Wet Wednesday

Coffee in the studio Chicago skyline mug, "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" by Deathcab for Cutie on the iPod. Key words in that sentence were "studio" and "iPod" (which lives in the studio). I arrived in the studio at 7:55 this morning to find the truck with my glass delivery waiting for me. The driver had arrived about 7:30 but never called. No one called. Someone was supposed to call. I'm just lucky I decided to head to the studio to wait for it and post instead of posting from the kitchen table at home as I usually do. After a half hour of slipping and sliding in the mud that is the vacant lot next door (three days of rain and it's a swamp here)--and with the additional help of two guys from East Lake Auto across the street--1525 lbs of glass was muscled onto the lift gate, lowered to the driveway and pallet-jacked to over by the back door. Now I sit, covered in mosquito bites (I never saw fewer than eight at a time feasting on my legs), and post. It's only 8:40 and the biggest line item on my list for the day has been checked off.

Yesterday was an... interesting day (in the Chinese sense). I arrived a the studio at 8:55 after having posted (and showered, washed my hair and brushed my teeth). I decided against cutting up anymore of the few extra-wide sheets of clear irid that remain in the inventory. Instead I figured I would get all my orders packed and sent and I'd do a little organizing. When I called to check on my delivery time I was told in the afternoon so I figured I'd be having a late firing day. Fate, it seems, had Other Plans. I worked solidly all day cleaning and packing pieces for shipping, fielding phone calls from almost everyone on the planet, and waiting. In the process I discovered a corollary to the adage that your stuff will always grow to fill the space allotted to it and that is work will always expand to fill the time allowed for it. I.e., I never get done early and yesterday was no exception.

The glass finally arrived about 3:30 but not in a truck with a lift gate. It said clearly on the manifest "Lift gate delivery". What, did they think the driver was going to lift 1525 lbs of glass off the truck with his hands? What I don't understand is why he bothered to come out at all. He could see the two cases of glass shrink-wrapped together and stacked high with cardboard boxes shrink-wrapped to them. He could see that they weighed 1525 lbs. Why would he even make the drive? Just so he could say he attempted delivery and therefore the service times were met? They weren't--4-5 business days for a shipment picked up Monday means delivery by the following Monday and yesterday was Tuesday. Deep breath in, deep breath out, let go the frustration. It's all over, the glass is here safe and sound, and I can unpack and start cutting it this morning.

Now a quick run to the post office and the bank and then I'm in the swing!