Sunday, March 3, 2013

The Continuing Restoration Project

Now that there is blue tile in the kitchen, the new HQ is really starting to feel like MY place.  The old HQ on Central Park West had similar tile in the kitchen.  It was a deeper blue, more like a irises and the ocean, and a little iridescent.  I might have repeated it here, but this one that reminds me of old bluejeans was discontinued so the tile store was selling it cheap.

The guys have to come back one afternoon next week to install the shelves, then Phase One of the kitchen will be complete.  I can't move on to Phase 2 without the help of the Super on account of nobody knows exactly why this ancient, capped-off pipe  is under my refrigerator.


Until this mystery is solved and somebody can cut off the pipe so that it's under the floor, the refrigerator will remain on a platform. I hate the platform for lots of reasons, but I can't afford a new refrigerator now anyway.  The old one that came with the apartment can sit on the platform for a few months.  The super will take at least that long to get around to the question of the pipe.  I'm going to keep the old stove, however, and will probably put a shelf on the wall behind it for cooking supplies.


As for the backsplash, the area used to look like this:



Then it looked like this:


Now it looks like this:


The same fellow in the middle picture put up the tile.  I suppose he'll be back to install the shelf under the cabinets.  It will be about 10" down, so that the toaster oven will plug into the outlet tI requested specifically for that purpose, although when they put in the outlet, I thought I'd have a microwave there.  I decided to stick with the toaster oven.  There will be another shelf over the sink, running at the same level as the bottom of the cabinets.


The stainless steel oscillating fan currently on top of the pantry by the stove will go up on the shelf, just to the left of the electric meter.  I don't know what I'll wind up putting on top of the pantry.  In case anyone is wondering, this is what is inside the cabinet:


The guys finished up Phase One of the bathroom, too, so there is finally a medicine cabinet:


 The obligatory shot of me in the mirror:


The jazzy articulated triple hook on the bathroom door:


And double hooks for towels on the wall behind the door:



I like describing the Restoration Project and sharing photo illustrations, and I always try to protect my privacy - but sometimes I worry about pervs and other stalker-types.  Growing up female, you learn early on that anything you say, do or wear will be construed as an invitation by some people so that if, God Forbid, something violent should happen to you, half the world will say you brought it on yourself (and not just the male half).  When Granny was about 12 and was raped by her uncle the Deacon, plenty of folks blamed Granny.  Plenty blamed alcohol too, but nobody blamed the Deacon until a few months later when he went after another little girl who wasn't related.

That stuff has been on my mind again lately.  I've been following the fallout from Seth MacFarlane's controversial production number about Boobs.  Normally, I don't pay attention to anything connected with Hollywood.  Before Velvet was born, I spent a year in the New York office of an entertainment PR firm based in LA, mostly as the office manager doing things like copying articles on jet lag for Mick Jagger and acting as secretary to a dottering old partner when he came to town.  I even had to dial the phone for him and say, "Please hold for Mr. C---n."

When you've had a job like that, you fully appreciate just how deep the bullshit is in the entertainment business.  You also have a pretty clear idea of your place in the food chain.  Mr. C---n was much more into being taken care of like a little boy than anything else.  I'm surprised he didn't ask me to button his overcoat and tie his muffler before he went downstairs to get into his limo.   So it's been over 20 years since I paid a bit of attention to any celebrity bullshit.

Seth MacFarlane wound up on my radar because my friend Manny, managing editor of The BQ Brew, posted a statement on Facebook expressing his outrage at all the dumb ass men defending rape jokes and telling women to "get over it."  Another buddy from Roundtree7, Mike, took some shit in a thread because he tried to make a distinction between misogyny and sexism - at least rhetorically.  When you're talking about patriarchal attitudes, the level of dismissiveness and arrogance displayed by some men points to an underlying contempt for everyone they consider inferior to themselves that could be considered misogyny, but the contempt is too pervasive to be that specific.  They hate other religions and races, and most likely homosexuals too - so it's not simply misogyny.  It's ass-wholery (complete and total asshole = Ass Whole h/t Konopak).

