The chair is finally complete! It would seem that it was being assembled for Tiger's enjoyment all along.

Cairo's a big ass city, blessed not with one Ikea but two, one on each end. The one closest to me ran out of the chair's cushions a long time ago and won't be restocking till next month. The other one had the cushions in stock, but when you order from Ikea's website, they only deliver from whichever branch is closest to you (...the fuck?). So I went ahead and trekked across the city to nab the damn thing myself and get it over with—And boy, it really is a big city. Felt more like making an out-of-town daytrip.

All I need now is a nice throw blanket and small pillow to make the setting complete (not sourced from Ikea as a small act of rebellion against the over-Ikeafication of spaces—says the man whose home is filled with close to 20 Ikea things).

#studio #cairo

Okay so today I decided to get a little too aspirational with the would-be reading corner. Pulled a couple plants out of the garden and potted them inside. I have no idea whether or not they will survive, but if they do... I may attempt to make this corner even more lush.

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Eyeing my reading corner aspirationally until Ikea get their shit together and restock the chair's cushioning, which they only informed me was out of stock the day of delivery. A full week after I'd originally ordered it.

Haven't even had a chance to put this part of the space to any use and Tiger has already mauled one end of the rug to shreds. Comes with the territory of being chosen by a cat, I guess. And I really do need to have that tinted glass replaced. Fall is here and the sun has already shifted to where it seldom enters the space.

Given the above situation, not much reading has been getting done (I'm not great at reading in bed), but I did manage to write 11,451 words in September. Looking to churn out much more through October. Very little drawing this month. Hopefully I'm not too rusty by the time I do return to the drawing board.

STATUS:

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This floor-lamp I ordered from Ikea (The KLÖVING) refused to adequately screw onto its damn base.

A quick look online revealed that wobbliness is indeed a common issue among buyers. I could've returned it and exchanged for a less pain-in-the-ass lamp, but who are we kidding? I wouldn't be me unless I attempted an unnecessary roundabout problem-solving idea.

Black aluminum wire to fashion a closed hook atop the lamp, and hook clips to secure a [too long] boxing-bag chain between the lamp and and a brass expansion hook-bolt drilled into the ceiling.

The chain is probably overkill, given that the lamp doesn't really weigh that much. I'll probably replace it with a sturdy enough rope of some kind.

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I must be completely mad.

I've spent the better part of September creating what has amounted to a 40-page document that details builds and things that need getting made to get the studio in order.

Why am I like this?

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Still in house-planning mode; found myself measuring all the things I'd like to have stored away that presently have no place to live and are thus resulting in abundant clutter. The purpose of these measurements, of course, is to design and build adequate storage space for all the things.

Does anybody else do things this way?

Ikea order incoming today, all things that will require assembly. So today will be a big “home stuff” day. Though I do have a few important emails to send out as well.

Awoke at 6:30 am despite falling asleep at 1:30 am. I've been waking up at 6:30 am on the regular for a few days now, no alarm clock save for the biological one. Which is a good thing, I guess. Just need to get my ass to bed earlier if I'm to give my body the rest it needs.

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Today, we really shall dedicate the day to tidying up because the studio is in such a mess and in dire need of cleansing.

Two clocks above the drawing table now, one denoting the time in Houston and the other in Cairo. May need to get a few more clocks for other time-zones: New York probably, maybe Berlin, and possibly Seoul/Tokyo.

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Today was supposed to be my day of tidying up to the sound of soft music, but I ended up getting sucked into planning and designing all the things I'd like to have built at the home studio. Which is... a lot.

So much time is spent at the studio that not having it in tip-top shape just gets in the way of optimized living and working. Or so I like to tell myself only because I'm a slut for pleasant environments.

But also, Cairo is so insane and haphazard that having one's own delightful and impeccably thought-out refuge becomes a necessity to achieve any degree of mental sanity. Or so I like to tell myself.

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Two belated additions to the new studio that are difficult for me to function without: a wall clock and notice board!

Small victories can be so satisfying sometimes.

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Debris cleanup was a full 3-day process after electrician tore into walls. I'm starting to believe that the vast majority of Cairo dust is really the result of construction debris. There's so much across the city and it never ends.

Will no longer look down on drywall. Perhaps there are some benefits to using it after all.

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