i bought a new mattress this weekend and it is divine. no, really, that's the name: Divinity.

it's another futon mattress, in case you were wondering. i love them. sleeping on anything else is hardly worthwhile in my opinion. the guy at the futon shop understood that. he told me the mattress i bought is the very mattress he sleeps on himself. you don't think that was just a line to get me to buy it? naw, of course not. he had a British accent. people with British accents don't lie like that.

and once again, my fabulous Volkswagen GTI was ever so helpful in bringing home my new prize. that car is amazing. you can park it in the tiniest of spaces, it's downright luxurious inside, it gets great gas mileage, i can drive it super fast, and i can stick an entire bed in the back. why would you want/need anything else? i can't think of a reason either.

getting the new cloud i plan to sleep on home, i plopped it down on my new bed and strapped on the new sheets. yes, i said "bed". close your mouths, it's not that shocking that i'm no longer sleeping on the floor. yes, it's been a few ... five ... years since i actually owned a bed but i've always intended on buying one. that should count for something.

all this commotion is part of Home Construction 101: How to Take Forever When Putting Together a New Home Because, Well, You're Particular About Certain Things. i've been here over two months and yet there are still boxes lining my hallway and boxes in the kitchen and empty boxes in the bedroom. albeit, i wasn't actually "here" here for three weeks. but still.

i just like my space a certain way (e.g. colorful, subtle, orderly) and i'm willing to put up with a simulated disaster area, that's somewhat contradictory to that way, for a few months while i decide exactly how to achieve it. i'd rather live in squalor for a bit than put things together wrong and have to call a do-over.

there's lots to be done but lots has been achieved, too. regard:

as mentioned, bought a bed, bought new sheets, bought a new mattress, replaced light, added dimmer. still need to buy new pillows, decide on a color for the walls, decide if wall color matches sheet color, replace useful yet inappropriate purple curtains with super room darkening blinds, replace horribly ugly fake wood baseboards with practically invisible white quarter-round, hang art.

new desk, new bookshelves, completely new filing system, new desk lamp. need to finish putting stuff away, combat cable tornado behind desk, run new phone line to desk, hang art.

hung some clothes, dresser. UNDO HORRIBLE MESS IN LIVING ROOM CLOSET, DEAR GAWD, more hooks, more shelves.

replace drawer pulls, put up doorknobs for coats and scarves a la Shasta Cabin, hang art.

replaced light, replaced shitty showerhead with amazing showerhead, bought new fixtures, bought new towels. need to hang fixtures, replace shower curtain, fix heater, hang art?

painted the walls that wonderful color of red, tacked down the cable cable, replaced light, added dimmer, arranged furniture, laid rug, hung some art. need to tack down other cables, hang speakers, find much better furniture for TV than gawd awful IKEA thing, stain drawers, finish sealing bookshelf, hang art.

um ... put away stuff. need to ... wow, do a whole lot. just leave it at that.

so, as you can see, it is no easy task to put a home together and there is no reason that you should be disgusted at the current state of my apartment. you really should be impressed with how lovely some parts of the apartment look. yes, impressed. you are very impressed with my homemaking skills. and these are not the droids you're looking for.