
Next month I'll hit my 5-year anniversary for living in the LA area. After 5 years of living in my condo, I finally decided to make some changes--yes, more drastic changes than just removing moldy food from the fridge (although it is probably time to do that again). This weekend I'm up to my eyeballs in a painting project in my bedroom. Although the painting is a challenge and has given me a sore painter's muscle (for those that haven't taken anatomy, the painter's muscle is the muscle that runs up your right arm, across both shoulders, up your neck, down your spine and down both legs), the toughest part of the project has been choosing a color--and I think I chose poorly. I started with 4 options--shades of blue, brown, green and slate. Unfortunately, I'm colorblind to greens and browns, so three of the colors didn't look quite right to me... so I ended up choosing the shade of blue.
This is a picture of the
before shot...

This is a picture of the
after shot...

For those who plan on painting in the future, remember this wisdom: colorblindness, determination and bordom are a bad combination. I think I was about 10 minutes into the project before I started thinking "this doesn't look quite right--it isn't really the color I thought it should be..." It was in that moment of doubt (I know myself well enough to know I shouldn't trust my eye for color) that should have put the paint roller down and back away; however, that is exactly when the deathly combination of determination and bordom kicked in—5 hours later, the whole room was painted (except for a little touch up needed). True, the color is blue (which I like), but it also has enough green in it to make me feel like I was aquaman waking up in a fish tank this morning. I could repaint the whole thing, but at this point, I think it is going to just be easier to go and get a few fish stickers and pin-up mermaids—then i'll feel like this wasn't an accident and I intentionally turned my room into an aquarium. Oh well... paint is cheap and labor is free. Since my bedroom is now in my living room, I might as well try it again and get it right...
It has been months since I've posted a blog... (when it takes 10 minutes to remember how to

create a new post, you know it has been too long or you're not very tech-savvy). Life gets busy, and then you realize that you've let months slip by without letting people know what you've been up to. Well, without a question, the highlight of 2009 so far was a surprise visit from two of my closest friends, Jared and Ryan. I say 'surprise' in that it was a real surprise when Ryan emailed a week before coming and let me know that he would be out here to hang out. The real jaw-dropping surprise came when Jared showed up from Minnisota too. I was flabbergasted when I showed up and got two best buddies for the price of 1. I have the best friends in the world!
Well, the weekend was incredible! The weekend included a visit to Griffith Park Observatory and a night-time vista of the LA valley. The next morning, we went hiking in the Malibu Palasades area (Will Rogers Park) and got an awesome daytime view of the LA valley and the pacific ocean. We grabbed lunch on the 3rd-street promenade, drove by the LA temple and got home in time to grab dinner at In-N-Out. What a surprise and a great vacation! I've always been blessed with the best friends!