Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Setting Up the Command Center and Getting Back Online

FINALLY!  And, yes, I’m aware that it has technically only been a few days since I disconnected the computer back on the other end (six), as well as the fact that I had plenty of internet access on my phone.  Really, though, details, schmetails!  I’m all hooked up in my office now.  It felt like forever let me tell you and setting things up in here feels great.

I’m calling the office the Den of Words and Sports and I'm lucky enough to be able to do everything from this one space now.  Matt accepted a new position which means he sadly no longer works from home.  But only sadly in the fact that it was nice having lunch together every day and that he was out of work by 3:00 (east coast hours).  It isn’t sad that he’s got a really great thing going at the new place and a far lower stress level to go along with it.  Even if it means he’s not home until 5:30, if his general career-self-ness is happier & more satisfied then he’s a lucky man.

And I’m a lucky woman too because with him out of the house I get the entire office area to dedicate to my stuff for the first time ever.  He gets a workshop in the garage, his man space and I get my Den.

It’s MINE!  It’s ALL MINE!!!  MY PRECIOUS!!!

Ahem…

First and foremost I have the desks set up for maximum writing and editing potential.  That’s pretty key considering I’m pursuing it from a career standpoint.  I kinda can’t just do it from my netbook on the sofa anymore.  The netbook with a 10” screen.  The sofa we’ve had for about seven years.  The sofa, like all of our furniture except the hand-me-downs, that came from IKEA when we were college-poor (pay no mind to the fact that we were in our late twenties/early thirties at the time, technically it isn’t a lie seeing as though I was in school).  Anyway, the sofa that needs to get the eff up on outa’ here.

But all in due time.  First and most important, did I mention I get the office all to myself?

So now that the writing station is covered that opens up the closet and the other 1/3 of the room to accommodate my hobbies too.  I have a permanent spot for my sewing machine for the first time in ages, and the closet can house stuff I’ve picked up for jewelry making that I actually kept after the Great Purge of 2009.

Oh yeah, and this is the room where all my sports memorabilia is going.  Booyah!

Mark Recchi (holding one of his three Stanley Cups, wearing a Bruins jersey), a Christmas gift from my Aunt (who rocks!), will be right across the room from me.  Obviously not the real Mark, the framed photo of his smiling face is perfect thank you very much.  My poster of Nomar (Nomah!!!) Garciaparra, the ‘We Got the Cup!’ poster we all got on Bruins parade day, the little Red Sox plastic cap that they sell you the ice cream inside of, and my New England Patriots bottle opener will all be on some kind of display.

Sorry but I can’t help that I’m a Boston sports nut.  I mean, when you grow up there you get it.  Even people who aren’t into sports at all are open to appreciating the fact that the Yankees suck.  Because they do.

But I digress…

The office will hopefully have a reading chair as well.  I love to read for enjoyment of course but aside from blogs and articles, there are paperback versions of guides and advice that I read for the business side and I want to keep business stuff in here.  Plus I’m hoping I can also do some reviews for other indie Author’s novels this year.  I have a couple friends who have written books and I’d love to get my take on them out there through Writesy.

Which reminds me…

If you’ll allow me another digression (which you likely will if you’re over here to begin with cuz this thing ain’t called Random Lunacy for nothin’!) I’d like to take a moment to just thank (profusely) all the amazing and wonderful people who have purchased a copy of my book!  In total, since first publishing this past April I’ve sold 68 copies of Ripple the Twine.  Holy crap!

That’s a whole lotta’ love and from the tips of my toes I cannot thank you enough for supporting my venture into the business of Writing and self-publishing.  I’m really proud of this book but it still humbles me that well over 50 people bought a single piece of my writing.  In all the zines, chapbooks, etc. I’ve never sold 68 copies before.  For this many people to believe in what I’m doing is actually (and not in that literally/totally/actually way but for real) about the most surreal thing I’ve ever experienced.

And now I have an office all to myself to write in, a corner office with a pretty nice view of blue skies.

Apparently I must be doing something right because the gods of (whatever oversees the career track) are certainly smiling on me!

Anyway, thank you all so, so much for your love and support!

And now back to your regularly scheduled post about moving and setting up stuff.

I’ll probably hang some photos this weekend, things that are already framed and that we plan to use, but otherwise I’m taking the entire weekend off.  Matt too.  We both deserve it I can say that for sure after being on non-stop go-time the past month since we closed on the house.

