I had 2 days more of Raya leave. The kids were not around and there was just me and CaTz. Everyone that we know were either at their kampungs or holidaying somewhere. So we decided to make a trip to the shopping mall. This was the best time to do shopping, coz the sale was still on, minus the long queues, kids running, babies crying, aggressive mothers, foul mood husbands, smelly armpit smell....simply bliss.
The tranquility of the mall induced me into a buying mood. To cut the story short, we bought new curtains for the living room. The 2 amoi manning the counter commented "Waaa, lepas raya baru shopping ka?". Well, the purchase was not related to Raya, its was just time for a change.
As CaTz was trying out the curtains, I commented how a bit dated the walls were. Having a wallpaper border running across the wall irritates my eye. CaTz suggested we remove it as she had some left over paint. I was possessed with the spirit of a makeover interior designer...plus the fact that she asked me this question "you tau buat ke?" To all the women folks....if you want your husbands to do something fast....here's a tip....that's the question to ask them. I started to peel off that wallpaper border BEFORE she finished that question. I'll show her....
After peeling off, I proceeded to paint over the affected area. The color was the same....BUT off a different shade. In my haste to prove my manly skills, I forgot the fact that wall was painted a few years back. The environment had changed its shade. Now it looks uglier than before. Oh oh...now I was in trouble. Then the spirit of the makeover ID took over, and looking around I saw that the furniture including the new sofa was 'earth' colour, but the walls were pinkish, which was 'the' colour back then, but a bit dated now.
We then went out to buy the paint. I knew what colour I wanted. I would not mention who actually decide on the colors, for fear of 'perang saraf' at home...hahaha....let's just say it was a mutual agreement. My years of experience in the construction line slowly took over my soul. What started as a simple 1 wall project, suddenly exploded into a bigger project...I was determined to paint the whole house. It was a total makeover.
I started right after returning home, starting with the ceiling first. The more I paint, the more determined I was.. clearly possessed. Suddenly, I realised...painting was a good stress reliever. No wonder some people paint in their free time as a hobby...not my type of painting...art painting. My previous attempts at painting art stopped dead in its track when my kids (when they were smaller) laughed at it. when I saw their painting, I knew why they laughed...they paint better than me.
The 2 days was maximized with painting...usually the best time was from midnight onwards. The quietness, the tranquility....precious. When it was a working day, I started after dinner...and goes on until the wee hours of morning. The 1st phase - painting the living/dining area including ceiling, doors and door frames was completed before the weekend after the long holidays, good timing too as we had friends and family members that came over for Raya to the house.
Our guests were amazed when we told them that the paint job was done by myself, especially my sister, whom had never seen me doing any such 'heavy' work at home. Only then did they scrutinized the finished project. I waited in anticipation...nervous to hear their comments...but pretending not to bother. Alas..."dia paint tu lurus je ek"..."nice color combination"..."lepas ni you pulak can paint our house" were some of the comments overheard...not that i was straining myself to hear them :) hahaha.
My 2nd phase project is to convert the storeroom into a study cum prayer room. I wanted a room so that I can pray together with my wife...it was a dream and I am determine to make it come through. I had partially started on that, it is a slow process as weekdays I am occupied with work. That leaves the weekends. we had disposed almost 70% of that storeroom contents. Even the still good computer table including the 17" CRT monitor had to go. I had installed the new blinds, and gave it a fresh white paint. But the room looks 'too white', so it needs some colors on the walls.
The project was not so much on monetary issues, although I spent just a few hundred ringgit for the paint. It was the satisfaction of doing it yourself...which was priceless. Malays used to be well known for their craftsmanship...who knows maybe my ancestors were craftsmen. After a long hierarchy of descendants, maybe that craftsman blood is still there, but somehow diluted.
