Thursday, September 16, 2010

My new edge

Our house is getting painted today (yay!) They’re doing the kitchen, the den, the hallways (upper and lower), the stair risers, Lisa’s room and all the ceilings, doors and trim in those areas. They actually started yesterday, so I’ve seen some of the progress. The beamed ceiling in the kitchen looks great – white beams with a light greyish-blue in between. They should be done tomorrow and it will be nice to have had it all done while I was at work. We have always done painting ourselves, but we had so much to get done, we decided to hire out this time. It would have taken us months of weekends to get everything done.

My house is in shambles. Furniture has been moved all around; there’s drywall dust on almost every surface from Homer fixing the 45 year old walls and ceilings; and my calendars, schedules and general systems that keep me organized are shoved here, there and everywhere.

My assistant at work gave her 2 weeks notice and I was pissed – way more pissed than I had the right to be. I knew she was going for a better opportunity; heck, I helped her prep for her second interview and gave her a glowing reference! I was pissed because she gave me exactly 2 weeks to fill her position. In September. At a university. Sheesh. I mistakenly thought that, because I’ve been a great boss (really, I have), I would be given the courtesy of not getting screwed at the busiest time of the year.

Home and work both seem frantic right now and it just doesn’t sit well with me. I’m usually calm, collected and easy-going, but this week I’ve been stomping around grumpily, snapping at my husband and kids and giving people crazy-lady looks at work. I definitely have more of an edge to me than usual.

Tonight I’ll go home and 2/3 of the painting will be done. The house will still be topsy-turvy until the weekend, but at least there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Tomorrow I will interview and hopefully select a new assistant, and he or she will screw someone else with their own two-weeks notice.

Most things will be okay by the weekend. I’m keeping some of the edge though. I'm getting some good results from the crazy-lady looks.

12 comments:

Christina Schmidt said...

It is brillant to have someone else paint. We need to paint and dread the weekends of it all. Maybe I will talk my hubby into having someone else do it for us!

I am sure it will be great to have all done though I can imagine the chaos. Hang in there!

Christina Schmidt said...

It is brillant to have someone else paint. We need to paint and dread the weekends of it all. Maybe I will talk my hubby into having someone else do it for us!

I am sure it will be great to have all done though I can imagine the chaos. Hang in there!

Jess said...

Oh, it all sounds stressful. DEFINITELY the right call to have someone else do the painting, though, especially with the amount you're having done. That way instead of the house being in shambles bit by bit for months, it will all be done within the week. Moving and big paint jobs are two things that are almost always worth hiring professionals for.

Saly said...

Yay for the painting!! I hope you'll share some photos when it's all done. And good luck on finding an assistant and keeping that edge--it could come in handy!

bananafana said...

wow I'm jealous. that will feel so good once it's done although the meantime sucks. good luck on finding an assitant. I hate hiring people/interviewing. i'm so glad I don't do it anymore!

Pickles and Dimes said...

How great is it going to be to see the painting all done? Nice! Can I ask what the painting will cost roughly? We're thinking of painting our house next summer (the exterior, though), and the thought of all the time we'd need to do it freaks me out. I'll gladly pay someone if it's reasonable. (You can email me if you don't want to post it here.)

Sorry about your assistant. Hope you find a new one quick.

LoriD said...

I'm looking at the progress right now and it is pretty great. We've got 2 guys for 3 days (8:30-6:00) and they're doing it for $950. They're doing a much better job than we would have ever done!

Mighty Morphin' Mama said...

I am sorry you are feeling that way, I hope when the painting is done, you will feel back to yourself, in your gorgeous new space.

Pickles and Dimes said...

That is a GREAT deal. If I can find someone next summer to do our house for around that price, I'm doing it!

Anonymous said...

Make sure to post pics when it's all done of your new beams. Did you find a new assistant?

Sarah said...

I definitely have an edge right now too! I mean, my OVERALL mood is still super happy because, you know, I'm FREE again and all that. But I'm so physically uncomfortable with the constant contracting and the foot pain and all that if the kids' behavior starts spiraling downward I'm finding I lose that super happy feeling REALQUICK. I'm trying to just say as little as possible or I end up hating the sound of my own voice!

Bette said...

in the 15 years I have known you, I don't think I've ever seen the crazy lady look!
It's nice to have someone else paint... for me it's saves me weeks of chiro appointments to fix my back and shoulder