I'm rather swamped this week and next with work. We're finishing off one paper today and am knee deep in the research for a second paper. It's all good. As Russell Arben Fox frequently notes, I'm really lucky to be doing something that I like so much.
In an effort to reduce time spent monitoring comments, I'm avoiding posts that generate huge controversy, even though it's hard to predict what's going to draw the heat. Non-controversial topic #1 - My house.
When we first saw this house two years ago, we had been through nine months of house hunting. We had seen the house decorated in Elvis posters, the house with a pool for a backyard, and all the little boxes that were still out of our range. When we saw this house, we were able to see through the stinky carpet and wood paneling and immediately put a bid on the house. One of the reasons that we loved it was all the original molding that dates back to 1916.
There are a lot of old houses in our town. A house around the corner from us was a set for the TV show, Ed, which was all about the virtues in a sleepy, little town. Steve and I enjoy driving around and picking out our favorites homes; I'm a sucker for the houses built entirely of river rock.
I'm finally getting to know more people in the community, some of whom have old houses like ours. Their ideas about what to do with these old houses are so different from ours. They're ripping out the old moldings and plaster. They complain that their plaster is chipped and cold. They're completely reconfiguring the layout to make room for massive media rooms. It's killing me.
And, we're just trying to bring the house back to what it looked like before some guy in the 70s put in all those drop ceilings in the house. I'm refinishing a 100 year old mahogany door that the neighbors were throwing away and picking out years of polyurethane from its cracks.
Neighbor guy -- You want this door? Why?
Me -- It's, like, original. Man, look at that patina. [Not that I'm entirely sure what patina is, but I know that it's a good thing.]
Neighbor guy -- But it's got a big glass front.
Me -- I know. It's so Brooklyn. Look it's got beveled glass.
Neighbor guy -- But people are going to be able to see in your house.
Me -- I'll put up a little curtain. Can I have it?
Neighbor guy -- Sure.
Yeah, we're totally pretentious, but I'm having fun with it. 
