This week’s plans have been sinking like the Titanic…or my floors (more on that momentarily).

I’m supposed to have a Flashback or Flashforward Friday today, but I’m still swimming in contractor and insurance hell while juggling too many other things (like writing deadlines, the approaching WorldCon, and ya know–that huge task of selling the condo, buying a home, and moving). Since I’m a bit overwhelmed, I’ll give you a wrap up of my week so you can pity me. Yes, pity me, because dammit, I deserve it.

What I Wanted to Accomplish This Week: 

• Write a good, solid 20K on Amaskan’s War
• Schedule all necessary contractors for the flood repair
• Schedule the movers
• Find our temporary housing and schedule the move-in
• Finish line edits on my stories for Joy to the Worlds
• Critique Kat’s story for the Ladies of the Write group
• Schedule the book tour for Joy to the Worlds
• Do the cover reveal for Joy to the Worlds
• Order new business cards for WorldCon
• Sell the husband’s WorldCon ticket since he can’t go (new job)
• Go through boxes in storage (prep for move)
• Get an oil change and new tires before the drive to Spokane for WorldCon
• Schedule the landscapers to fix the dead garden
• Reschedule the electrician to come do repairs on weird light fixtures

And, of course, that list reminds me of the dead garden…I might have to tell you that story tomorrow.

This is what ACTUALLY happened this week:

• Drywall contractor #2 found more drywall damage than expected. He also possibly found black mold, which we’ll look at in more detail once I get the bid for repairs and insurance approves it. (Drywall contractor #1 barely looked at anything, so I’m not even considering his bid.)
• Rescheduled the electrician, who should be here any moment
• I learned that none of the baseboards that were ripped up during the “Dry Phase” of the Great Flood of 2015 can be replaced until after the wood floors are dealt with
• The hard wood floors are buckling and curling at the edges…bad enough that 2 contractors (non-wood flooring folks but still knowledgeable) could see the damage easily and feel the sinkholes developing. Yes, sinkholes. Both have said they think the flooring expert (coming today) will tell us they have to replace the maple floors completely. Which means…
• We need to move out. ASAP. We can’t live here while they gut the floors, ceiling, walls, etc. But I can’t hire a mover and move until the flooring guy does his stuff today. So nothing’s been scheduled. Oy.
• I’ve finished half the line edits for Joy to the Worlds and about 1/3 of Kat’s story.
• I did manage to order my new business cards for WorldCon.
• Landscaping companies won’t touch our Garden of Death. They either laugh, consider it a waste of time, or dwell in a pretentious land with delusions of grandeur as they want to charge $300 for a consultation to “design” a thorough plan to make the gardens award winning. Yo, I just need some mulch thrown down and a few plants planted so I can sell my condo. It’s not exactly rocket science.
• I wrote 3K on Amaskan’s War. Which is something, I guess.
• I got an oil change. And new tires go on tomorrow.
• I sold Erik’s ticket to a fellow writer (Tom Wright, who is having a book release party at WorldCon for his book, The Archivist).
• I posted the cover reveal for Joy to the Worlds HERE if you missed it

To top it all off, I managed to develop an excruciating migraine yesterday evening–the kind where I was tempted to go to the ER for “the good stuff” (re: pain meds). I managed to kill the edge of it with the meds at home, but wow was it bad. Full on no lights, no sounds, and a puke bucket nearby just in case. Probably stress induced. Goodie.

Bits and pieces of what I wanted done actually got done. Not too horrible, all things considered, but on August 18th, I had to Spokane. I won’t be back until very late August 23rd. Two days before we were originally looking to move. I suspect we’ll be doing a mad move next week (somehow) into temp housing, and if the moving gods are with us, the movers will pack up the old place and stick it in storage while repairs get made to the condo. Possibly even while I’m gone. I doubt insurance will happen that fast…and somehow I doubt movers will be available that soon.

So most of my plans are going to sink like the Titanic.

Which will make us moving at the end of August, then repairs, and listing the condo for sale in late September instead of September 1st. *sigh*

First world problems, I know, but when my planning gets skewed, I tend to melt into puddles of anxiety.

Image from What is Psychology?

Yep. That’s me.

I managed to get through the week with jumping to the worst conclusion only three times versus the week before (which was ten).

Progress!