Good Distractions, Bad Distractions

I’m halfway through the second sleeve of the High Verocity Jumper, but there’s not much point photographing it until it’s done, so here’s a picture of our flame tree:

Most of the flowers have fallen off now. It was a LOT brighter a few weeks ago, when I discovered it was flowering. The little bell-shaped flowers are amazingingly luminous:

And really cute:

How could I not have noticed it was flowering? Well, this house extention and renovation that we signed up for has slowed down almost to a stop. Late last year the builder asked for the second fixtures payment and he seemed in a big hurry to get it. Since an awful lot of the fixtures weren’t in yet (flooring, plumbing, tiling, etc.) we first asked the architect if we should pay. He said something like, ‘oh, what’s outlined in the contract isn’t all that practical. In reality, what we in the industry call ‘fixtures stage’ is quite different. Don’t worry – go ahead and pay the builder.”

So we did. Then six weeks passed with only about day’s work done. According to both the builder and architect, work wouldn’t be affected by any old fashioned Christmas/January shut down time, so that’s not the reason. They’d said be back the day after New Year.

During that time, if I looked outside at the mess and the half-completed extension, I’d just get depressed, so I stopped looking outside. It wasn’t easy, since there’s a huge pile of rubbish outside my office window. But something amusing and nice was happening to that pile of rubbish:

Nasturtiums started growing up over it. That made me smile, even if with some bitterness.

Now I’m getting hints that the suspicions I had when the builder was so anxious to get the last payment from us might be right: he’s got money problems. And since he’s now got most of our payment out of us, he has very little monetary incentive to come back and finish the job except for a paltry amount specified in the contract that he has to pay us each week the job goes over deadline.

It was supposed to be finished last October. Now I’ve abandoned all plans of going to New Zealand until next year, or offering friends a place to stay when they come down for a convention this June.

It’s all rather stressful, and the pressure just keeps compounding. I don’t tend to work well when this stressed – and since I work from home I’m surrounded by inescapable reminders of the house problem. The beau is recently retrenched, which should be fine because I’ve got a good contract. But I’ve started the project late because of the house, and I’m not writing fast enough or well because of the house, and if I don’t produce a book by the deadline… I won’t fulfill the contract and the publishers might eventually (they are usually very flexible and understanding… to a point) want their money back.

Right now life feels like it’s definitely on the sucky side, but that might just be because I’ve been a bit sick, am not sleeping well, and are really, really tired.

7 thoughts on “Good Distractions, Bad Distractions

  1. That’s boogelly news about the builder, hope things look up and you get your writing back on track, and the builder too.

  2. Maybe you could rent a small office for a bit? Set everything up and just go in and work and leave the building blues behind.

  3. Well I think you’ve had all of this year’s bad luck in one foul go.

    Hope all improves for you really soon!

  4. Thats just bum. Is there any way you can light a fire under your builder, or report him to a building ombudsman or something?

  5. Tradesmen, in my experience, are pure evil. I have yet to meet a decent one. (I’m sure they’re out there, but I’ve never met ’em!)

    Hang in there! I agree with fitknit- you’re getting all your bad luck for 2007 out of the way. I hope things improve soon

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