#calmiera

[mariana-oconnor]

I know you only used it as a made up example, but now I kinda want to read about Clint Barton, the best thief in the galaxy, who has (on one particularly memorable occasion) stolen a planet. :D (and then Bucky's heart)

I know, right? I was writing it and thought ‘oh dear, another one’. I’m gonna put it in my plot ideas file, but if anyone else wants to take the idea and run with it, you’re more than welcome!

[super-hero-confessions]

Hi! Just how many of those "Captain Marvel will be a complete garbage and Brie Larson is a terrible person/actress" confessions did you get? They all sound like the same person and there's SO MANY of them already... Do you ever worry about mental health of people who send you confessions?

idk. People are pathetic and kind of storm the inbox sometimes. We make the graphics in order of how we receive them and kind of just post them the same way in our massive queue. I worry about the mental health of a lot of people. But there is nothing I can sadly do about it. I worry about my health every minute of every day, but you gotta do what you gotta do, right? 

[copperbadge]

More Answers About The Condo

katestamps replied to your post “So, on the plus”

All this is making me suggest you get the locks replaced before you sleep there.

Yep -- I need to talk to the building management about it when we meet next Friday. In the meantime I’m leaving stuff over there but nothing I couldn’t live without. 

whoweargoldintheirhair replied to your post “So, on the plus”

Sam... knowing your track record... please just buy a brand new ladder!

I did have that thought, but I’ll make sure it’s strong before I climb it. Ladders are expensive and hard to have delivered :D 

librarian-amy replied to your post “So, on the plus”

Is the refrigerator haunted?

One more reason I need Ghost -- she will drive out the bad spirits of the fridge! 

levynite replied to your post “So, on the plus”

that fridge needs to be sealed with ofuda or something

I feel like I would regret doing that to a poor innocent ofuda. 

geekgirl76 replied to your post “So, on the plus”

Score on the ladder, but Sam, seriously, STOP OPENING THE FRIDGE! You're going to catch something!

I.....I do genuinely worry about this. 

shirokou replied to your photo

SAM BOUGHT A HOME TAG!!!!!!

I loved your idea for it! :D Changing the tag was a great idea. 

archwrites replied to your photo

I really hope all this turmoil now means years and years and years of peaceful, problemless living in that place

That’s my hope too. But I am a little worried it just means that owning this condo will forever be like combat. :D 

nobodycareswhatido replied to your photo

If this whole process had gone off without a hitch, you wouldn't know how to act. You'd still be expecting the other shoe to drop--and land on your head. :)

This is super true. And imagine what the issue would be, if it wasn’t with the purchase itself! 

altheterrible replied to your photo

I've been watching this saga on the edge of my seat. Congrats, it's finally over! Except now you get to start renovations. My sister bought a house and is four years deep into renovations with no end in site. Good luck!

Yeah, it never ends. But at least it’s now mine! (I’ve had like, half a dozen people tell me “YOU NEED TO WRAP THIS UP because I AM HAVING ANXIETY DREAMS ABOUT IT”, which cracks me up.) 

calmiera replied to your photo

Congratulations! Glad it went okay. (especially with your kind of luck) Hope your new home will serve you well. (My English just kinda left me, hopefuly that last sentence makes sense.)

Your English is fine! I hope it will serve me well too :)

junker5 replied to your post “I would love to be able to say”

You really will laugh about all of this....eventually!!!!

Honestly, I feel really fortunate that I’m the kind of person who can laugh about it as it’s happening :D 

kimmiesue13 replied to your photo

I don't mean to be pedantic and I know you're pretty smart, but uh, you know you'll have to wash the walls before painting if they're that dirty, right? Otherwise the paint won't stick or cover well.

Oh yes! I did know that but thank you for saying it because it reminded me I need a sponge and some cleaner. 

banesidhe replied to your photo

Get some TSP to wipe the walls down before you start painting. Gross. Did they have to provide receipts from the cleaners? My realtor made them provide proof of the termite inspection/work.

