What Now? - Decorating Diaries

 Summers during college, I waitressed at Cracker Barrel. It was harder work than I thought it would be, requiring attention to detail, balance and lifting skills, constant movement and--occasionally--the ability to smile through gritted teeth.

I say occasionally because for the most part, customers were pleasant. And I was a good waitress--I learned to bring  crackers to a table when I saw a high-chair being set up at one of my stations and I never forgot the condiments or drink orders.

But regardless of skill level, there is always the table were things go awry--the cook slathers gravy over the chicken even though NO GRAVY was written and underlined on  the ticket. The corn muffins weren't ready to serve with the meal. I spilled something on them. We were out of the dessert they wanted and the back-up one they reluctantly agreed to came out burnt.

It wasn't just that one of these mishaps would occur. They would ALL occur--at the same table.  

That's how I feel about this bathroom renovation project that we started in--can you believe it?--October. It's not just that one thing has gone wrong. Everything that could have possible gone wrong has. Let's review:

• Let go of original GC as wasn't showing up on time or listening to our budgeting needs
• Couldn't find anyone in our area to install a heated floor
• Huge time delays were the bathroom would sit, abandoned for days and weeks at a time, with no work being done.
• Once the work started, ran out of tile and had to wait while more was ordered
• The Silerstone countertop people cut the counter top wrong and it had to be redone - 3 week delay
• The porcelain sinks ordered were too big for the countertop and had to be cut. One sink cracked - 2-3 week delay as it was reordered and recut
• The shower door arrived on time but in the wrong color. 3 week delay for reordering.
• A casket came loose from the shower prep work, causing us to lose water last weekend for 48 hours and necessitating we drill a trapdoor in my closet for access to pipes.
• I had the boxes for the wall scones drilled on either side of the mirror then bought lighting that instead goes over the mirror.  Had electrical contractor back out to remove boxes I'd just paid for and install new boxes.
• Selected paint color. Looked like baby ca-ca. Tried 5 different colors before settling on "beige."
• Olivia escaped down the shower drain while work was being done, causing me 8 hours of angst until she reappeared, no worse for the wear.
• Shower was installed but the hardware for the section where you turn the handle to select hot or cold is missing the handle. There's a large screw the handle goes over, but no handle. Just left out of the box. Now I have to convince Lowe's to sell me just a handle out of a boxed kit.
  

And those are just the ones I remember. I'm sure there are more I'm forgetting or wisely choosing to block out.  But it's just like at Crackerbarrel only our bathroom is the table with the bad luck.  Nothing that can be done. Sometimes Fate just points a finger and says, "Today, I pick on you."

At least we didn't have anything spilled on us.

One Less Battle

Ahhhh.  One issue resolved. Almost as soon as I finished my last posting I checked e-mail and had a fax from the bathroom people. They wrote a very nice letter explaining a few background situations I had not been aware of and offered a discount on the tile work and the countertop.  I'm happy with their offer and am anxious to close this chapter of my life so I left them a voicemail accepting the offer, thanking them for their work (the bathroom did turn out beautiful--I'll post pictures) and I've already written out the check.

What I like best about this scenario is that there is no lingering conflict. I feel like they made the best offer they could to set things right. I can't ask for more than that. And now that I feel like I've been heard and they've addressed the problem, I no longer have a problem. They're welcome to come and take pictures of the bathroom and use the photos for company promotion.  I like to think it all worked out.

Big sigh of relief. It's nice to have the book closed on that one.

Battles Everywhere

I don't know if it's something in the air or something in me, but I've attracted a fair amount of battles to my life lately. I just came back from a meeting with an attorney friend who led me through how to file a small claims court action against a publisher who owes me over $1000 in payment and who refuses to respond to my phone calls or e-mails. This situation makes me tired. I wrote the articles, they were published, he owes me the money. Why must we go the court route for him to do what's right? But it is what it is, so off to small claims court I go...

Then there is the bathroom. I'll give a full update later, but at this point almost all of the work is done by the contractor who has been taking forever. They sent me the final bill and I called them and let them know I wanted a discount for the amount of time it's taken. "We don't typically do that," she said.

"I understand," I replied. "But I assume you also don't typically take 6-7 months to complete a bathroom renovation. 

"Well, maybe if you had indicated at some point in the process you were unhappy with the time frame..."

 Are you KIDDING ME???? I even told her I had felt bad at times for the mean messages I  left on her machine,  letting her know I wanted the project done NOW.  She was very nice during our conversation, as was I, so I don't know that it's a "battle" just yet. I hope they do the right thing and offer us a discount.  We'll have to wait and see as they're "getting back to us."

I'm also fighting with my writer's group where I'm on the board. We have a high-profile NY literary agent coming to speak at our Fall conference and several members of the board don't see the need to pay for a one night hotel stay for this woman, saying instead she can just bunk with one of our members.  The group has plenty of money and I sent an e-mail that screamed TACKY and opened up a can of worms. We're meeting next week to discuss the issue and, frankly, I'm not in the mood to be nice about it.

The last one isn't my battle but raises my blood-pressure anyway. My mom lives next to the very definition of "white trash." There just is no other phrase for them.  These people curse at her, bang on her walls, and make her a virtual prisoner in her own home as she's scared to go outside. It's gotten to the point where she's going to have to put her condo up for sale, just to get away from them.

I'm not enjoying any of these and feel like a grouch.  I'm about ready to throw my hands up to all of it and say "The hell with it. Don't pay me my money, screw me on the bathroom, do whatever you want with the agent because I'm leaving the board anyway, and these people at my mom's are just so dug-in-deep white trash there's just is no hope of a peaceful solution. I give in. I quit."

Sigh. But I have that "it's not fair" button stuck deep inside me. I did the work, I should be paid. A bathroom renovation shouldn't take 7 months--we deserve a break on price. Taking $180 for a hotel out of a $10,000budget should be a no-brainer.  

We'll see how it all ends. Meanwhile, please try not to pick a fight with me.  I can only juggle so many battles at once...

What Could You Live Without?

I read a book called Give It Up! in which the author gives up one thing each month for a year and reports on her failure/success. For example, she gave up chocolate, cursing, cell phones, cabs (she lives in NY), alcohol and eating out, among other items.

This sparked discussion between Blair and myself. What would we be challenged to do without for a month? We came up with this list:

• Eating Out
• TV (me more so than Blair)
• E-mail (slit my wrists, why don't you?)
• Snacking
• The dishwasher
  
• Make-up (again, me more so than Blair)

We were hunting around a bit for items. We rarely drink, don't use our cell phones and giving up our cars really isn't an option given where we live. So Blair came up with the brilliant idea that instead of giving up things, we should come up with a list of things we could DO each month. That was much more fun to think about. Some of the things we came up with are:

• Exercise
• Cook
• Volunteer
• Pick up trash off the side of the road
• Perform a Random Act of Kindness
• Write a Letter
• Read a poem
• Send out a query letter (me, for work)
• Work only your set hours - no going in early and no working late
• Meditate
• Journal

In full disclosure, we have not actually attempted to do the things on this list. But making the list is a start and I admit I'm tempted to give some of them a go. I think the first couple of days would be fun, like "ha-ha, I'm working toward my goal." But come the 3rd week of the month, I can see how one might be dragging.

Still, coming up with the lists was fun. Give it a try. What would you be challenged to do without for a month or what could you be challenged to DO for a month?

If you're feeling brave, post your response.