Wednesday, February 14, 2024

A Frustrating Day

Even I get off my groove sometimes.

Yesterday was a frustrating day.  No end of the world sorts of things that really just tend to slow accumulate into an escalation of frustration.

The first thing was simply that some recruiters that said they were going to get back to me did not.  This not as uncommon a thing as it might sound like - my experience with most is you are their best friend right up to the point that you are not a viable candidate - but none the less disappointing if, in theory, you are waiting for an update.

While this waiting was going on, there was a second waiting:  waiting for a repairman to show up and complete the repairs on the dryer.  We had identified the problem last month and ordered the part, which showed up while I was in New Home.  I had to set an appointment at the time, and then move it thrice to make sure that it would be while I was present here.  The repair company sent emails 5 days out, 2 days out, 1 day out, and the day off letting me know the service was on.  I even had a window:  1000-1400.

Around 1100 I get a call from Uisdean Ruadh, letting me know the Sears repair guy had showed up at his house.  There was not a dryer problem there, but they did look at the pellet stove.   I checked; sure enough, the correct address was on the work order.  

Usidean Ruadh offered to follow up with a text which I requested he do, but nothing. I will call tomorrow.  Worst case, I have the element and can install it myself. It does aggravate me a bit, as it is relatively clear that no-one actually looked at the work order.

Then, it came to packing.

I am down to the last little bits of packing here, yet somehow it seems to take me longer and longer.  I am the only one packing things out at this point as only my "things" are the ones left; everything else has been gone over.  And to be honest, I find it overwhelming, almost more as the items get less. There is a certain amount of emotional turmoil I cannot fully describe.  Part of it is known to me, of course:  the next step after completing packing is having someone come through and take out everything else.  And, given the current likelihood that whatever job I manage to land will be an "on-site" position, the likelihood of being out on a monthly basis dwindles rapidly.  At this point, I only feel like I can count on one more fully trip in March.

And so, I get inside my head about packing.  

Today I set a goal of packing up the rest of the Franciscan Ware which would complete the kitchen.  That was accomplished as it was a single, easy task with to many things.  The remaining item is now the master closet where all of the things we identified last July are stored.  This are less convenient to pack and in some cases have even a greater pull, as they represent family heirlooms or things that likely only I will know about.

And so, I find myself somewhat stressed and emotionally wrung out.

The last two months - heck, the last year - seem like such a wholesale abrupt change to everything that I thought my life was about.  And, sadly, I do not handle change in the best manner.

14 comments:

  1. Friend when I am overwhelmed (and it happens often enough since I too tend to over think things) I just STOP. Don't dither on many actions, just STOP.

    Waste a day doing something mindless and enjoyable. I go fishing. Often with a book and NO HOOK on the line. Forcing myself to STOP and waste time creates FOCUS on what is Important and what is dithering.

    Then the next day (note I didn't say tomorrow as that's a form of dithering) I start and FINISH an important project. And then the next. IF I cannot finish due to others failures, I park that project until I can do it. Otherwise, I can easily put part of my time to dithering about THAT stalled project.

    Trying to find the Heinlein quote floating in my head for you but this will do.

    Most often my free-floating anxiety and the dithering that results are from a serious lack of NO. I'm trying to please everybody but myself.

    “Learn to say No—and to be rude about it when necessary. Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you. ”
    ― Robert A Heinlein

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    1. Thanks Michael. I think part of all of this is the fact that I feel like I should be doing more, somehow, when in point of fact I am doing as much as I can given the circumstances. The only one putting the requirements on cleaning out the house, for example, is me.

      Thanks for the Heinlein quote.

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  2. Nylon126:25 AM

    Someone not doing their job as simple as reading an address........aaargh! Not knowing where you'll be unpacking what you're packing now doesn't help the mind. Take another gander at yesterday's dojo phots, maybe that will help calm matters some....... :)

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    1. Nylon12, it gets better. I tried to call this morning, but the individual's in-box is completely full. I am going to just try myself.

      That is a good point about the packing; I am doing this thinking it will be years or maybe never when I see these things again. That makes it a little harder as well.

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  3. I'm with Michael on this one. When I get to feeling overwhelmed, I stop and do something enjoyable for a day to give my mind a bit of a rest. Usually then, the problems at hand don't seem as bad as they did two days earlier.

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    1. Agreed, Ed.

      One thing I have done successfully in the past - did it yesterday - was to set a specific task and complete it. When that is done, I stop. That is also a way I can manage myself.

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  4. Packing up a life.... me, too, TB..... me, too.

    Thanks for the hints, gentlemen. I'm on the same road as TB. I'm about to move after 25 years in this place. I know not all needs to go, but I emotionally attach to stuff easily. A good memory and good memories aren't that conducive to radical amputation of stuff. We'll see how well I do in the next couple months.

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    1. I Know, STxAR. I, too, emotionally attach to stuff.

      At the same time, at least for me, this is a good reminder that I am entering that part of my life when likely I will need less rather than more. I need to start with the easy things, and then move to the hard things.

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  5. Commiserations from me! Your "must-dos" aren't directly of your own making, but demand your time, attention, and energy. That eventually wears one down, even the most patient and diligent of souls. The human experience is the pits sometimes.

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    1. Leigh, the dryer incident was simply frustrating given I have been managing it for a month to have someone show up (Update: My appointment was not closed in the system, so I have requested someone to show today. We will see how successful I am).

      The packing is really just more dispiriting than anything else. The more I pack, the less I want to move forward with renting the place out, given both the current rental environment (e.g., renters with all the rights) and the fact that the house will not be in near this good a shape after renting.

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  6. Just today we had the craziest experience regarding poor communication in regards to new guttering we had installed a couple of weeks ago. Too much to share, but frankly, the communication mess ups have ruined this particular company's reputation in my book.

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    1. Becki, I sympathize. While there is some aspect perhaps to modern communications, one likes to believe that companies that do this professionally should have 90% with developed systems.

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