Fixing up the apartment: Part 1 of many
20 August 2024I’ve been living in this apartment for around three and a half years by now – and I still think that’s kind of crazy to think about. For better or for worse, it feels like time is passing faster and faster, and I don’t think Made in Heaven is involved – it’s likely just a side effect of getting older and busier. Then again, when I think back on all that’s happened over those years, it makes more sense. They’ve been quite eventful, after all. This is also the only apartment I’ve lived two years or longer in since I moved out of my childhood home. I lived in my first “apartment” (which was just a bedroom and bathroom I rented in an old couple’s larger apartment, but it was nice) for pretty much exactly a year, and then I had two student apartments where I lived for one year and nine months and one year and ten months, respectively.
Which means that in October, I’ll have lived as long in this apartment as I’ve lived in my last two apartments combined. I hadn’t thought about this right now, but… while it makes perfect sense on paper, it’s still wild to think about. And of course, that meant it was high time for me to do a few things I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.
The first was to get a shelf for my shoes in the hallway. There’s really not much more to say about it: It looks nicer than just leaving my shoes on the floor, and now my shoes take up less floor space that I can use to… store not-shoes, I guess?
It was pretty fun and easy to assemble, too, and it wasn’t the only piece of furniture I built over the weekend. The second was a bathroom cabinet:
(This image contains a hint about an upcoming project: I’ve bought a shelf to put my shampoo bottles on rather than leaving them on the floor, but I haven’t put it up yet. I will do so soon, though!)
When I moved into the apartment, there was already a small cabinet in the bathroom, and I liked it, but there was one problem. Having a wooden cabinet directly on the floor next to a shower means that the cabinet absorbs a lot of water, and when wood absorbs a lot of water, it begins to rot. I’m not sure how long the old cabinet was in the apartment for. Since it was here when I moved in, it’s been at least three and a half years. Five years? Ten years? Even longer? No matter what, the years of absorbing water meant that it wasn’t in the best shape, and one day, I noticed that the bottom of the cabinet was literally falling apart.
Of course, the new solution isn’t perfect – while the feet are metal, the cabinet itself is still wood, and positioned directly next to the shower. That said, it’s not exposed to as much water as the old one was, with the wood being directly against the floor. Still, it’ll probably last a good while. Unfortunately, parts of it were really frustrating to assemble, and one part couldn’t be properly assembled according to instructions due to a manufacturing error, but I think I got close enough. It hasn’t fallen apart yet, at least.
Another thing I’ve been wanting to do ever since I moved into the apartment was to put some nice pictures up on the wall. Not specifically these ones, since I’ve only had them for three weeks or so, rather than three years, but they’re as good a start as any!
First up was a painting of 2B, one of the main characters in Nier: Automata, one of my favorite games of all time. I’ve always thought she has a really cool design, and I really liked the way this painting looked when I came across it at NärCon, so I immediately bought one. Also, if you like video games, you should play Nier: Automata. It’s a fascinating game that has loads of creative game design, an exciting story, beautiful music and is just an overall great experience. It’s very dark and depressing, but in a good way. Its predecessor (you can play them in any order, though) Nier: Replicant is also a great game that I also recommend.
I showed this off in my last post, but here it is again. As I mentioned there, Persona 5 is also one of my favorite games of all time, and Ann is my favorite character in it, so meeting her English voice actress, Erika Harlacher, was great. And of course, I thought I should get something signed, so I bought a signed print of Ann. Of course, it might be a bit awkward to explain it to people not familiar with Persona 5 if and when they come visit – Ann’s costume isn’t exactly not sexualized, after all. That said, I think it’s a really cool design despite that, and that it’s some great artwork – and most importantly, a fun memory of meeting the voice of my favorite character from one of my favorite games.
(It’s also a somewhat complicated question within the context of the game. Ann’s story is largely about her taking control of her own sexuality and standing up against being objectified, sexualized and taken advantage of, and one could easily argue that the dominatrix imagery associated with her costume design and gameplay mechanics is supposed to be a culmination of this – a strong and confident woman who’s in control of her own sexuality and makes it clear that she’s in charge. However, despite this, the game sometimes completely misses its own point by inserting fanservice scenes where Ann is being sexualized in ways that are clearly not on her own terms and that she’s clearly uncomfortable with. It’s weird, because while the game does make some good commentary about how young women are sexualized and objectified, and that it’s an awful thing that can have awful consequences, it turns around and does what it preached against a few hours before. It’s one of my favorite games of all time, but it’s definitely got its flaws.)
I definitely didn’t expect to go on that tangent in a blog post about fixing up my apartment, but well, that’s what happens sometimes. Either way, I really like Ann and I think her Phantom Thief design is really cool, but I do understand the criticisms about her being oversexualized, and I agree with them to some extent, because the game’s oddly inconsistent about these things. Nonetheless, I think it’s a neat piece of art that’s also a memory of something fun. If other people think otherwise, that’s on them, and that’s fine.
Of course, I’ve got some other plans for the apartment too, mainly focused on making the bathroom a bit nicer, but I’ll get around to other parts of it too. I’ve been curious about getting some smart lightbulbs for my lamps so I can turn them on and off remotely, but those seem kind of expensive. And I’m probably gonna have to get another bookcase soon, as well. One thing at a time, however. Either way, no matter what my next apartment improvement project is, I’m sure itll be fun.