Day 326– February 27, 2015

About a month ago, at home in a drunken stupor, I imagined, “I should paint the kitchen wall aqua.” Once thought, it must be done.

This apartment is my first living quarters for which I have painted the walls. Previously, I assumed painting was too hard and I would not stay long. Yet I grew tired of pretending home was only temporary. It is hard to put down roots if I act as if I could move out at any time.

Tom taught me how to paint walls… five years ago! For the living room, I then picked a sunny orange, oddly labeled “Circus Peanut.” For the bedroom, I choose a darker, moody purple, labeled “Light Eggplant.” I transformed the boring white rooms with color personality.

After I broke up with Greg this past December, I needed indicators of change. New wall colors suggest a new apartment and a new life. The color aqua spoke to me one evening, so I selected at the hardware store a pint of the Glidden paint color “Pocket Square.”

I push the refrigerator out from its corner. I prepare the wall with a wash of windex. I tape over the wall edges and the vinyl baseboard. I cut up trash bags to make a dropcloth. I carefully paint the wall edges with a small brush. I roll paint on to the wall for two coats of pocket-square blue. Paint dries so quickly.

The kitchen looks foreign. The refrigerator complains of change and I hesitate to stay long in the new room. The crisp color division between orange living room and blue kitchen makes the apartment look bigger.