Being a Squeaky Wheel

Inspirational song: Greased Lightning (Grease)

I can already tell this is not a vacation. This is going to be a rough week. I was suffering under the delusion that this condo would be finished when I arrived yesterday, and all I had to do was tidy it a little and list it for sale. Now I have a clearer idea how far away from finished it is, I'm losing faith that it will be on the market before I leave next week. We sent in our carpet requests weeks ago. We're they installed? Of course not. We're they even ordered? Oh, hell no. So I'm really not surprised that I was told this evening that the carpet I picked required a 4 week turnaround time. F that. I get to wake early and go to a different supplier who can get carpet to us by the weekend. I'm doing all sorts of sourcing and purchasing that I never expected to need to do when I booked this trip. I'm a little angry, but more just resigned to this. After more than 19 months, it's just another delay. Why would I expect differently? This was only intended to be our retirement investment. Naturally it's got to be difficult to cash in on.

I keep questioning whether I've bitten off more than I can chew. The old oak veneer cabinets are shot. They were scuffed, chipped, water stained, and covered with grease and grime. What they weren't covered by was insurance, so we had to keep them. With the pale celadon walls that I chose, and the white trim throughout the unit, it made sense to me to paint the cabinets white. I believe that I am capable of doing it. I just don't know how I'm going to do it all in a place with no sinks, no toilet, and no chairs. I'm feeling every hour of my age, standing on concrete and tile to de-grease and sand cabinets. But for all the pain of working without cushions, I'm still planning on skipping the local delicacies, no matter how much pain relief they offer.

I truly believe that my presence is necessary to this process, for all that I'm feeling frustrated and overwhelmed. We has been trying to accomplish our side of things from two thousand miles away, and we were out if sight, out of mind. Now that I'm here, I'm getting much better responses from the contractors, and things are actually starting to happen. At least I'm on the schedule. I will tell you tomorrow whether I'm getting the grease on my squeaky wheel.