There’s been a pool pump & filter replacement (including plumbing) done, epoxy overlay in the master bath shower, hanging of curtain rods and large poster art.  And that’s just what Matt’s done.

I pretty much painted every interior surface with the exception of ceilings (which I cut in and Matt rolled), a few bathroom cabinets, and all the doors.  But including kitchen cabinets.  Which I now somewhat regret because they were tough to do and the paint wasn’t the best quality.  But they admittedly look 1000% better and will do until we replace them.

We plan to rip out the bathrooms over the next year or so.  Functionally speaking they work fine for now but I figure if we leave them hideous it will speed up the process of saving to do what we really want not just what works to get by.  That’s here already, and as we all know Matt and I had the ‘let’s-make-it-good-enough-and-flip-it(-but-ha-ha-it-never-sells-sucka)-house in the past.

If nothing else Labor of Love taught us to be patient.

Um, yeah, that’s it.  Go ahead, ask Matt how I’m doing with that concept.  Patience isn’t in my vocabulary when I am setting up my house.  My house is my thing.  Some people have shoes or bags, I’m all about my house.

Regardless though I’m frantic over spending as if we’re destitute or something.  Which we’re not.  If we were, we would have never considered buying.  We’re doing fine and all that hoo-ha but scrimping and saving for years then watching the rapid depletion of your savings go ‘POOF!’ in one fail swoop called a down payment, well, it kinda gets stuck right there in the throat.  Especially when I’m not pulling in any kind of predictable income right now.

But enough about all that.  Have I mentioned I’m writing this blog post from my brand new, office?  The one that’s all mine?

In time, maybe over the course of the next five years or so, our plans include opening up all the kitchen walls to the living room space so we have a great room open concept feel.  The reason it’ll be years down the line is it also means the entire tile floor comes up because it was installed up to the trim, not under it.  And that’s a project neither of us will do ourselves, nor do we want to spend money on it right now.  There are priorities far greater that benefit the short term and long term.

For example, the plumbing must be looked at relatively soon.  Every time we run a load of laundry bigger than a medium sized cycle at one end of the house, the showers back up all the way at the other end of the house.  Um, so not okay.

Our plumbing plans include having that inspected as well as moving the water and gas lines for the laundry into the house from the garage.  Because, really?  I don’t understand what genius thought ‘Ooh I’ve got an idea! Let’s put the place where you’re cleaning your clothes in the dirtiest place in your house. Brilliant!’

Laundry in the garage never made sense to me and since the wall abuts the kitchen wall we’re bringing it into the kitchen.  Which of course means building out a closet for it.  Which would leave the kitchen with an off-balance design.  Which of course means building out a pantry on the opposite corner.  And if we’re installing such nice doors and cabinetry/countertops over there we’re going to want to rip out the kitchen with its painted cabinets and laminate countertops over here

I think you can see where this is going.

It’s going nowhere right now, that’s for sure.  All in time.  And I stress all.

Anyway, we’re moved in and almost totally unpacked.  This week will probably be the final push.  Plus I’ll be posting stuff on craigslist and /or Freecycle and eBay over the course of the next week or so.

And I’ll be doing it all from my very own office.

11 comments:

jamiessmiles said...

Awesome book sales! I am getting the slight vibe that you may like your office.

Launna said...

I missed you Jenn... I love when you post, you ALWAYS make me laugh... makes me think I will love your book. I will have to look into getting a copy.

So, do you like your office? I couldn't tell... LMAO

Anonymous said...

lol All the work you do, you need your very own office!
I am happy for you and Matt. And great book sales! I am sure there will be a ton more.

Anonymous said...

What a crazy month, eh? I actually read this entire post an hour after you published it, and just as I was planning my comment the wife & kids needed me. I've barely had a break since! It's good though, I just have a lot of catching up to do. So...I'll start with your last post--my wife and I are both typo spotters. Drives us nuts that these people don't notice simple little things like that. In fact, we were watching ESPN once (only once, though ;) ) and Diana had gotten so used to spotting on-screen typos she thought they had misspelled Dwyane Wade's name. Nope, his parents did that! I totally need a proofreading job. But I digress.

I lol'ed at the end of your last post--and when I read your comment on my blog. Camping, eh? Sounds like a plan haha. I have dreams like that a lot, really random stuff that's often triggered by the last thing I did before bed. Which will likely be this comment, so...

