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May. 10th, 2014
Dun Renovatin'
May. 10th, 2014 07:11 pmBeen busy lately...
To categorise:~
Work ~ The curse of the Retail Downturn very nearly struck again about a month ago, with me being called into head office & told that my branch/showroom was being closed down & my position made redundant. Frequent Readers will know that this is a recurring theme in my professional life & this actually makes 3 in a row. The difference this time is that I came out of the meeting with a new role, a kind of pay-rise & a secured future... for the time being.
How... you may well ask?? Well, if a 25-year veteran salesman can't sell himself... When my Showroom closes, I will take up a Marketing/Servicing/General Dogsbody role that will see me more on the road & less in any one location - in fact, they haven't even promised me a desk at Head Office, just that they will find room for me somewhere. Why? To cut a long story short ("Too late!!"), because I told them that there are lots of other things I can do, lots of other skills I have that they may find useful... & they agreed
Home ~ So, with my immediate future secured, it was time to think about re-doing the floors at WaitingManor, while I still had access to staff pricing for carpets & tiles. Cue lots of swatches, samples & fragments being laid on our existing (red) carpet to see what colours would both match & transform a space that has been dominated by 40yr old decor since I moved in, following the death of my grandparents. Could L-SP & I afford it? Well, kind of... & given there's never a 'perfect' time to do these things, we jumped in feet-first, chose a carpet & tile combination that wouldn't break the bank irrevocably, then I secured supply & installation deals through work & the grand adventure began with moving furniture out into the garage ~ some of which hadn't been moved in quite some time. Thank god for friends & their loaned muscle. Once the rooms were cleared, it became clear that other things needed doing as well, including replacing the curtains, which L-SP decided to wash, then reported they'd virtually disintegrated after the layers of dust (which were obviously the only things holding them together) were removed. So, 2 quotes for blinds were obtained & the 2014 New Zealand Holiday fund took a further hit. And let's not even start thinking about re-painting the entire inside of the 'Manor, okay. Not just yet... though it will need to be done.
With carpet & tiles installed, the slow process of re-patriating our combined bits, pieces, trinkets, collectables & general stuff has begun ~ with the avowed intent of cutting down on the sheer amount of dust-gathering CRAP we seem to have accumulated
Damages over the transition period have been minor ~ a computer monitor, the old curtains, some termite-infested skirting boards (don't ask) & some kind of strain/nerve thing to my right shoulder & neck. The carpet had been laid for only about an hour before a magpie managed to defecate on it (Again... don't ask) & the tiles managed about 36 hours before we put some scratches in them while moving the 'fridge back into the kitchen. So all's gone reasonably well... considering
If we ever move, I'm definitely paying top dollar for professional removalists...
To categorise:~
Work ~ The curse of the Retail Downturn very nearly struck again about a month ago, with me being called into head office & told that my branch/showroom was being closed down & my position made redundant. Frequent Readers will know that this is a recurring theme in my professional life & this actually makes 3 in a row. The difference this time is that I came out of the meeting with a new role, a kind of pay-rise & a secured future... for the time being.
How... you may well ask?? Well, if a 25-year veteran salesman can't sell himself... When my Showroom closes, I will take up a Marketing/Servicing/General Dogsbody role that will see me more on the road & less in any one location - in fact, they haven't even promised me a desk at Head Office, just that they will find room for me somewhere. Why? To cut a long story short ("Too late!!"), because I told them that there are lots of other things I can do, lots of other skills I have that they may find useful... & they agreed
Home ~ So, with my immediate future secured, it was time to think about re-doing the floors at WaitingManor, while I still had access to staff pricing for carpets & tiles. Cue lots of swatches, samples & fragments being laid on our existing (red) carpet to see what colours would both match & transform a space that has been dominated by 40yr old decor since I moved in, following the death of my grandparents. Could L-SP & I afford it? Well, kind of... & given there's never a 'perfect' time to do these things, we jumped in feet-first, chose a carpet & tile combination that wouldn't break the bank irrevocably, then I secured supply & installation deals through work & the grand adventure began with moving furniture out into the garage ~ some of which hadn't been moved in quite some time. Thank god for friends & their loaned muscle. Once the rooms were cleared, it became clear that other things needed doing as well, including replacing the curtains, which L-SP decided to wash, then reported they'd virtually disintegrated after the layers of dust (which were obviously the only things holding them together) were removed. So, 2 quotes for blinds were obtained & the 2014 New Zealand Holiday fund took a further hit. And let's not even start thinking about re-painting the entire inside of the 'Manor, okay. Not just yet... though it will need to be done.
With carpet & tiles installed, the slow process of re-patriating our combined bits, pieces, trinkets, collectables & general stuff has begun ~ with the avowed intent of cutting down on the sheer amount of dust-gathering CRAP we seem to have accumulated
Damages over the transition period have been minor ~ a computer monitor, the old curtains, some termite-infested skirting boards (don't ask) & some kind of strain/nerve thing to my right shoulder & neck. The carpet had been laid for only about an hour before a magpie managed to defecate on it (Again... don't ask) & the tiles managed about 36 hours before we put some scratches in them while moving the 'fridge back into the kitchen. So all's gone reasonably well... considering
If we ever move, I'm definitely paying top dollar for professional removalists...