LJR Enterprises

Everyone needs a hobby, right? They offer relaxation, an outlet for creativity, and a sense of self outside the obligations of everyday life. My hobby seems to be setting up situations that cause me stress so that I can later relieve that stress by removing whatever little “gift” I’ve left for myself. This week I finished a paint job in the kitchen that had been staring me in the face for weeks, maybe months, and started another in the hallway. Before that it was the sofa table that took far too long to stain and varnish. There is a bolt of fabric standing in the corner waiting to be turned into a curtain, countless yards of other fabric waiting to be given shape, Coleman’s new bed waiting to be stained and varnished and I’m sure there are many more odds and ends that I can’t bring to mind at the moment. But, back to the painting project…

The hallway project would probably more fairly be described as an extension of the kitchen project (which is an extension of the living room project) but it remains to be seen whether or not I will wait until I’m stressed by the unfinished coat of greener-than-I-expected paint to finish it or if I will climb up on my little step ladder this afternoon to complete my task. While I wonder about that I also wonder this: if I finish the job before I’m stressed about it, will it give me the same sense of satisfaction? Perhaps an experiment is in order.

Update 2/6/06: The paint job is still not completed and my laundry is, once again, out of control.