Project Apartment 2009

The present me is nothing like the old me.

The old me, during her high school years, had boys to finish her woodwork for the practical component of Living Skills Studies. The old me got her sawed pieces done, only to find that she couldn't connect the pieces together because her "tanggam parit" was not level. She then miraculously found her project become Jack's. Jack, by the way, was a year older, and had no business whatsoever in the Living Skills workshop. Jack would cordon off some time for my woodwork and even recruited a couple of friends to help expedite the "Help Poor Nj's Ugly Woodwork Project".

The story did not not end there. My multi-purpose wood box was to come with a quilted cover. The beginning of the project was easy enough. I picked a cool-looking cotton cloth, I cut the pieces, quilted it fine, had the teacher trim the edges, but patience I had none when it came to fitting the cover over the woodwork. Off to a tailor in SS2 the cover went. And that, my friends, was how bad I was at all things practical.

But as I said, the present me is nothing like her old, inept self, especially after I find myself heavily vested in a pet project dubbed Project Apartment 2009.

Project Apartment 2009 was not an easy task. It began in April with a search for an apartment, and it couldn't just be the high-rise apartments most international students seem to prefer. I held fast to a dream of living in a quaint, walk-up apartment that was as far away from campus as I could get. Most students who embarked into the off-campus world would opt to live within walking distance from the quads, but I wanted to to be put up close to the lakefront (Lake Michigan).

5430 S. Cornell Ave, Apt. 5R possessed the fierce desires of my heart, and more. Papers were signed, fantasies began, and the project was flagged off.

The search for all things interior and secondhand was by all means long and difficult. But tenacity (and not to mention superior persistent bugging and bargaining skills) pays off, because my roommate Samina and I, both have a place we will be in love with until the day we leave school.

The new me, is someone who disassembled and re-assembled her secondhand furniture, from scratch. Armed with an Ikea toolbox (borrowed, and not yet returned, haha) and sometimes no instruction manual, I screwed, hit, twisted and pushed things into place. Sometimes it took an extra limb or two or required interesting squatting positions or laying down on pieces, and I did it all. Sometimes it took gentle hammering and patience to dislodge a piece while other times required simultaneous jumping, pushing and grunting. But it's all good.

The new me, is someone who painted a feature wall with her favorite color all by herself. For a first timer, it is a job well-done if I must say so myself. There are minimal smudges where the masking tape gave in to the paint, but otherwise I took the pains of wiping the paint with warm water when the stain was unbearable for this naked eye. The new me, is also someone who painted a full-length mirror just so everything in the room matches, and the white bare walls opposite the feature wall didn't look too boring.

The new me takes pride in knowing the different tools in the toolbox and praises the Living Skills curriculum for that. The new me is someone who thinks of playing engineer and tries to repair a broken DVD player, and then surprises herself completely when she miraculously does.

The new me has a home she sort of built from scratch, and she is proud of that.

The new me, unfortunately, is still too short to change a light bulb without a chair. Dammit!

 

Credits to Chong Han and Saleema Nawab for helping Samina and I transport our stuff on that rainy, gloomy day in June. Heartfelt thanks to Adam Johari and Kudzai Ndondo who spent days helping us carry everything in and out of the car or UHaul, via flights of stairs, firescape and spiral staircase and finally, into our home. Adam Johari and Adzwan Anuar also took this little kid to the funland called Ikea, and she owes them one.

Hugs to Samina Lutfeali who shared my ideals and built this comfortable home together. Special thanks goes to Maggie Chow and Huiying Chan for selling me a bulk of the furniture in my room. Project Apartment 2009 couldn't have materialized without these people. Grazie and gracias again.