Whatever anyone has to say about the Boob song, it does highlight the objectification of women.  The writers knew very well people would be pissed which is why they set up the whole thing with Captain Kirk coming back from the future to show MacFarlane how he fucked up the Oscars with the dang song in the first place. (*Note* I didn't watch the Oscars.  I saw the number online at JustJared)  If those same writers had put as much thought into the lyrics of the song as they did to the set up, they might have left out the references to tits that were part of rape scenes and avoided articles like this one: "We Saw Your Boobs"celebrates rape on film.

Whatever about MacFarlane.  That was all just bullshit for the camera.  What resulted in Facebook threads, however, was much more troubling.  A lot of guys were dismissive and contemptuous of the women who tried to explain why they were bent about the song.  While some of those women really might not have a sense of humor, it's more likely that many of the women who were making noise about Rape Culture had been sexually abused themselves.  Thirty percent of women are abused at some point in their lives, after all.  It would be nice if more men understood that.  Then maybe they'd listen when women are trying to explain why some stupid sexist bullshit is problematic instead of being stupidly sexist themselves.

24 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

I love the restoring and the towel racks! The Seth Mf stuff matters... but how ya get a amen outa this society? Good stuff.

March 4, 2013 at 9:14 AM  
Anonymous Nicole Tomassini said...

Looks wonderful! Great choices. Looking forward to seeing it in person :-)

March 4, 2013 at 10:42 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You have BummbleBee tuna!

Can't get that stuff up here in the Canadas.

I hail from a Matriarchal society. In my native tongue, there are no words for "feminism" or "misogyny". There is a word for "masculinism", but none for "misandry".
Funny that.

March 4, 2013 at 10:52 AM  
Blogger PENolan said...

No Bumble Bee Tuna? Do they have Starkist? You're probably too young to remember the "Sorry Charlie" commercials. Loved 'em when I was a kid.
I had never heard of "musculinism" or "minsandry" before. See what I mean? I always learn something new when you comment.

@Nicole - I'm looking forward to seeing it in the little silent movie!

GHB - no amens, unless you're preaching to the choir.

March 4, 2013 at 1:58 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Yay! The apartment is coming together nicely! The kitchen looks great. A toaster oven is so much better than a microwave.

March 4, 2013 at 2:11 PM  
Blogger Fidel Castro said...

I'm so glad you kept the vintage sink but what in god's name were you thinking with that awful backsplash tile?

Also, how soon will we be replacing those hideous cabinet knobs?

And why is the outlet so high? Just for the aesthetic bonus of seeing the plug running from the appliance?

I do love the bathroom, though. You obviously designed that room prior to hitting the bong.

March 4, 2013 at 2:33 PM  
Blogger Fidel Castro said...

Are you an Aquarian? Aquarians are frequently drawn to that shade of blue, or at least that's what Peter Gabriel told me one night while pouring me a glass of wine and asking me what I'm "into".

March 4, 2013 at 2:37 PM  
Blogger Fidel Castro said...

* of course this is before he married that twat named Maebh (pronounced Muff)*.

March 4, 2013 at 2:40 PM  
Blogger Fidel Castro said...

Why not subway tile?

This is upsetting. I am upset.

March 4, 2013 at 2:46 PM  
Blogger Fidel Castro said...

What are we doing about lighting?

March 4, 2013 at 2:59 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I like beige, Smelly.

PENolan?
No Starkist Tuna either. Just cans of fish-like mush from Thailand and/or Vietnam. Thank god, Myanmar is not considered part of South East Asia - I'd just die.

Men know their place in the part of paradise from whence I come.

March 4, 2013 at 3:02 PM  
Blogger mac said...

Menopausal Stoners HQ is coming along nicely.

I'm ambivalent about the McFarland song. I wasn't offended by it. But, I wasn't (can't?) thinking of it from a woman's perspective.

I'll defer to Tim Minchen ...we're just fucking monkeys in shoes.

March 4, 2013 at 3:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

PENolan bubbled,

"......You're probably too young to remember the "Sorry Charlie" commercials. Loved 'em when I was a kid......."

Fucking "Aiqruanas" is indeed too young - and not from this continent either. I, however, remember them. Coming over the border on Yankee Network broadcasts, before cable. In the days when you had to get up off your fat arse(or coerce a younger sibling) to walk, or crawl, to the television set to change the channel. And then there were only 6 channels from which to choose any way.
Personally, I prefer the tunas with good taste.

