I don't know what it is, but even when 95% or even 90% of things do come together and work out, even if not perfectly, I can't help but dwell on the negative and where things went wrong. We've managed to get the move completed and we've even set up quite a bit in the new house. I should be able to bask in the glory of a job well-done. Instead, I am fretting because I can't give away this file cabinet fast enough, and because a bookcase I was trying to give away has gotten damaged and probably is now headed for the junkyard.
The bookcase is such an odd case of the universe conspired against the "reuse" principle that it almost seems fated. Maybe in a few months I will even find it droll, though right now I am simply annoyed. I probably should have tried a bit harder to give it away sooner, but no one that I knew wanted it. Not even the struggling actors of Red One (though there is was a general lack of access to a van or truck that was the stumbling block). So I listed it on Craigslist (for free) and got two "offers." I definitely should have gone with my gut and taken the second one, but instead I went strictly chronologically. To avoid having to explain to a bunch of people it was already taken, I removed the listing from Craigslist. I get very stressed out having to disappoint people, which is probably what is actually at the root of my current discontent (well, mostly that but also not being able to bend the universe to my will).
After some back and forth, the first person decided that he couldn't fit the bookcase into his apartment after all, so I emailed the second person and told her that 7:30-9 would be suitable. I never heard back, and in fact checked email several times while I was taking care of some other tasks, most notably trying to put up more tarp under the deck. I finally sent her another email, and she replied that she had emailed me back but I hadn't responded and she thought I had changed my mind. Apparently, she had sent this, but it was routed through Craigslist or something and when I pulled the listing, it wouldn't forward the email. That seems kind of crazy. Also, if I had repeated my number or given my address right away, we probably would have connected. She said she would come over the next morning, but then her friend flaked out, and I had to start all over again!
As it turns out, the handyman cancelled on us Monday, but showed up eager to get everything done on Tuesday. So we had to move everything out of that storage space, and there was nowhere to put the bookcase (and the file cabinet) except under the deck and the tarp. Of course, Tuesday was the one day it rained all week...
The tarp works reasonably well for keeping water off bikes and deck chairs, but is not completely waterproof. So now there is some water damage to the bookcase, mostly to the backing. It is not clear just how well it will dry and whether mold might accumulate at some point. I think I will just have to tell the two new people still interested that there is some damage, and they'll have to decide for themselves. But I think it is most likely that the bookcase will not be salvaged. It just was such a frustrating case of things not coming together, when I was so close to getting it to work out.
For that matter, the shed is a similar story, where the ending isn't written. I told this woman at work that she would need a truck and 3 or 4 people to move the shed as an entire piece, but she came out and tried to disassemble it. That didn't work, so now I have to wait another week or so, and see if the next tenants are interested in purchasing the shed or I might be stuck in having to remove this shed (and at my own expense). I will definitely be irked in that case, though the woman who said she would buy my shed will end up having to pay me anyway, which should mostly cover the removal costs. Anyway, fingers crossed that the shed will come together in the end, unlike this bookcase.
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