my week home alone

This past week my landlords (Becca and Joe) went on vacation to San Diego. In the meantime I had decided to be the greatest sister/in-law ever and surprise them with redecorating my bathroom. The basement is most definitely the area of the house that needs the most cosmetic retouches. The bathroom in my "apartment" (where the carpet turns to concrete floors) donned a maroonish/tanish sponge painted wallpaper, white plastic cabinet handles, stained green rugs, and an assortment of dark woods. Not entirely horrible decor, but not really in the taste of me or my landlords. Here is what it looked like before moving in.


The (my) idea was always in place to eventually strip the wallpaper and paint it sort of a spa blue color. For a week or so before Becca and Joe left I was looking at paint samples trying to find the perfect color. I also found what to use to take down the wallpaper, DIF works amazingly well by the way. Finally Monday came along and I brought them to the airport. I had to work that night, but right afterwards I started on stripping the walls. It took a couple different techniques, but I got a system down and then everything worked like clockwork. I was working during this part as well so the wall stripping took a few days to get done. The most difficult part was that whoever put up the wallpaper did it before putting anything else in. This meant that there was wallpaper behind the cabinets, light fixtures, and mirror. I ended up taking down the mirror, light fixtures , and a few other items to get behind those. It was also tough to get behind the toilet, and unfortunately there was no way I was going to take that out. Even though people say taking down wallpaper is horrible and some would rather just paint on top of it, I actually had a lot of fun taking it down. Since it came off fairly easily and I got to have fun making a mess, I think that helped.













The color I picked out is called Graceful, it's a lighter slightly grey toned blue. Painting was a breeze. The only issue there was getting behind the toilet, it's a tough spot to paint. The cabinets on the other hand were interesting. They had wallpaper on them as well, inside the frame of the doors. When I took one door off to check out what was behind the wallpaper I found it was just a piece of plywood. That wasn't going to work out so well. So here is actually where I decided to paint on top of the wallpaper. However, I did have to re-wallpaper the one door I had stripped. I wasn't about to buy a whole container of wallpaper paste so I just used spray adhesive. This ended up not looking the greatest, but it works.

After painting it looks amazing! The color matches well with the wood around the room and really brightens it up. I HAD to replace the hardware on the cabinets. What was there just looked so ugly. I went out and got some new handles, a pretty brushed nickel goes great with the new look. Well then the hinges didn't match (nickel with gold), so I went back to the hardware store. When I put the doors back on I found that the hinges are a slightly different size (on the decorative part) than the old ones. So they overlap in one spot, I don't mind.

Well now the other hardware in the room is out of place. This was starting to look like an expensive pattern though. I did get a new toilet paper holder and towel ring (both were the same ugly off white like the cabinet handles), but went for inexpensive ones. I took down and did not put back up a towel bar that sat next to the toilet, always seemed useless to me anyway. Because of the expense I choose to leave the towel bar and hooks inside the shower the same, since no one really sees those.

A couple things that went... unplanned, were issues with the shelf and the mirror. The shelf that sat over the toilet was secured strangely to the wall. In such a way that I spent a lot of time tugging and pulling and twisting until it finally broke free. Not without some battle scars though. I needed to patch some holes there, and bought a new shelf because I was so upset with the one that was put there. When I went to get the shelf I also found a nifty seat/storage thing that I really liked. It matches with my new spa, but was a pain to put together.

The mirror was a strange situation all around. When it was taken down I noted where and how the screws were placed so that I could get it back up with no problems. PROBLEM! Don't ask me what went wrong, because I'm not quite sure myself. I got the mirror back up, but one side seemed a little loose. I realized this was because I needed anchors for the screws on that side. After taking the mirror back down, and breaking a clip in the process, I couldn't get it back up. Yes, I bought new clips, yes, I put anchors in the wall, yes, I was putting the screws back in the same spots I took them out of. What was causing me trouble was the side going into a stud. The screws just would not go all the way into the wall. I was ready to give up right then and there. It was upsetting mainly because I had been working so hard to have this ready for when Becca and Joe got home. Now it was going to be mostly ready with a major part missing and me needing Joe to finish it. I tried everything I could think of. Even got out Joe's drill and stud finder but was wary because the stud finder's AV light was going off. I worked my muscle (yes I have some) and eventually got the bottom screw in tight enough for the mirror. Because I had to buy new clips though, the spacing ended up being a little off. I'm leaving this for Joe to take care of, I was WAY too fed up with it!

Alright, alright, almost done now! The bathroom looks great, and I have been waiting all week to show Becca and Joe how wonderful I am (I hope they like it, and aren't mad). I was photographing a wedding on Friday at the Arboretum, so I went early to get some pictures of the flowers. I wanted to print a couple larger sizes and put those up in the bathroom. I think Erin could spend a month straight there taking pictures, it is amazing. I ended up getting two 8x10 prints and found frames that matched quite perfectly with the room, so that went well. I can't stop looking at it, it looks completely different and I love it.

And now for the before and after...

here we go!

Alright, it has been done. Yesterday I went to The Travel Academy and signed up for their next class. I should be starting my new career by the end of August. The classes are Monday through Thursday from 8-1. Since I still have to keep my job during the time so as not to go broke, looks like I will be having some very busy weekdays. Class from 8-1 then work from 3-11, lather rinse and repeat. I am really excited!

