The Adventures of Agay and Spanky: Home Improvement

Right after we got married, I was itching to jumpstart the major makeover...not for me, but for the pad. But Spanks and I got so busy with work and everyday concerns, and soon, I started to get comfy with the setup. Though stuff were bought and organized bit by bit, our home basically looked not much different from a bachelor's pad.

But slowly, things started to happen. We finally contacted a plumber, who performed bathroom magic--fixing the three leaks and the constant toilet flushing, and finally installing a heater for the shower.

Soon, the painter and his assistant came, and transformed the doors from grimy white to dark chocolate, and the walls from canary yellow to cream blush (I swear; it looked plain cream at the hardware store. The paint turned out to have a pink tinge). They also installed kitchen cabinets and mounted the microwave oven.

But while they were working, the entire first floor looked like a warzone.

The floor was strewn with forks and spoons, newspapers and boxes and boxes of whatever stuff they had to get out of the way in order to paint. Everything was covered in dust; a tiny rat even managed to squeeze in the door when they left it open. And the next morning, I found the intruder swimming for dear life in the bathroom pail I had so innocently filled.

And all I kept thinking was: how the hell are we going to put everything in order?? A.K.A. How can we live again? (I was being dramatic.)

Luckily, two days later, an angel came in the form of Ate Lita, who scrubbed, wiped and swept everything clean. And I swear, my cleaning attempts were nothing compared to her housekeeping prowess. I guess I just don't have the cleaning talent; the hours I spent on trying to keep the 1960s floor clean amounted to almost nothing. Ate Lita managed to make the floor shine! Shining with pride, I suppose. It was the first time I've seen the floor do such a thing.