Tiny Home Improvement...

Now that it's finished, and now that I know how EASY it was, I should have done this improvement the week that I moved to this apartment.

You see, I had a shower head that barely put out any water.  It kinda just dripped on me. Often it was difficult to get all of the shampoo/conditioner out of my hair and during the winter months, it was downright COLD to stand in a shower that dripped!

I knew it didn't need to be this way.  When I ran water via the tub faucet, it came out at full blast.  This wasn't a water pressure issue, but what was causing the problem?  One thing I noticed was that water wasn't coming out of every single hole in the shower head.  I wondered if perhaps lime, calcium, rust and whatever else had built up in the head, limiting my water supply.  However, I was terrified of removing the head.  I mean, what if I messed it up and then went DAYS without a shower while I waited for a repair man?

Well, yesterday I googled "install shower head" or something to that effect and came up with this little youtube gem.  If you watch it, you will see that it is SUPER EASY to remove and re-install your shower head.  What a doofus I was for waiting so long!

You just put a little cloth over the shower head (to protect the metal) and then turn a wrench.  For those of you who, like me, always get confused as to which way you should turn/screw items, the general rule of thumb is, "Lefty, loosey.  Righty, tighty."  I'm not sure where I learned that, but it's super valuable information, especially if you're left-handed and nothing in this world feels intuitive because everything is set-up backwards.  I've always wanted to learn Arabic because that language is written down correctly!

Upon removing the shower head I found THIS item in the neck!

My finger is placed next to the disk to give you an idea of the TINY-TINY hole through which all my water had to flow to get through to my shower head.  This has got to be the WORST water saver disk that I have ever seen!  I figured that the removal of this puppy would likely relieve most of my problems, but since I'd already disconnected the head, I went ahead and gave it a good cleaning to remove any deposits.

I filled a mop bucket with heated vinegar, submerged the shower head, and let it sit overnight.  The next day I blew through the neck end, and yes, turns out there was some rust in there.  Not only that, but my shower head looks super clean and all brand new-like now.  Whoo-hoo!

With a little bit of this magic tapey stuff, I put the head back on and gave it a go. I actually had the tape laying around the house because I'd bought it when I installed the bathroom sink faucet as a 'just in case.'  You can get it for a dollar at Lowe's or Home Depot.

After a trial run of checking the holes in the head, I took to the stubborn ones with a safety pin to clear out any excess gunk keeping them clogged.  There were about four holes that needed this, substantially less than when I started this venture. And who knew that the center piece was supposed to rotate?!?!? (Wish I'd taken a before picture of this.) The end result?

It's amazing, people.  Just amazing.  Tons of water and at a decent pressure.  I'm not sure I'll ever leave this apartment.  If you've got a similar problem with your shower (which occurs fairly often in older homes), do this.  Do this now.  You will be so happy, and trust me, you can do it.  It's easy.

General Updates...

Job Hunting.  Two interviews this week.  Both part-time. (YAY!!) Both within my $50-75/hour range.  One involves the option to work from home or a less than five-minute commute.  The other is a twenty-minute commute and involves working in an office, but with one of my closest friends from law school.  Very excited about both.  I’ll keep ya updated.

Fiddle.  I have fallen off the wagon on my fiddle.  Haven’t practiced for three days in a row!  Yikes.  Must get back on it.  In other news, since I was already learning (read teaching myself via youtube videos) violin, I went ahead and bought a cheap mandolin, so I can learn both at the same time.  (They have the same string set-up.)  The mando is a LOT of fun, I must say.

Reading.  I completed three books last week and enjoyed all three.  Being able to read to your heart’s content is definitely one of those experiences that makes one enjoy the period of unemployment.

Volunteering.  So I am officially cleared to do my caretaker/counseling for people with terminal illnesses, having proved via skin test that I do not have TB.  (But seriously, why would it matter if I did?  These people are DYING.)  Also, I’ve been invited to join a committee for the Houston Rodeo.  BUT, I think I want to do at least one more form of volunteering.  I’m thinking something cool, artsy, non-profity, and educational.  My idea is the local PBS station, but do y’all have any ideas?  (The PBS station here is housed at a local university.)  Note: I do not have any interest in doing weekend legal clinic-like stuff or anything related to domestic violence.  I’d considered being an escort at Planned Parenthood, but I’m guessing they’re probably solid on volunteers right now given all the publicity they’ve received in the past week.

