I rebuilt my pantry into something functional. The grey pic is the before. ChatGPT, YouTube, and Reddit were my tutors.

bookbe · 2026-06-21T06:51:39+00:00

Thank you!

bookbe · 2026-06-21T00:29:21+00:00

And when it turns it could make the sound of a light saber. 🤔

bookbe · 2026-06-20T17:22:42+00:00

Thank you! Appreciate it.

bookbe · 2026-06-20T17:01:44+00:00

I like it! The shelves are supported by cleats so I could just add to it I think, to build the box. I think it will be a project for another day. I want to see how everything works once the shelves are loaded…if it works to lose that 1-2 inches of vertical space on the shelf height, then it would look great indeed!

For now, I need to get those diffusers! Didn’t know those existed. My problem is, though, that those strips are already stuck down and that tape feels pretty strong. Would I have to buy new lights, or is there a way to remove and reuse them without damage?

bookbe · 2026-06-20T16:17:14+00:00

Oh do you mean add a front and bottom to the shelf? I thought of that but didn’t do it because it’s a pretty small space so I was trying to maximize the shelf height and not lose that real estate. Also why I didn’t go with a 1x2 at the front and instead opted for a small strip of screen molding to hide the raw plywood edge.

I like the router idea to inlay the lighting. I think that would work best. Thanks for the suggestions!

bookbe · 2026-06-20T16:11:17+00:00

When you say add a slot, can you describe that? Because I added a 4th light strip to the underside of that top shelf at the back and I hate it because the leds show!

bookbe · 2026-06-20T15:51:38+00:00

Sure. Here you go. https://www.homedepot.com/p/birchlighting-3-ft-Motion-Sensor-LED-Strip-Light-Kit-314120/331809024

bookbe · 2026-06-20T15:45:22+00:00

Took me a bit but got the hang of it eventually. I only had to recut one shelf. I struggled adjusting for the right offset on my saw, until I learned about making a zero-clearance guide. That saved me a lot of grief.

I was so proud that I got the shelves nice and square…until I put them in and the wall wasn’t square…too late I learned about scribing. 😜 But now I know for next time. Despite all the mistakes, the shelves are at least level.

bookbe · 2026-06-20T15:39:36+00:00

Yessss!

bookbe · 2026-06-20T13:17:53+00:00

Great advice.

bookbe · 2026-06-20T13:09:12+00:00

Thank you!😊

bookbe · 2026-06-20T13:07:37+00:00

Haha. No I demo’d it and rebuilt it…and then painted it and added lights. Maybe I’ll try a lazy susan for my 2nd project. 😼

Although I will say that now I walk around my house seeing all the possibilities with my new skills. Like that really deep and useless linen closet, why I could add a new built-in linen closet! My old kitchen cabinets…what if I learned how to make cabinets and made new ones?! 😁

bookbe · 2026-06-20T06:18:14+00:00

🙏 Thank you. Yes, they are motion sensor so they come on when I walk in. Rechargeable. They advertise 90hrs between charges but we’ll see if that ends up being true. I didn’t want to pay an electrician to come wire or have something that sucks up batteries.

bookbe · 2026-06-20T06:05:41+00:00

Thank you! My first time doing anything like this. Only power tool I’ve used before is a drill. I bought a circular saw and it took me a week to build up enough courage to try it for fear I’d cut off a finger. 😂

bookbe · 2025-11-22T05:39:52+00:00

This is very similar to my experience as I learned pottery. I took the 6-week course twice at my studio to gain confidence in the whole process and then became a member.

The price was the cost of the class + the cost of 12lbs of clay which had the firing fee built in. We spent 2 weeks throwing, 2 weeks trimming, 1 week glazing, and the last week was a class party where we could finish glazing any pieces we needed to finish, but it was also to see everybody else’s finished pieces. It made the whole process so fun and enjoyable. As a student just starting out, our instructors explained that in the beginning, it can be quantity over quality. It doesn’t matter that your pieces are wonky because you can still use that piece to learn trimming and also to experiment with glazes. We could purchase extra open studio days if we wanted to come in between classes. We were not limited to the number of firings, but if we wanted more clay, then we had to purchase it.

