About contractors and the requirement that we all become experts in everything if we ever want anything done right. Or done to a barely acceptable level.
I've been helping my father move to his new condo. The move-in date has been shoved back three times in the last week. But that's nothing. The whole project began over two years ago. And was supposed to be easy. Ha.
Three contractors later, the end is finally in sight. The furniture is on the delivery truck and my dad's meager belongings are packed. Except, of course, the refrigerator is still in pieces in the middle of the living room, a fine new layer of sawdust is sprinkled over everything we moved in last weekend and large, sharp contractor tools are scattered across the brand new, delicate, cork floors.
That and the bathroom lights and plumbing are still gaping holes. Sigh.
Yet these are the contractors we LIKE. The good ones. So why do we still have to stand and watch every move they make and research every article they put up and know ourselves – even if we aren't going to do it – HOW to do it right so we can tell them how? Aren't these the people we're paying to know how to do things so we don't have to?
And why do I have to know which insurance is right for me? Isn't that my broker's job? And which medical treatments I need? And which tests I should get... and on, and on, and on.
Maybe this is the real reason I love television work. You'd think the arts would be full of flaky arts types who need to be constantly watched. But, no. Studios are full of professionals who KNOW THEIR JOBS. Better by far than you do. And they DO them. Professionally.
Which makes me so very happy.
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
6/18/08
5/27/08
A comment
About the way we do business today. At least the way some enterprising women in Georgia, Wisconsin and Colorado are doing business. And it's a way that has some interest to those of us currently wondering what to do about our SAG and AFTRA memberships in the next few months. Not that I'm wondering much -- I walked the line for the WGA and I'm not even a real member yet and I've been in SAG since college.
Anyway, long story long, I recently girl-ed out as detailed below and bought a book about perfumes. I'm a slightly insanely organized person, and went from reading the book and considering testing a few scents to building a color-coded spreadsheet detailing the perfumes I'm interested in, the ones I've tested, the dates tested, my thoughts, and recommendations for future action. 'Cause that's what I do. You should see my pattern spreadsheet. Or my exercise and diet versions.
After visiting department stores, some lovely-smelling shops and even CVS, I had winnowed the list of 60-80 interesting-sounding perfumes to about 20 actually interesting ones. Ones that I wanted to give a second and maybe third sniff. But, obviously, I can't buy 20 perfumes at $80-$200 a pop. Not unless one of you lovely readers wants to buy a pilot or two. (Or three. I got priorities.) And they were getting kind of tired of me at the Nordstrom counter.
No fear. There are sites on the Internet that decant and sell itty-bitty inexpensive sample sizes of perfumes. ALL OF THEM, apparently, as every single one of the very varied lucky 20 were in stock at this site. What were the odds of that? Every one I wanted, in stock? And actually in the mail within 24 hours? What kind of weird-ass perfume collecting company is this?
All was made clear when I started receiving the packages: not from one central business location, but from ordinary home addresses of a number of women -- in Georgia, Wisconsin and Colorado. Apparently these ladies collected and sold perfume on eBay, became aware of each other and joined forces to offer big-company style inventory in a basement-company kind of way.
I think that's fabulous. I love the Intenet. Hey, maybe McCain's right about something...
Anyway, long story long, I recently girl-ed out as detailed below and bought a book about perfumes. I'm a slightly insanely organized person, and went from reading the book and considering testing a few scents to building a color-coded spreadsheet detailing the perfumes I'm interested in, the ones I've tested, the dates tested, my thoughts, and recommendations for future action. 'Cause that's what I do. You should see my pattern spreadsheet. Or my exercise and diet versions.
After visiting department stores, some lovely-smelling shops and even CVS, I had winnowed the list of 60-80 interesting-sounding perfumes to about 20 actually interesting ones. Ones that I wanted to give a second and maybe third sniff. But, obviously, I can't buy 20 perfumes at $80-$200 a pop. Not unless one of you lovely readers wants to buy a pilot or two. (Or three. I got priorities.) And they were getting kind of tired of me at the Nordstrom counter.
No fear. There are sites on the Internet that decant and sell itty-bitty inexpensive sample sizes of perfumes. ALL OF THEM, apparently, as every single one of the very varied lucky 20 were in stock at this site. What were the odds of that? Every one I wanted, in stock? And actually in the mail within 24 hours? What kind of weird-ass perfume collecting company is this?
All was made clear when I started receiving the packages: not from one central business location, but from ordinary home addresses of a number of women -- in Georgia, Wisconsin and Colorado. Apparently these ladies collected and sold perfume on eBay, became aware of each other and joined forces to offer big-company style inventory in a basement-company kind of way.
I think that's fabulous. I love the Intenet. Hey, maybe McCain's right about something...
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