i got to dennis' place at 10:00 to begin my day of painting with bruce. ceiling painting is one of the most difficult kind of painting, especially when the surface is composed of beams and boards in various orientations. we were working with oil paints too (nantucket white was the color), which required thinner to remove.

working in tandem, we managed to finish just half of the ceiling by noontime before we took a break. i came home to take a shower and to finish the last of my grilled chicken caesar salad for lunch.

when i returned to the house, i found bruce in his underwear, ready to finish the second half of the ceiling. my technique is to paint with the big roller first, making sure to avoid being directly underneath or get small paint splatters on my glasses which are hard to get off. i then use the small roller to do the vertical faces of the beams, before finally using a brush to finish off the edges and any detail work.

we finished close to 4:00, taking some time to clean the brushes with paint thinner and throwing the rollers into plastic bags to be used tomorrow. it's up to dennis if he wants a second coat, otherwise we're moving onto the 2nd floor tomorrow for perhaps our final day of painting.

when i came back home, i discovered globs of white paint all over my camera bag. i quickly dumped everything out and scrubbed off the stains with paint thinner in the bathroom sink. later i had to use detergent to try and get rid of the strong odor. afterwards i hung it out in the backyard to dry.

after i cleaned up with another shower, i rode the motorcycle to belmont. i already knew what my father had been doing earlier: refinishing the picnic table with the australian timber oil, making sure to properly mix the content of the can this time. i could tell the difference with this actual coat, the wood had a light amber color and had a slight sheen to it. it'll still take a few days for it to fully dry, but it'll look really good once it does. the grain ends may need a second coat though, seemed to have wicked the oil and looked a bit dry.

before dinner i got my mother's help in picking out a new health insurance for next month. every year around this time i have the option to change my provider. i made so little in 2008 that in 2009 i actually qualified for state-subsidized health insurance. but in 2009 i made just enough to make me ineligible, which now requires me to go with a more expensive provider. i can only afford the cheaper insurance, which isn't a good deal, not with deductibles and co-insurance payments. i'm just hoping i won't get sick within the next year or so - or even better, find a full-time job that will pay for my health insurance.