I.....I feel like I should know what TSP is, a bunch of people mentioned it. I didn’t get receipts from the cleaners -- I totally should have, but at this point I don’t want a stranger in my home anyway, so. :D I have to wash the walls anyway! 

[mariana-oconnor]

Hey there are people online. Hi!

@datgurlnextdoor replied to your post: I know no one is online right now, but if there is...

   Out of the three I definitely favour the second option. I have read about 20 fics about the first one so it might be hard to get me hooked or to introduce original content… the third option lies close to the second when it comes to frequency; only read about 5 like that, while I’ve only read 1 like the second. But that’s just my opinion, if other like the first scenario so much go for it. It just pains me everytime I read it.    

I get that, there are certain tropes that turn up again and again, and you just want to read something different. Variety is the spice of life and all that. Although I feel like personally I lean more towards option 2 tropes than option 1 in my writing. I think you’re okay, though. Most people seem to be interested in option 2 atm.

I feel like I should state that Clint is really not the focus of this. This is more ‘what will Clint be doing before Bucky and the plot crash into his life and turn it upside down’.

@calmiera replied to your post: I know no one is online right now, but if there is...

   Option 2 sounds like fun :)    

I does sound like fun. It was the second possibility that came to me, and it does tie in nicely with the prompt... so bonus points there.

@epohna replied to your post: I know no one is online right now, but if there is...

   I really like the second one but retirement!Clint is a close second!    

Option 2 does seem to be winning atm. I feel like I do need to, at some point, write retirement!Clint failing at living a wholesome, normal existence.

@squirrel-wolf replied to your post: I know no one is online right now, but if there is...

   I like numbers two, but that’s because it appeals to me personally. (kind of a lot)  My second pick would be the top one, because there’s just something about farm Clint.    

Number 2 is getting all the votes, it seems. Like I said above, there is something about Farm!Clint, and I haven’t written him yet, and I do want to at some point.

Thank you!

I shall see about getting started with number 2 today then. I really do need to pull myself out of the hole of nostalgic supernatural fic I’ve been in. *sigh* I haven’t watched the show in 5 years and yet every couple of years I think ‘I should read some Destiel fic’ and fall down the rabbit hole again.

[copperbadge]

garina replied to your post “It is amazing and inspiring that you have done so much on your house...”

You have the packing anxiety dream? I thought I was the only one!

Oh yeah! Not often, but once in a while. It adds a certain spice to any situation where I’m moving large amounts of stuff...

spaci1701 replied to your post “Just found out I’ll be visiting Chicago for work, and my first thought...”

SAMUEL COPPER BADGE! You put that down THIS INSTANT, young man, and go wash your hands. Honestly! You know better than to handle old infrastructure without gloves.

I shan’t! I love it and I won’t put it down ever. 

mysweetetc replied to your post “Hi Sam. Since you're talking a lot about moving lately, have you ever...”

I'm so lucky that I've rented for nearly seven years now and never needed a plunger. KNOCKING ON ALL THE WOOD

Oh man you are LIVING DANGEROUSLY :D 

calmiera

I agree with toilet paper, bottled water (maybe plunger?) and adding to shopping list as needed. (no point in buying stuff to later realize you don't actually need it - we found out that we were used to a lot of stuff that made our lives easier, but wasn't really necessity.) Also... a lot of people mentioning fire extinguisher... Is that something you need a lot, where you live? Because I don't think I know a single person with FE at home.

A fire extinguisher is something you don’t need until you really need it, but at that point if you don’t have it you will definitely wish you did. 

That said, I believe it’s federal law in the US that if you’re renting an apartment, your landlord has to provide smoke detectors in the unit and fire extinguishers on every floor, so it’s not something I’ve ever owned personally -- I’ve always known where the extinguisher on my floor is (usually it’s in a case somewhere in the hallway) but never owned one my own self. 