Junk in the Trunk.  I seem to have gained a smidgen (around 4-5 pounds) of weight.  It’s all in my rear end which is to say that it looks perfectly fine – I just can’t get my pants over my hips.  With that in mind, I’d like it to go away, stat.  (She says as she downs Skittles and red wine at 10 pm.)  My life coach is really big on affirmations and acting like something has already happened, so with that in mind, “Man, this weight keeps falling off of me, and I can barely maintain 100 pounds.”

I am now officially “FUN.”  The other day I was hanging out with an ex and started laughing hysterically about something.  “Well THIS is comical,” I said while I giggled.  “Yeah,” he replied. “You and I are pretty good at having fun.”  Dude, this is huge.  I don’t think my Ex called me fun even during our best of times.  I was always the “responsible” member of the duo.  But now, after six months of no job stress and serious chilling out, I am officially FUN.  That’s right, bitches.  FUN.  Hells yeah.  One more time?  ANA IS FUN!!!!  Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun. I. am. so. fun.

Independent Contracting.  Got some great feedback on a side creative/business/legal project that I did for a fellow (former) blogger.  Yippee!

PS - Did anyone else think that Madge did an awesome job with the half-time show the other night? I totally could have watched another ten minutes of that.

Taking the Long Way...

It’s very strange.  The longer I am unemployed, the more grateful I am that I was laid-off from my job.  And strangely, the less pressure I feel to run back to a job.  It’s officially been six months, and I’m slowly trying to create my “dream job” in my head. 

My life coach recently worked with me on my “perceptions” of working.  Here are some of the thoughts that are holding me back career-wise:

-Working, by definition, is not fun.

-Challenging and interesting work requires long hours.

-Fulfilling work does not pay well.

-Jobs that pay well are boring and psychologically taxing.

-It will be hard to find an unstructured, flexible job that does not adhere to the M-F, 8-5 regime.

-Jobs that pay well require you to wear boring and uncomfortable clothing.

-Jobs that pay well have cubicles and white walls.  (Shudder.)

-I will never be able to use my creative side in the workplace.

-Legal work is boring and the industry is full of Type-A, prestige-whoring climbers whose values are incompatible with my own. 

-Most supervisors think that dedication to a job is shown by how much sacrifice you are willing to make in other areas of your life.

-I will not enjoy something that I do for money.

-I need to work hard to make money.

-I need to work long hours to make money.

-Love and money are incompatible.

Anyhoo, I’m supposed to keep coming up with these notions, and then essentially toss them out the window. Go big.  Challenge my perceptions, call them out as lies that simply hold me back, etc.  On the flip-side, I’m supposed to start thinking about what I would enjoy doing for work, you know, if I thought work could be enjoyable.  Then I have to meditate about all this stuff.  Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

-My new work will incorporate my background in law and finance with my creative side. 

-I will primarily work from home, but be able to go into an office on occasion.

-Said office will NOT have white walls.

-I will work around 20 hours a week, with the option of up to 35 hours a week.

-I will wear whatever I want to work.

-I will be given deadlines for projects, but that’s it – no required face-time/must be in the office from 8-5 baloney.

-I will start out making $50-75 an hour and go from there.

-My employer will not do pre-employment drug screenings. (I don’t do drugs, but I don’t have an issue with them and testing for them excludes a lot of people I’d probably enjoy working with.  At the most enjoyable job I've ever held, the office had two smoking sections.  One for cigarette smokers and the other...)

-The job will not require travel, unless said travel is to Austin (or other areas within driving distance) AND my dog can accompany me on the trip.

-My job may require me to attend live music shows on occasion, at the cost of the company.
Updating 2/4
-If I choose to work regularly scheduled hours in an office, such fees shall be paid via W-2.
-If I work in an office, the commute to such shall be ten minutes or less AND not involve a freeway.

So I’ll just keep adding to that list and maybe at some point, I’ll have a job description and a path to pursue.  In the meantime, I’m taking one-off projects from friends and hoping to a little bit of contract review/negotiation on the side.  I’ve also been teaching myself to play fiddle for the last month.  That’s been fun.  Oh, and I’m still not smoking!