Malice in Wonderland

11 days ago, I quit smoking cigarettes. Actually, it has been 11 days, 3 hours, and 36 minutes. So, for the first time in almost 30 years, I am sans vice. I don't gamble anymore. I haven't indulged in recreational drug use in a long time, though if you gave me a Valium, I would swallow it before saying 'thank you'. I drink from time-to-time, but not to the excess needed to attain vice worthiness. It feels weird. Abnormal even.

I've read that once one quits smoking, the senses of smell and taste are restored. I've noticed no change with the way things taste or smell, but I have noticed a significant change in my hearing. Voices clearly sound like annoying cackles from crows now. A little girl practicing her recorder produces a wonderfully cacophonous joy. The glorious noises of Harley-Davidson motorcycles and leaf-blowers permeate the air at my every turn. I shudder when I think I've been missing all of this. And then there was Alice in Wonderland.

My 10-year old niece is in a pretty advanced theater group, and though I really, really, really loathe musicals, it was never a question that I would watch her in Alice in Wonderland. Before sounding like the complete prick that I probably am anyway, I adore my niece. If she were in a "watching grass grow" competition, I would be there cheering for her. Anyway, the writing and songs were nothing short of fucking-God-awful-terrible. The kids were really talented, but I felt like I was watching that talent wasted. It was as though Laurence Olivier acted exclusively in movies written by Adam Sandler, Jerry Lewis, and Will Farrell. I wanted a cigarette so I could go back to being deaf.

Enough whining because there is plenty right with the world. When I last wrote, my inventory was pretty heavy. After a sudden reversion to the mean, everything sold, and I scrambled to replenish.

Overpaid a bit for the end tables, but $50 wasn't too much of a reach.

Slapped on my homemade generic version of ASCP Provence, and.....

....Mod-Podged some sheet music onto the unsightly marble.

I chose Tchaikovsky and Chopin. Not my favorites, but I had the music in my closet.

Same color and idea with this coffee table I picked up for $40 (another slight overpay).

It was less trouble to decoupage sheet music than it would have been
to tape of those sections for a contrasting color.

Picked up this really nice dresser, and a couple two-tiered
nightstands for $80 (no before photos on nightstands)

I wish I knew what to call this color, but it was a blend of three paints
leftover from previous projects. Greyish-whitish blue?

No....definitely looks more like bluish-whitish grey.

This chest was a steal at $55. It's probably 60 years old, and
there wasn't a thing wrong with it. Nice seller too.

Painted it Old White and Duck-Egg Blue.

Sadly, I am now a man with no vice. A novice :). I firmly resolve to show no less malice to every man, woman, child, and sound on this planet while I still long for a cigarette. I would also like to apologize in advance for any random and nonsensical gibberish I may post in the near future. I'll do anything to temporarily forget my desire to smoke. I just know I write better while drinking vodka and smoking cigarettes with a bong at arm's reach.