Might not be a bad thing for me to pick up actually -- the building has a sprinkler fire-suppression system, but I’d rather not activate that and water-damage everything everyone owns. 

I did buy and install a smoke detector in my unit, purely because the one that came with the unit is way up high near a window and not likely to be of much use, if it even has any batteries in it (my ceilings in the old place are 16′, which is delightful but also makes changing lightbulbs and smoke detector batteries a true pain in the ass. 

[copperbadge]

Answers About The Speakeasy

caped-ace replied to your photo “I was over at the new place today”

Why does your new home look like a set used by the Leverage cast?

Because we’re both awesome? :D I dunno, I suppose because Leverage usually went for a kind of beat-up-but-classic style with its architecture, and beat-up-but-classic is this entire building’s aesthetic. 

tyrannosaurus-trainwreck replied to your photo “I was over at the new place”

If you like vining/climbing houseplants, that column looks like a great place to stick like a pothos plant and train the vines around!

Oooh, tempting! Though that’s like the one place in the unit with no natural light...

compromised-by-castiel replied to your photo “I was over at the new place”

do your windows have screens?

Some do, some don’t, at least I think. I haven’t checked -- I know at least one in the bedroom does because the screen has a hole.... 

catlinyemaker replied to your photo “I was over at the new place”

Inquiring minds want to know, is there another column in the utility closet? Because based on the notch out of the bedroom there should be, and my unseemly urge for order wants to sketch on in there. It looks like an older factory/warehouse construction model with the evenly spaced pillars. Also thanks much for posting all this and gratifying our curiosity and desire to let you know how we'd decorate your space. :)

I was wondering myself after drafting it, because it does seem like the pillars are regularly placed. I went in this evening and measured it, and while there isn’t a VISIBLE column, the closet actually has a wall before the column would be visible. So I’m guessing yes, and I think my hot water heater closet shares it with the coat closet of the unit next door. 

The building was an old-timey office building, way back in the day (built in 1910 I believe) so the regular columns make sense. 

ambersnake replied to your post “I am so obsessed w your home renovation”

I'm addicted to watching someone Make Visible Progress. I'm often low on energy and a terrible procrastinator to boot, so watching your condo coming along is like crack.

I need to do a “before and after” photo series for sure. 

kittoria replied to your post “HiSam, since you don't care about making”

I am surprisingly emotionally invested in Ghost's happiness. I hope she likes the Speakeasy :)

Me too! I hope she comes along, she’s been a good roommate for the most part :D 

calmiera replied to your post “HiSam, since you don't care about making”

How can you make sure if Ghost moved with you?

I can’t, really, unless she wants me to, I suppose. I’ve given her chances to see it, and I put a map on the lid of her traveling box so hopefully if she changes her mind she can go home again. I rarely get much direct contact with her except the occasional dream, so I suppose if I dream she’s having fun, then I’ll know :) If not, eh, not meant to be. 

pterriblepterodactyls replied to your post “annechen-melo replied to your photo”

Honestly my apartment has open face cabinets and we've never had an issue w that. The cabinets themselves were kinda sticky and gross when we moved in but we washed them and they've been fine. You *might* have more of an issue bc you don't use your dishes as much (1-5 college students in the apartment at any given time = a lot of used dishes) but even the stuff we don't use much is fine, so I wouldn't worry too much

I’ve had people say both. I know that cooking with gas tends to add a sticky residue to stuff, even stuff in closed cabinets if you’re not careful, so that could be part of it. 

spaci1701 replied to your photo “I was over at the new place today”

My crafter's soul shrieks at unused, blocked off space, but the 10" gap does make your meh attitude make sense. There is one storage idea I've seen that would work perfectly and cheaply if you chose - stacked lengths of 8" PVC pipe. No painting, no attaching needed.

I keep trying to envision what the PVC pipe is for and failing. Is it like...stacked on end, or....propped between wall and column horizontally? What is the pipe meant to be used for? 