While I realize this decision puts a somewhat unofficial end to my job search, I will still be discussing what ventures I ALMOST took. From secretary to flight attendant to stripper, I've thought of doing it all. Ok, that stripper comment was just to see if you were still paying attention. My photos from the wedding I shot a few weeks ago are minutes away from being fully done. When those are complete I will be sure to post a few. Although I won't be taking those few minutes to finish them immediately, I have another project in progress that cannot be revealed until Monday. :)

information makes the heart grow fonder

I’ve been doing a lot of research, at least I consider it a lot, around becoming a travel agent. You would be shocked as to how many travel agencies there are in the Minneapolis area. I emailed about 15 of them with about five questions. I wanted to keep it short so they wouldn’t think it was a waste of time yet get the answers I needed. As of today (Friday afternoon), only three have responded. I received a nice blend of answers however, which was nice.

Monique, from A1 Travel Store, has been in the business for over 26 years and is still loving it! She moved here from Arizona with 8 years of experience under her belt so doesn’t really know the starting salary (after what I’ve gathered now she guessed quite high at $32,000). Kim seemed to have spent the most time on her response, which I really appreciate. She actually recommended the Travel Academy as a great starting place, and put beginning salary at $9-10/hr. As the VP of Advent Travel she doesn’t work as an actual travel agent, but said that her agents enjoy what they do for the most part. Kim was the only one to mention that it can be a stressful position, which is expected, I know what travelers can be like at times. Rick from Northern Lights Travel says that agents aren’t really willing to train others. It’s one of those businesses where there are more people wanting jobs than there are jobs, and that creates competition. He also said that he enjoys what he does, but has been in the industry for 18 years.

Today I went to the Travel Academy for a visit and met with the owner himself, Curt Armstrong. He had a nice spiel set up for potential students, all information I had heard before through the website and brochure I had requested. Still, it was good to get all the facts. My two biggest questions about whether or not to go forward with this is if I can afford it and if the position they set me up with will pay enough for me to continue payments. I know they say that they place most of their graduates with an employer before graduation, but you have to read into these things. “Most” meaning some of the students aren’t placed in a position and I’m stuck at the same crappy job I have right now. Lets say I do get placed, is it going to give me the regular hours with better pay and a good company like I’ve been looking for? What are my chances of coming out the other end of this training and being able to nicely pay for it while still living. After a trip to the library and a little more research I decided to go for it! Although not a firm yes, because I would like to wake up tomorrow with my decision and see if I still feel it is the right one. Monday is my new deadline. At this time I will either be signing up for the Travel Academy or sending an email of regret to Mr. Armstrong, who has been so helpful this past week.

travel agent

I have been job searching for a few months now. Very little has jumped out at me as my next career. I’ve applied for a couple positions, but never heard anything from them. This past weekend I was thinking about it and the idea of becoming a travel agent popped in my head. The problem I have been having with my job search is that I can’t get pumped up about certain industries. I really have enjoyed working in hotels these past two years (is that all it’s been?) and I would welcome almost any position in the travel field.

So we consider travel agencies.

I came across a place called the Travel Academy in Bloomington. They will train people interested in the travel industry for jobs such as travel agents and flight attendants (more on that in another post). It is a 6-8 week course where you learn the ins and outs of the job. Plus when you are ¾ of the way through they will help you find a position. I haven’t found a number from them but they do say that most of their graduates obtain a job before even finishing the course. Even better, the school will assist you with finding jobs your whole life. Sounds great right? Well here is the kicker … it’s $3000 for the tuition. The next classes for travel agents starts July 7th and runs until Aug 28th.

I’ve decided I am going to think about this for the rest of the week. I'm still looking into what travel agents get paid, and how much I would enjoy this job. If I think that this is really the way I would like to go, and that I can afford it, I will sign up for the Travel Academy. Although I am still getting people’s opinion, if you have anything you would like to add…

welcome back!

Inspired by my brother Ben and his wife, Erin, and their consistent (but not annoyingly so) blogging, I have decided to breath new life into my Coming Soon... blog. I will not be changing the name as I see it fitting towards my life and what I have decided to, mainly, write about.

As a somewhat recent college graduate (my graduation date depends on who you ask) I have fallen prey to something I didn't think would happen to me. My current job is not what I received my degree in, and it's also not satisfying in any form of the word. I have a bachelors degree in photography and I am now working at the front desk of a Minneapolis hotel. The hotel I work for is in major need of restoration, and they won't do any of it. I also get paid less than I am worth to have the opportunity to get yelled at and blamed for everything that is wrong with the hotel.

This has led me to restart my job search. What's the problem you ask? Not only is the job market not the greatest right now, I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Getting to the point of discussion, I change my mind weekly, daily, or hourly as to what my next career choice will be. Sure, I could attempt to get a photography job and make my degree worth the 4 1/2 years I put into it, but I'm not even sure where I want to go with that. Besides, I would love to dabble into many different industries. So follow me in my minds adventures, thoughts, and plans for the future.




Side Note: The one decent position I am currently holding is as the assistant to a Mankato area wedding photographer. I will be posting some photos and experiences from the weddings that I shoot, the first was a little over a week ago, so keep an eye out!