Total chaos, and reflections on house painters

Well, it’s organised chaos anyway. I’m at home on the second of my five days off. It’s 9:30 in the morning, and I’m showered and coffeed, and have a cat on my lap – a good start! I’m also sharing the house with a team of four Vietnamese house painters, and a window guy, David, who are all beautifying the house as we speak. It’s great! I’m loving the fact that soon we will be able to actually open all the windows in the house, without having to pound at the frame to squeeze the window open. And no more of that nasty red mould (lichen? whatever it was) that was creeping up one side of the house. And we’ll have doors and gates painted in Pohutukawa, one of the loveliest trees (and colours) if you like your reds. So it’s all good. I just have to put up with all the doors and windows in the house open (it’s a nice day luckily, but still spring, so not the hottest), scraping, whizzing of drills, yelling, and the occasional hunt down of the one Vietnamese guy who can speak English to make, er, adjustments to what the guys are doing.

I think that’s the bit I’m having the most problem with. I’m not a bossy person – would make a terrible foreman. Steve notices things, like – the guys have painted the doorsteps, when we told the boss man we wanted to sand them back and polyurethane the wood. (He didn’t tell them, argh.) I didn’t even notice. But if I had, I would have felt terrible telling them – especially after they spent however much time painting the steps. And I also have this weird paranoia that they are all on the outside looking in, and thinking how lazy I am, reading all morning, and spending time on the computer. Gah. I wonder if it is awkward for them too, or if they really don’t care at all.

I went down to the Karori library cafe yesterday around 11:30, and stayed till 1. It was quite nice – they make a great soy flat white. But I also felt a bit aimless, even though I’d brought my notebooks and laptop with me (no wi-fi, but no biggie). So I walked home again, did some weeding in the garden, did the dishes, and then made chickpea and lentil patties for dinner. Oh drool. They were so delicious, and there were heaps left over for my lunch today as well.

Anyway, I’m trying to be productive, so I’m going to sign off now, make a cup of tea, and then hop back on the computer and review some of the workshop stories the others in my writing class have submitted for the week. Then there’s some of my own writing to do, and I have to wander down to the post office to send off some games I sold on TradeMe.

Adios!