September Newsletter- La vie en...verte?? and more!
In this issue...
La vie en…verte??
Coaching corner
What I’m reading
Most popular post
La vie en...verte??
Last week I had a big audition and a bigger problem: what to do with my mind and my hands over the long weekend before D-, (er…A-), day. I’d prepared as much as I could, and I knew that continuing to rehearse my monologues would drain them of all spontaneity and humor. Plus, I didn’t think my dog could sit through one more reading of the piece I performed with an affected Jersey accent, ya know whad I'm talkin’ ‘bout?
I needed something to soothe my nerves. Something to calm my soul. Something to occupy my mind. Painting my home office seemed to fit the bill perfectly.
I’d been dragging my feet on this particular DIY project since the summer, and I became excited at the thought of transforming my bare walls into the creative oasis I’d pinned on my mood board months ago. I headed to the hardware store, feeling smugly satisfied with all of the frustration, time and money(?) I would save by doing the project myself. It suddenly occurred to me that this whole situation was a perfect metaphor for life:
The best motivation often comes from attempting to curb the rabid monkey-like energy pumping through your body as the result of a terror-inducing upcoming event.
And, as luck would have it, it wasn’t long before another life metaphor came to mind, after seeing the hardware store employee’s reaction to the color I’d chosen:
Be bold in your color choices, no matter what the experienced Lowe’s employee says. That raised eyebrow followed by a defeated shrug could have meant anything.
And so, for the next three days I painted. Well, first I taped off the ceilings and baseboards- and then re-taped them after all the tape came unstuck, because…
Sometimes you spend 45 minutes meticulously taping off things you don’t want to get messed up, only to have to redo it all later because this &*#$ humidity ruins everything and, sweet Jesus, HOW AM I STILL NOT EVEN PAINTING YET??
Doing these kinds of projects, you tend to learn a lot about yourself. You may, for example, realize you are not as handy around the house as you thought, and that you should probably rethink your backup career as a perky, knowledgeable HGTV host. Or maybe you now understand that there’s probably a good reason most people don’t allow their 8 year olds to help with these kinds of projects. But mostly you keep spotting those life metaphors because now you’re high on paint fumes, and besides, we’re in deep with this thing, so might as well ride it out:
It’s okay to listen to 17 consecutive podcast episodes about the War of the Roses because in life, you never know when someone is going to quiz you on 15th century English politics.
You might wanna occasionally throw in something more lighthearted though, ‘cause calling your husband a ‘scurvy nave’ isn’t the sick burn you think it is.
Scraping the bottom of the barrel (or paint can) isn’t as bad as people make it sound. It’ll also save you a trip back to the hardware store and another encounter with Jason, the judgy employee.
Touchups are inevitable, even with the painter’s tape you carefully applied. Twice.
Painter’s tape manufacturers might be scurvy naves.
“You’ll have to excuse me; I’m in the middle of my art” makes the perfect response to the intimidating doctor mom dropping her kid off for a playdate.
Doctors and hardware store employees apparently have similar opinions on “shockingly bold” paint colors. (Did you accidentally say ‘purple with neon yellow zigzags’ instead of ‘green’?)
Don’t forget that you ordered wallpaper for the 4th wall, because it will inevitably arrive once you have already moved all of the furniture back into place.
Hard work and effort in the form of burning rabid monkey energy always pays off in the end.
So what do you think?
What do you do to burn off your manic monkey energy?
Is green really such an insane wall color choice? (If you say yes, I cannot be held responsible for the ensuing medieval insults.)
How much longer will the painter’s tape industry keep unsuspecting DIYers in a chokehold?
Yorkist or Lancastrian? Justify your answer with diagrams and/or gifs, please.
Sound off in the comments!
Coaching Corner: What is a Creative Coach?
What I’m Reading: Lessons in Chemistry
If ever there was an example of a book not matching its cover, Lessons in Chemistry would be it. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a cute cover: bright colors, cute graphics, the whole shebang. But seeing it led me to believe I was digging into a romantic comedy, a genre I tend to struggle with. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Lessons in Chemistry tells the story of Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant chemist struggling to be taken seriously in 1960s California not only because of her unconventional approach to life, but because…well, she’s a woman and a chemist and it’s the 1960s. Insightful, witty, and at times infuriatingly relevant, this book felt original and smart, and I was genuinely sad when it ended. Fortunately though, it seems Apple TV has turned it into a new series starring Brie Larson and premiering in October. Here’s hoping the show creators stay true to the book’s uplifting message of women’s empowerment!
My most popular post of the month
My birthday is in a few days, and based on this month’s most popular post and targeted ads, I think I already know what I’m getting…
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