Yikes, know how I said I was going to be posting every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday? Well, today’s post kind of slipped me by! Between bizarre errands and office improvement adventures, I’ve been running around doing physical stuff more than I’ve been writing today. I have lots of great stuff in the works, it’s just all still churning, ya know? I promise!
OK, fine, if you MUST know what improvements I was trying to make, here goes: I’ve been wanting to find some comfier client chairs for my office, because bless my clients’ hearts, I don’t think they have it in them to tell me that the chairs I bought for them to sit in kind of suck. They’re these Target vinyl things that were crazy affordable, like $60 apiece or something, and they look cute enough. But when you stick your butt in them, the wooden frame is kinda pokey under the clearly cheap foam right behind your knee. My knee, at least. And Trumpet loves to claw them, which doesn’t look so hot. Plus, they’re vinyl, which is why they were so affordable but now that it’s summer and crazy hot in Seattle, they stick to your thighs if you wear summery attire like shorts, ya know? Yech! So I’ve had my eye out for two comfy affordable armchairs that would look good in this space, but have a small enough footprint to not feel bulky. I ALMOST scored an upgrade today!
See, I fell IN LOVE with these mid-century green chairs at Value Village, which were a steal at $25/each with great bones and great teak frames. But they needed reupholstering (you can’t tell but the fabric is pretty darn fugly up close and had some damage on the backs, and I think the cushions needed refoaming or whatever the professional upholsterer’s term is). So I called up some upholsterers, got a couple quotes, totally balked at how incredibly high said quotes were, decided not to buy them, then did some research and totally regretted that decision, went back for them after perusing like three other vintage shops within a few blocks, and they were gone. GONE!
So of course I was all sad even though it’s probably for the best, and THEN I discovered that my awesome ergonomic monitor arm had finally arrived, the kind I got so I can turn my screen and show clients what I’m workshopping in their profiles without them having to budge. But when I assembled it and attached my big ole 24″ monitor (which is technically under the weight limit but apparently too deep?), it just… sank. So sad. See how it’s basically sitting on the desk? Sigh. Here I am trying to make all these silly little office tweaks, but CLEARLY the Gods of Small Business would prefer that I spend my time blogging, you know?
And of course, between all that, I also did some normal life stuff today, like weeding some garden beds, washing dishes, sorting laundry, buying groceries, seeing a doctor, eating lunch at a cool spot I don’t usually get to visit, and soothing a crying baby while reconnecting with a new mom friend I hadn’t seen in a while, all while getting a sunburn. That’s the sort of stuff that makes me really grateful to have a job where I can be flexible, set my own hours, and decide to spend a day running around chasing the perfect chairs if I really want to, haha. Even if I don’t succeed the first time! 🙂 Days with variety like that not only clear my head to let me come up with better creative content, but they also give my chronic tennis elbow a break from all the typing, mousing, and touch-screening I usually do.
SO there you have it! Most of my business life consists of working directly with clients, chasing clients who have expressed an interest but haven’t actually booked anything yet, recording podcasts and videos, researching ways to improve my site and better serve my target audience, writing blog posts and newsletter content, working on my book(s), and networking to try to make new leads. But every once in a while, I’m just running around to thrift stores and grimacing over cheap stripped allen wrenches. Aah, a day in the life!