A Philosophical Quandary

I'm not much of a philosophical thinker, but lately I've been in situations where I've found myself asking: Is it always more appropriate to be reasonable rather than emotionally impulsive?

Socrates thought so. Being an analytical person by nature, I can't help but agree with him - if we let emotion be the primary factor in our decisions, we would find ourselves making more mistakes and being more regretful of past decisions. Taking the time to weigh the pros and cons of decisions and understanding the consequences of each will almost always lessen the probability of a regrettable choice.

I realize that not everyone is like me, and there are some people who wear their emotions on their sleeves and some who have quick tempers. My advice to those people - no matter how much emotional involvement you have in a certain situation, or no matter how heated an argument gets, try as hard you can to be respectful and keep your cool. I know that it is easier said than done, and I've been guilty of letting my emotions get the best of me and letting an argument get out of control, but I've noticed that I've felt better with myself when I've kept my cool and stuck to being rational.

Now I'm not saying that every single decision you make needs to be based on reason, because if that were the case people would spend more time deliberating than actually following through with an action (like ordering ice cream, it's not really a life or death decision). Being spontaneous and impulsive once in a while is exciting and might lead you to try things you never thought you would. However, when it comes to important decisions (college, career, relationships, etc) or social conduct, reason should be at the core of your decision making.

DIY Dream

Finally! I have successfully finished a wood staining and painting project! Woo! It only took me a day (a WHOLE day of painful work) but it definitely paid off. Here's a little tutorial of what I did:

For $60, these solid wood pieces were a steal, but not great on the eyes...

First off, these still had the original stain and varnish on them, so the first step was to strip them off. So, I went and bought some stripper that was recommended to me:

Ohhh yeah! Take it off!!

The disgusting sticky goop that is the remnant of the stripper

You pretty much just slather this stuff all over the furniture, let it sit for 15-20 minutes, and then use a metal or plastic scraper to take it off. I was going for a distressed wood look so I unevenly took it off so the stain wouldn't be uniform. After remove the original stain and finish, you gotta sand down the wood so the surface is smooth and porous so it will take in the stain better. I removed the drawers on both pieces and treated them separately.

Bare and exposed!

Note: Obviously using harmful chemicals in a small, not very ventilated room is a bad idea, but I made sure to wear a mask, keep the windows open, and have a fan running so.....there.

After sanding, it's time to stain the frames and prime the drawers. I used a warm walnut stain and only left it on for a bit so it wouldn't be too dark.

Sooooo preeeeetty!

After the stain and primer (on the drawers) had dried, you can apply your finish. I used Minwax Polyurethane Finish in Semi-Gloss.

They're so white!

I let the frames and drawers dry overnight. In the morning, I put on my custom knobs and placed the drawers in the frame, and voila! My own two-toned MATCHING bedroom furniture! 

Classy, huh?

Knobs from OSH

I know, I'm awesome

And that's it! Hope this helps if you're looking to do your own refinishing project. :) 

DIY Nightmare

Summer has arrived, which means it's time for random projects around the apartment! I decided that it was time to revamp my bedroom furniture, and since I've learned how to refurbish wood furniture (well....a recipe box, but still), I decided to go to town on a bookshelf, dresser and nightstand. Bookshelf was a success, but the nightstand.....not so much. For the life of me, I could not unscrew the hinges of the door (I was going for a two-toned look) which forced me to paint the door while it was still on the frame. Bad idea. Now I am waiting for my friend's power drill so I can take the door off and start over. Ugh. On the bright side, at least I'm getting a great upper body workout! Maybe I'll post pictures once I'm satisfied.

This isn't me, but this is how messy it gets!

I also bored after work yesterday and watched a movie from my need-to-watch-summer-movie list - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang with Robert Downey Jr. I'm a big fan of RDJ and yet again he did not disappoint, I'm actually surprised I've never seen this movie before!

That's all for now,
CR