Yum yum Bumble, Bumblebee Tuna
I love Bumblebee, Bumblebee Tuna
Yum yum Bumble, Bumblebee Tuna
Bumble Bee
Bumble Bee tuna!

March 4, 2013 at 3:21 PM  
Blogger Mr. Charleston said...

What a great project Trish. Be careful of the pipe, it's very likely a gas line.

March 4, 2013 at 5:46 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

".......I had never heard of "musculinism" or "minsandry" before. See what I mean? I always learn something new when you comment........"

Your misspelling is a joke, right?
What I meant was in my culture it is men who fight for equality in rights, et cetera. We call these nogoodniks "Masculinists". But, we of the superior gender do not hate our men, hence we do not have a word for "man-hater"

Famous Masculinists include:
Bert Friedan
Glorian Steinem
Eric Jong.
Noam Wolf

March 4, 2013 at 6:10 PM  
Blogger PENolan said...

Good one, mac. I had never heard him before. See, I learn stuff from everyone all the time.

Mr C - The good news is that there are only two apartments in the building that still have a pipe sticking out of the floor like that, so something must have been modernized years ago and nobody remembers or has a record. I fully support the contractor's position that the building can work it out. Somebody could get hurt, first of all - and just think of the liability . . . Could have been a drain for the old ice boxes or it might have been a steam pipe. Nobody knows.
I'll be lucky to have this settled by summer.

Susan - it really is starting to feel like home.

ALtoF, I'm sorry to say I didn't even notice the typo. Without my reading glasses, it can be hard to tell one letter from another particularly when I'm trying to keep up with you and Smelly

March 4, 2013 at 8:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

PENolan accurately keyboarded,

"......Without my reading glasses, it can be hard to tell one letter from another....."

As the Sainted Dorothy Parker would say, "Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses."

The Tutor, conversely, only makes passes at women who need glasses, but are not wearing them at the time. His hideous deformities are less evident then. Presbyopes are his favourite, and if they have small hands, all the better - he thinks he'll 'feel' bigger than he actually is. Though if they are also Presbyterian he'll pass.

March 5, 2013 at 9:15 AM  
Anonymous rexvisigothis said...

stay way from food in cans. the bisphenol-a leaches into the food and acts as an *endocrine disruptor. sorry. I love me some tuna, but I have resolved to pass it by.

*specifically, it mimics estrogen.

March 5, 2013 at 5:08 PM  
Blogger VV said...

Love the apt reno, keep pix coming. I'm not a peopke stalker, just a house stalke. I should have bern an architect or house fliper. I LOVE this stuff. As fot the boobs bit, I was offended, and I have been victimized multiple times in my life.

March 6, 2013 at 9:09 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Don't listen to the King of the Visigoths.
For two reasons,

One. He's not an Ostrogoth.

Two. BPA affects males only AND it makes them better! They can still read maps but will now follow directions on long road trips without a fuss. They are also less desirable to competing females. Win Win I figure.

March 8, 2013 at 12:04 PM  
Blogger PENolan said...

V.V., I'm glad you like it.
I'm also noticing how the women in the comment thread addressed the boob thing while the men did not. Since I know these guys, I think it means they know a ticking time bomb when they see one . . . .

ALtoF, I'm convinced.
No listening - at least not until he breaks character and a glimpse of his true self is revealed.

March 12, 2013 at 11:45 PM  
Blogger Cali said...

Judging by the ancient water damage to the hardwood near the mystery pipe, I'm betting it's just the old ice box drain.

March 13, 2013 at 1:10 PM  
Blogger Cali said...

P.S. I'm SO relieved to see the bacteria board counter top gone! (You have no idea!)

March 13, 2013 at 1:14 PM  
Blogger PENolan said...

Cali - I think so too. I'll be curious to see how things progress with my mother here a week. She'll be after me to chase down the super to Get 'Er DONE. With luck, she'll give me a refrigerator for my birthday ;) There are spots of ancient water damage by some of the radiators too. This old apartment was kind of beat up, but it's got character and I'm loving it here.

And the granite beats the Bejesus out of that old butcher block.

March 13, 2013 at 5:12 PM  

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