Not in control

Sometimes the wisest thing to do is nothing. Today was like that.

I have been painting like a fiend a little house that the real estate lady wants very badly to show this week. Only the owner very badly wants it painted inside first. So I put in a weekend's worth of crazy hours and then today was over there at 7 a.m. painting that goddamnable sprayed-on popcorn ceiling shit. Nasty, nasty stuff. So we got the first coat of paint on the walls, chased away the drips as best as we could, painting over the ones left by the last painters, and waited to put on the second coat.

And waited.

And waited some more.

Does that look dry?

I dunno. Maybe its just shiny paint. I thought we got satin, but... shit. Still wet.

Of course the humidity is up around 95% with thick fog coating everything with wet and doors sticking because the wood is swelled with the moisture. Oh yeah, that paint's gonna take its sweet time to dry.

So I came home to think. Only I got a message from a client canceling a HUGE job I had planned to start tomorrow. Shit fuck piss damn. fuckfuckfuckfuck. Grrrrr!

Ok, there's nothing to do for it, I guess. I called around and canceled the scaffolding delivery, the reservation on the pressure washer and told my brother in law that I wouldn't be needing his help after all. Shit shit shit.

Oh well. I had to let it go. The client felt bad and has offered to pay me for the time invested so far, and I may charge her for that, but that's ok.

I had really planned on having that money in my checking account this week, though. Rent is due tomorrow and I haven't got it. I may have it from this other job I'm on, but that check's going to come in the mail, probably at the end of the week. So I'm stuck. There is not much I can do, save vent a little and let it go. I'll tell the landlord that he'll have his check by Saturday if that's ok, and keep on working as best I can.

And willing the paint to dry.

Uh-oh

As I tend to do, I just bit off more than I can handle, I think.

I got a call to do an estimate the other day. I went over and took some pictures, came home and typed out a very thorough assessment, recommendation and estimate. Today I got a call from the property owner. The real estate lady plans to show the house this week, but the owner wants it painted before that happens, so could I just hop on over there and do that?

I took temporary leave of my senses and said "Sure, I can do that."

No.

No, I can't do that. Not without help anyway. Lots of help. And everybody I know is busy tomorrow. Crap crap crap.

I got over there tonight and put up a bunch of tape and drop cloths everywhere and I managed to get some mud in the obvious holes, but tomorrow is going to be hellish. I have to prime and paint all of the walls and ceilings in a one-bedroom house. Thank god the trim is stained and will not require paint. This is nuts.

And tonight as we were examining the walls, it appears that the tenants stripped off the old wallpaper and painted over the remaining glue. It's nasty, but there is not much I can do about that right now. My job is just to get it clean and ready to sell, and that's what I plan to do. The new owner will probably gut the thing anyway and do it all over the way they want.

If anybody out there (all four of you reading that is) needs something to do tomorrow, you know how to get in touch with me. Yikes!