Now, to (finally) address this post: Congrats on your new house and your new office and the 68 sales of RTW. Awesome, awesome, awesome! But that kitchen/living room/garage floor plan sounds like a mess. I'm hoping it looks better than it sounds. It can't be worse than our tiny little cape cod with 40-year old cabinets and a bathroom that would fit easily in most people's closets. Idk...I'm dying to see the pics though. Ypu've been teasing them for weeks!

So...you have a sewing machine? Are you good with that handmade etsy-type stuff? I've got a small (but sweet) idea to incorporate sewing into my story, but I know less than nothing about it. Maybe you can help?

It was 98* today in NJ and I saw a weather report that said AZ was like 109* or something and I thought 'omg Jenn and her hubs must be melting!' but... say it with me.... it's a dry heat so you were probably more comfortable than we were.

I could probably write more, but I've probably taken up enough space here. Congrats again on your office though. That's awesome news, and a perfect setup to begin writing your next novel! I still owe you more notes on RTW. I didn't forget.

Oh, and the Yankees most definitely suck :)

Jenn Flynn-Shon said...

What would give you THAT impression? heehee

Jenn Flynn-Shon said...

Thanks so much Joan! And thanks for your support as well, you're one of those people! :-)

Jenn Flynn-Shon said...

Seriously, crazy month doesn't even BEGIN to describe it my friend! Not that you're completely out of touch with the concept either though, right? We've lost you on most social networks now so I hope that means you are all getting some sleep whenever you can fit it in. Even an hour or 2 here or there is better than none!

Anyway, yeah, the floor plan isn't awful its just nasty to me that laundry is in the garage. I mean I store old crusty paint cans & tools out there. Cars leak oil out there...just nasty.

And yes, I'm going to get some pics out today along with a post. I'm going to try to get back to the blog again more regularly (no pressure to read or comment which goes double for everyone, I just feel like writing) now that we're moved & I'm settled (ish).

I'd LOVE to give you some tips/pointers/advice/whatever on a sewing angle for your book! I have an Etsy shop actually. used to sell a lot of sewn stuff. Well, okay that's probably the wrong wording. I used to list a lot of sewn stuff, selling was spotty at best haha. Ask away! You can FB me or if you want to email feel free randomlunacy11 at yahoo.

I hear you guys on the east coast are under water the past few weeks with storms & now a tropical storm? It may be 110-115 here for the next 8 weeks (or more) but I'll take that over cloudy and overcast, humid and dripping ANY day of the week. Dry heat is actually true but its still hot as hell when 110 feels like 95. Not exactly chilly. Thank goodness for central air (the best invention on the PLANET) but yeah, we pretty much live in the convection oven out here :-) Of course I'd rather be too hot than too cold and see the flaring ball of gas in a blue sky than nothing but grey everyday for weeks on end. I can not begin to express how much of a mood lifter it is to live here! I hardly even realized I was miserable all the time until I got out.
And guests are always welcome out here in the Valley of the Sun...not sayin' anything just sayin'...

Suldog said...

Hadn't commented about the book yet, as I'm not finished with it, but I am in the middle of it. That tells you good things, because if it sucked I wouldn't be in the middle of it. Definitely enjoying it, Jenn.

I know what you mean about the office. In my case, it's just the house in general. I love MY WIFE, adore her in fact, but every so often, when she's not home, I feel an ability to stretch out and enjoy things that wouldn't be possible while she was there. I know she probably feels the same about when I'm off playing ball or whatever, and that's swell. It's the ability to enjoy ourselves alone that makes us much more lovable to others, IMHO.

draagonfly said...

The only way the laundry in the garage thing makes sense to me is because when washers started being "a thing" they were probably super noisy, so it makes sense not to have it in the house in that case. Of course, we are now 50 years of technological development later, so it's more common in newer homes to see it inside AND even upstairs if you have more than one floor. My condo was built in the early 80s so my laundry is in the garage AND downstairs. Ugh. I mean YAY. I'm just grateful not to have to haul it to a laundromat!

BTW? The Yankees suck from every side of this island. :)

Almost Precious said...

Bravo and kudos on finally having your very own office, a place for your artistic and creative id to reside and conjure up marvelous manuscripts.
:)

Almost Precious said...

Oh and about the laundry being in the garage . . . why the hell DO they do that?

In the summer the garage is the hottest place in the house with temps reaching close to 110 Fahrenheit (other than in the attic, where water boils if left sitting in a bowl) and in the winter it's the coldest, with temperatures only slightly warmer than the great outdoors!