Holding my breath, praying that a drillbit is safely secured in its nest, I pressed the trigger and moved my hand between a heavy plush top queen bed and a wall connecting our bedroom to the walk-in closet. (Yes, I did google “how to put a drillbit into a power drill”, and ehow. com had an answer) I need to insert at least two metal rings into these damn walls. Got your attention?
Here is the scoop: When we moved back to SF Bay Area, we’ve found an apartment online. It was in the South Bay, where we’ve lived before and absolutely loved it, it was a dog-friendly place AND it had its own washer and dryer. To find such a gem for a more or less reasonable price was very lucky, indeed (those of you who have dogs and live in the area know what I mean). The gem came with a walk-in closet and... no other storage whatsoever, besides kitchen cabinets. Nothing. Zilch. We were moving from a two-bedroom condo from Midwest into a one-bedroom in the Bay Area. There was no need to rent a storage space, just because of the stupid second bed that I refused to sell, because it was almost brand new and super comfy. My hubby quietly suggested putting our guest queen bed into the closet. Re-a-lly? Into the walk-in closet with the built-in shelves for my shoe collection? Really?
So we ended up using the second bed as a headboard. It looks slightly weird but cute with all the draperies covering it, ala rococo/ gothic style, and it serves as a soundproof thingie. The bed spring and the mattress fit horizontally across the wall. The movers asked if we wanted to keep the protective plastic on the mattress but I refused, because I didn’t want to breathe in the crap from the plastic. So, of course, the mattress started to sag and move down, pressing on our bed, side tables and lamps.
My goal today was to fix the Pisa’s headboard by screwing hooks into the walls and pulling a heavy duty rope across it.
“I see the goal. I have a power tool. I am going to make a hole in this wall.” Have I mentioned that this was my second time using the power drill in my entire life? I didn’t break the drillbit! It all worked out great, if we don’t take into consideration my knuckles. They looked like I’d spent the Thanksgiving weekend fist-fighting. I sort of was... With the damn walls! Even my tiny wrist couldn’t squeeze comfortably enough to screw the damn ring with the stupid hooky thingie on it into the wall.
Then the fun began.
First of all, the super durable rope wouldn’t fit into the damn tiny ring. I was lucky I had another string, significantly narrower but strong enough. I’ve managed to get it through the three hooks and they all held up!!! I did it! I did it!!!
The moment of truth came to my very first ring/hook. You see, I didn’t have a chance to look for studs in the last three places, because of the position of the mattresses, but somehow it all worked. The first hook placement I’d found scientifically -- knocking on the wall, listening for a dull sound somewhere in the region of the corner. I found it, and I made a hole. The first attempt to tie a rope into that hook (I still can’t feel my thumb today after all the screwing ;-)) was in vain. The screw came out of the wall after multiple attempts of tying the knot on it. Silently cursing I knocked along the wall again, squeezing my bruised hand into the tight space. “Sounds dull to me, just a bit to the right, towards the corner, and the wooden stud will be there.” This time the screw went into the wall with a little bit of more force required. I got it! I blindly tied the rope on a hook, pressing my cheek against the mattress, pulled it a bit to secure it and... it freaking fell out! What am I? A super strong woman from a circus? It’s the corner! The sound is dull! There had to be a freaking stud there! Who builds like that?!!! Screw this screw!!!!
I pulled out my power tool yet again (at this point I’ve already put and cleaned the drillbits twice, being sure that I did OK?) and drilled a hole in the connecting wall of the walk in closet, no science, no knocking, just where I felt like. “Ha-ha-ha” I laughed with a mad half-smile, dancing on my face. “Ha-ha-ha . And I drill. And I drrr-r-ill A-and I drill. And I dri-i-i-i-llllll!!!!”
To my ultimate surprise, somehow it worked. (I am still not sure if I’ve found the stud. We’ll live and see...) The rope was secure. The mattress stopped falling over the floor lamp. The draperies were put on top of the extra bed aka headboard, creating the ambience I wanted. I stared at the fruit of my labor in silence, feeling very proud of myself.
My eyes drifted to the window with the boring blinds. Hmm, I do have a sewing machine... I used it once before...
