A Hard Day’s Night – Graber Cellular Shades

Julian was a small town boy, well, a young adult rather, trying to make it, if not big, as a musician in the big city. He felt like the male version of Violet Sanford from Coyote Ugly, sans the skimpy clothes and booze. Quite different from Violet’s story, Julian chose not to moonlight as a bartender although he knew the chicks would go crazy like they did back home at his gigs. Lucky for him he already had a contract, unlike Violet, who just happened to “chance” upon a big break, and he had to get down to business as soon as possible. He too was from New Jersey, a small town named Allenwood, where everyone knew your name.

Adjusting to the Big Apple was an experience he’d never forget. Rule no 1: you had to walk fast, what he considered power walking back home was their idea of a stroll. If you didn’t keep up, you’d get pulled along or trampled on, so the poor fellow was literally running from pillar to post even though he was in no hurry, the city was! Quite the opposite of his dear hometown, the locals weren’t keen on pleasantries; people had the audacity to look right past you like you’re made of glass when you’d make the effort to smile. Of course, Julian had his lucky days when he stumbled upon a one dollar pizza joint. This was confirmation that there was a God who hadn’t given up on him and condemned him to hell, especially for all the heart-breaking he did back home, well not as yet at least, there were some gorgeous women in this city. So when the cute girl on the subway smiled back at him on the ride home, the first time someone smiled back, he knew he’d have his share of good days along with the appalling ones.

Pure-bred New Yorkers, not necessarily those born here but the ones that grew to fit into the “survival of the fittest” environment, were indeed made of strong stuff. One afternoon, he saw a car rear-end this bike pretty bad; the dude just got up, cursed at the driver and was on his way. No one stopped to see if he was okay if he had sustained possible head injuries, no, they just went on like nothing had happened and so did the poor biker. On another occasion, he noticed a woman standing in the train effortlessly reading, with the book in one hand and her briefcase in the other, without holding on to anything. On the other hand, he was stumbling and falling every time the train stopped and started. He looked like such a clown next to her as he sheepishly grinned at those who gave him dirty looks for falling on them.

Graber Cellular Shades

Allenwood was a sparsely populated town, where whatever little traffic they had, followed rules and above all, road etiquette. So noise pollution wasn’t an issue. But his dingy sublet apartment in Queens was privy to all sorts of sounds; it was a very noisy place. But the New Yorker’s walked around as if they were immune to it all, like hearing an explosion would just about make them flinch. Since the studio that gave him his contract had many aspiring musicians like him, spending long hours there trying to come up with musical gold, was out of the question. It just went into the studio, record your final product, gets it approved and move out. Julian needed to set up a pseudo studio at home to finish his work before he showed it to the clients. Since he was short of cash, he had to figure out a non-professional AKA a not- expensive way to sound-proof his bedroom cum studio. A DIY studio was his only option. Since he couldn’t invest in professional soundproof curtains, he found that regular window treatments could do the job.

One variety that caught his attention was the cellular shades. These shades were the most economical buy in terms of energy efficiency because of their insulation abilities that automatically cut out a good amount of noise along with the blistering cold during winter; they would save him precious energy bucks! Cellular Shades from Graber had a unique honeycomb design that formed air pockets that trapped air, keeping the interiors warm during winter and cool during summer. There was also the option of double cell fabrics; he figured the thicker the shades, the better the noise absorption.

Room Darkening Cellular Shades

Since his studio was his bedroom, he thought he’d go in for room darkening or better still black-out shades because they worked both ways. They could eliminate up to 40% of the outside noise as well as give him a good night’s sleep during the day. These shades would work well as they were able to shut out 99% of the light, and he expected unusual working hours because the industry was pretty demanding. Plus he didn’t conform to the disciplined military-like lifestyle his dad had tried to get him into all his life. Now, since Julian was far from home, he didn’t have to conform to the “My roof, my rules” motto his dad enforced. Also, staying in a place like New York where the city never sleeps, these shades were essential to block out street light and noise at night. There were also, Cocoon Double Cell fabrics that came with a metalized film called Mylar, concealed between two layers of fabric that furthered insulation and noise repulsion.

Conclusion

Julian realized that adding such features to up the insulation abilities of the shades, in spite of the extra cost, would go a long way. They could reduce the electricity bill by up to 25% and with his belt as tight as it could be, this would be of great help till he stabilized himself financially. The shades also topped the list for privacy, and with a neighborhood where buildings were packed like sardines in a tin, he found it comforting that the old lady, living in the building adjacent to his, couldn’t watch him change anymore. To make things better, these shades eliminated the little or any glare that annoyingly got in his way while trying to edit his music on his Mac, plus, while making videos of his own compositions, his most priced feature after his fingers, his handsome face, wouldn’t be obscured by any sort of glare. Extra liners were also available to eliminate possible seepage along the sides of the shades.

All in all, Julian felt like he would survive after all. He’d eventually learn the tricks of the trade in this dog eat dog world and emerge successfully, someday at least.