About a year ago, I was working at our Lakewood Blvd. location and a couple came in with a bag full of samples: hardwood flooring, kitchen cupboards, countertops, carpet scraps, paint chips–everything. They dumped them on the counter and then the lady explained–in a very depressed way–that they had just remodelled their kitchen. They’d put in all the materials they …

For the last couple posts, I’ve been recounting sad and potentially awkward moments that served to illustrate my broader “paint point.”  See, by telling you all about my pie making fiasco or my scooter-building screw up, I tried to convey the importance of following a recipe or a set of instructions. When you follow the steps for any given project, …

“Birthday Party Duck-Duck-Goose July 24, 2012 6” by Steven Depolo is licensed under CC BY 2.0 In the last post, I wrote about an experience I had with a toy that required some assembly.  I told you how I started well but then, eventually, got ahead of myself and started thinking on my own.  I discarded the instructions and put …

Every Christmas or birthday our kids get one or two toys that have those dreaded words on the box:  Some Assembly Required.  I know all parents out there reading this know the pain those simple words cause.  Oh, the box usually tries to calm us down and trick us by telling us not to worry, that the assembly is easy.  …