comedy(?) of errors

Washington, D.C.

The day before we get here, we find out that the teevees, of which 60 are supposed to be delivered daily, aren't. We get a delivery of 180 rushed instead...which creates a storage problem, but we know we can figure a way around that.

We get in after midnite and the hotel doesn't seem to know we're coming. They have no rooms reserved for us and say they're fully booked for the night. After some coaxing, they manage to find 3 rooms, so the 7 of us double-bunk and hit the sack.

The next morning that issue gets resolved...the teevees show up, the furniture shows up...but the countertop delivery we're expecting doesn't happen. Frantic, my boss calls the supplier, who calls the freight carrier, who informs us all that someone has dropped the ball and the granite is still sitting on the dock. In Long Beach, California. Mapquest tells me that's 2,686 miles away.

The carrier promises to find a tandem driveteam to get it here by Saturday. On the worst weather weekend nationwide so far this winter.

It gets delivered Monday. By a solo driver that doesn't speak english.


On the plus side, the late delivery gave us an unscheduled day off. I got to hang out with Sherri's cousin Jim and wife Stephanie, which was fun. We did some whirlwind sightseeing and had dinner at their place...and that was so infinitely much better than restaurant food. Their kids Liv and Theo are cool, too. Good food, good company, definitely a plus.

On the minus side, unscheduled days off strain the production schedule and push us hard up against the completion date. At that point, I'm hoping that maybe I can push production so I can still make my flight to SLC for the family picture.

I start cutting the furniture Monday afternoon, and it's a decorative shape that involves a more detailed cut than usual. Slow going, and no rushing it.

One of the more volatile members of our crew got into an in-your-face shouting match with the hotel's Chief Engineer at the end of the day today, and is likely canned for it. Being down one guy sure isn't going to help this get finished faster.

At this rate, we'll be doing good to get out of here by Christmas Eve...