows, when I had the sudden urge to release some frustration. I decided to channel my energy into something and it was time for a rematch with the toilet.

I probably spent a good hour sawing off the screws. The first one came off without a hitch and I was ecstatic! I was actually jumping around the house celebrating! The second one was not so easy. As it turned out, the nut was even more rusted to the bolt than the bolt was to the toilet. Unlike the first one, I would have to saw all the way through the washer under the bolt. Just in case, you have no idea about the parts I'm talking about, here's a picture:

The only difference is that the washer on my toilet was directly under the mounting bolt, instead of under where the nut is. Once I sawed through the washer and took it off, the bolt fell through the hole and I had conquered the rusted toilet seat!! Below are pictures of the "slayed dragon":

The WIN over the toilet seat couldn't have come at a better time. For some reason, I took the toilet seat to resemble all the problems that have been coming at me lately and if I was able to solve that problem, I will be able to face the challenges that lie ahead of me. All it took was a plan, patience, friends...and LOTS of antibacterial soap.

Special thanks to Albert for taking pictures of the nastiness and to Nolan for helping me get a hacksaw SO QUICKLY (you probably didn't realize it at the time, but your neighborly gesture helped me solve something that I had been struggling with for a LONG, LONG time). HOLLA!