[copperbadge]

The Death Fridge

aisu-hawk replied to your photoset “Behold my fridge.”

I want to clean it so badly.

Honestly...there’s no saving this thing. I’m going to have ComEd haul it off for recycling; I thought about going after it with a harsh cleaner but that rust line in the back tells me this fridge is dying anyway. 

siancrosslinisback replied to your photoset “Behold my fridge.”

*softly, with feeling* yikes

That was my reaction the first time I saw it -- then this time is the first time I found the butter and I YELLED it. :D 

anonymus-maximus-er replied to your photoset “Behold my fridge.”

"shelf evident"

I AM SO MAD I DID NOT THINK OF THIS. 

grannyweatherwaxofficial replied to your photoset “Behold my fridge.”

Why is the butter in a box??

That’s how it’s generally sold in the US -- four sticks of butter (each 1/4 lb) wrapped in waxed paper, bundled in a cardboard carton. 

tardis-stowaway replied to your photoset “Behold my fridge.”

Egads! I have cleaned some pretty gnarly fridges over years of roommates and communal work fridges, but I think yours takes the cake for horrifying levels of mold.

It’s so dire. I hope it wasn’t like that when someone was living there. 

srprincess replied to your photoset “Behold my fridge.”

I have only seen one fridge worse than yours, and I try not to think about that horror show of a rental anymore. Smells can haunt you.

Oddly enough, there’s no smell. It’s just....an odorless foulness. 

calmiera replied to your photoset “Behold my fridge.”

I admit I'm terrible at keeping track of food and it's usability and I often have to take care of moldy or liquified food but even then is our fridge pretty much clean. This one looks... I would be afraid to even touch it.

I haven’t taken the butter out yet because I didn’t have gloves I could wear while doing it.

That’s only one of them, btw, there’s a second pound of butter in the second compartment. 

[copperbadge]

junker5 replied to your post “So, I’m very tired and feeling a little discouraged about how much I...”

That's a ton of work!!! I'm proud of you. The floors look nice. Do they have to be refinished, too???

Nope, they’re good -- they’re actually vinyl :D Eventually I’d like to put in nicer flooring, but they look pretty good for now! 

memprime replied to your post “biblioaesthetica replied to your post “Is Merlin not among your...”

If possible please do it for the stream team Tuesday. Thank you!! :D 

It won’t be this tuesday unfortunately -- I probably won’t be able to stream (or even regularly attend a Togethertube stream) for a month or so, since I’ll be working on the condo in the evenings, though we’ll see how my energy lasts. But eventually I’ll probably do a Merlin weekend stream or something. It’s a LONG series, so it’ll take a while to get through.  

calmiera replied to your post “So, I’m very tired and feeling a little discouraged about how much I...”

That is A LOT of work. You deserve a break. (Also - have you thought about asking someone for help with some of the stuff? It's usually quicker and a bit more fun when there's more people involved. Bonus points if the other person actually knows what you're doing. And I am fully aware how hard it is to ask for help. I'm still learning how to do it.)

There’s not really anyone local I’d feel comfortable asking to do this level of work. It’s not so much that it’s hard to ask for help as that this kind of thing is reciprocal and I haven’t had a local network where I’ve really “paid in” that way, helping people move and such. Working on it, but bad at it, so it takes a while :D 

randomisjen replied to your post “So, I’m very tired and feeling a little discouraged about how much I...”

Depending on the size of the holes, mesh tape may work. Put the tape over the holes, spackle over the tape, sand down when dry, then paint.

I’m gonna look into that this morning when I buy the paint -- though I’m going to need to ask about spackle since the stuff I bought is like putty, and that requires the more gel-like stuff I think. 

persian-slipper replied to your photo “This is what $100 gets you at the hardware store: I call it...”

But Sam, you love masks! ��

LOL! NOT THIS KIND. Too much work, not enough comedy!