pointer finger tip: numb

No, this isn't a picture of my trip to College Station's latest death metal show, nor is it my head shot for my haunted house application (though I do need a job). It's what I looked like after applying a fresh coat of spray paint to the Hendrick staircase.

Aaron and I had the brilliant, what-could-go-wrong idea of plastic-ing off the area surrounding the staircase so we could spray freely, without concern for dirtying up the rest of the house. We even made a resealable door to get in and out of our plastic vat (background of picture). Well after a couple hours and about 8 cans of spray paint we learned a few valuable lessons:

1) Spray paint makes things sticky, and when you're surrounded by 1mm plastic walls and floors, sticky is, to put it lightly, miserable.

2) Josh Langston surgical masks help with the fume factor, while simultaneously concentrating loose paint beneath your eyes, and in my case, in your beard.

3) When you made an opening in your vat, regardless of whether or not it's resealable, loose paint that doesn't end up on your face ends up in every neighboring room the house has.

4) Paint thinner isn't so easy on the eyes... As in, I wouldn't put it in your eyes. It burns.

5) Because of Lesson 3, spray painting in the house may save you some time as far as the paint is concerned, but when you factor in the clean up... it's hardly worth it.

6) Apparently the professionals put Vaseline beneath their eyes and nose in order to make for easy facial clean up. (We of course found this out as we were rubbing paint thinner in places it needn't be).

Nevertheless, Aaron and I enjoyed serving Heather in that quasi-toxic plastic vat. Well I did... I think Aaron did too. If not, he's more than welcome to defend himself by correcting me in the comments below.

Stay tuned for a photo of the finished project!