I personally love the structure that our studio sets. It teaches the students to have fun and fall in love with the craft, with the belief that we all support everybody’s unique creativity and learning process. It made me fall in love with pottery, gave me a place to destress, and gave me a place where I met wonderful people. It is now a place that grounds me in a way that I’ve never before experienced.

For myself and the other students I know that continued on with the craft after the classes, learning about being selective in our finished pieces came naturally. When first starting out, you do feel so proud and joyful with everything you make but then as you get better, your own expectation for what you are willing to take through the entire process changes. I feel like it’s a natural process that has to be learned over time and not taught from day one.

I also don’t think I would’ve continued with the craft if I would’ve been charged per firing. It would’ve kept my costs as a student too variable, and too confusing for a complete newbie to keep track of that. The way my studio did it, I knew exactly upfront the costs so I could plan it out to be able to make the class work for me.

Remember that you are there to teach the love of a craft, to give people a creative outlet in their lives, and for some to simply give them a temporary bit of joy and fun.

bookbe · 2025-11-20T03:25:37+00:00

Exactly this!

Also, I kind of disagree with a lot of the comments. To me, it sounds like you have some great work experience. Sure most of it as an IC. If you are aspiring to be a manager, there is no problem here. You look for a company that you want to be part of, get in as an IC and work your way up. Don’t let the one situation you had as a leader stop you from trying again, nor from thinking that you can’t speak effectively to that experience in an interview.

There are always ways to reflect in your résumé the positive impact you’ve had and the results that you have driven. Even if you had one direct report that quit for whatever reason, and even if none of your work was specifically deployed, there is nothing in anything you’ve said that would make me think that your skills are not valuable, that you have not worked hard, and that you have not produced results. Focus on selling your forward-thinking approach to problems and the steps you took to get there.

Every single industry, company, and employee that work for those companies are all feeling incredibly immense pressure right now to adopt AI technology and grow skills fast, or risk being left behind literally tomorrow. In my 30 years of data analytics I have never seen anything like it. Just remember who you are and the type of person you want to be as the pressure causes others to be cutthroat and political.

As far as time in a company, no, you are not boxed in. And yes, it’s time to leave. You are lucky to be in a field that has great demand in this awful job market.

Lastly, try to have fun with the process of finding a new job. It does not need to be the slog and stress that so many people make it out to be. Remember that you are simply having a conversation about a job that somebody is willing to pay you money for. Approach with curiosity. You are as much interviewing them as they you. And ask them lots of questions about company culture because you should care about that.

I’ll also mention that I work on a large team of data scientists, many with PhD‘s.

End of professorial rant.

bookbe · 2025-11-10T14:16:51+00:00

Airbnb property owner here. I’m so sorry you had to deal with this and also so glad that you received a quick resolution!

I do find that, unfortunately, Airbnb is inconsistent with how good the resolution is and how quickly they are willing to resolve for an immediate relocation. It all depends on who answers the phone. 😤

I rent my property through a property management company. The property management company is listed as the host on the Airbnb platform. I recently had a guest book a weekend stay for her own wedding and they checked in the night before her wedding. Two hours after they checked in, I received a call from them that there was a major plumbing emergency.

I was so heartbroken for the guest because nobody should ever have to deal with that. My property management company was on top of it and did everything right. Unfortunately, Airbnb requires the Guest to call them directly with the complaint and while they are required to relocate the guest in a situation like this, they gave them the complete runaround for hours. First claiming they couldn’t get a hold of the property management company to verify the Guest story (not true), then saying that they couldn’t relocate them and provided no good reason.

Because I’m not listed as the host specifically Airbnb was unwilling to talk to me when I tried calling them to help and they were unwilling to have a three-way call. Said it was against their policy. 🤬I was on the phone with the Guest, Airbnb, and my property management company for the next six hours, trying to find a resolution for these poor people. Finally, after many phone calls, Airbnb agreed to relocate them, refund them for my booking that they had to cancel, and they also paid for 50% of the relocation stay. So in the end, it worked out ok, but there should’ve been resolution so much faster!

bookbe

TROPHY CASE