The Right Shoes

Kinda out of the blue, a fantastic full-time job opening showed up and I applied and, boom, I have a new mostly-remote job that starts Monday – Managing Editor for the Heterodox Academy, based in New York City. I'm all kinds of thrilled. I've been on HxA's advisory council for years and love their work, and in this job I get to start up a new periodical and work with terrific people on a great cause: supporting open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement in academia.

But this means I've had to go into high gear to get everything I was supposed to do this summer and fall done in the space of a couple of weeks. So it's been a little crazy in my life lately. That's why you haven't heard from me.

It's also been really hot.

Thank goodness I decided at the start of all this to install central air at 615, and thank goodness we installed real ductwork to the back space, plus three new ceiling fans on the first floor. The place has been genuinely comfortable while the contractors have been finishing up the electrical and trim.

The electrical inspector comes for what should be the last time on Friday. New insulation has been installed in the back bedroom/office and bathroom, which means we should be in the clear soon on the general building permit. The plumbing (new toilets and faucets) will be finished once the trim is done, and that will wrap up the plumbing permits.

All in all, this means we are getting close to the end. Phew!

Last weekend, in advance of the trim work, I had to paint the three refurbished doors being used as pocket doors in the new back space on the first floor. To plug the old holes from the doorknobs, General Contractor Steve advised I use Bondo, the product used to deal with dents on cars. It is red, and it is very effective!

I globbed that in, let it dry, then added spackel and sanded it all. Then came two coats of enamel paint, more sanding, more paint. The doors are looking good!

Two of the old doors are now installed as new pocket doors! The third.... Well, Steve discovered it is warped, and he's trying to figure out what to do.

"I thought at first maybe I had put in the framing crooked!" he told me. "But then I laid the door down and put my level on it and discovered the problem is the door."

"Well, you really screwed up," I replied. "You should have put the framing in crooked."

We had a good laugh. He'll figure something out.

Meanwhile Steve and his helper Pat have been installing trim everywhere it is needed. They left me the giant pile of trim to paint, which I did. Here's the pile shown post-painting:

Never have I listened (and sung along) to so much '70s light rock as I did last weekend with all this painting. ("Blinded by the light....") But now, all around the house, I can see the good effects!

Look at that pretty bathroom doorway! Here's another photo after the baseboard trim was also installed:

Here's the back bedroom/office, looking great:

The trim work has reminded me of the old adage that what really matters are your shoes. It's weird but true. People rarely directly look at your shoes, just like they rarely directly look at baseboards. But great shoes and sharp baseboards make all the difference in how you feel about what you're looking at.

Take for instance how I looked when I went to the Heterodox Academy's opening conference reception a couple of weeks ago:

You'll be seeing that look on the Paris runways this fall! Happily you won't be seeing it from me anymore, as I am out of the boot and doing my careful stretching to finish the healing of my torn muscle.

Today, the glass shower door installers came and did their work on the first floor bathroom:

That bathroom is looking terrific!

That's what I've got to show you for now. Hope you have enjoyed the update!