Clearing the Weeds in the Office

The three work days this week are dedicated, at least in part, to turning my office into a more livable place. I have allowed everyone, including myself, to be messy to the point of insanity...boxes strewn all about the office, piles upon piles of papers, nothing organized in any sort of logical fashion. Things are hidden in plain sight. Supplies are purchased because we cannot find those that are right before us. In my defense, and in the defense of our staff, we have been godawful busy. But that's no defense. So, this week we are throwing unused materials out (thanks to Marilyn on our staff and her engineer boyfriend, most of the paper goods have been carted away to be recycled). And we have an enormous pile of boxes in my office that will be hauled away tomorrow to the storage space we rent nearby.

Velma, our steady, hardworking lady who is unflappable in the most trying circumstances, has invited her son-in-law to visit with his pickup truck and take the boxes to the storage space. Velma was born and reared in the Rio Grande Valley; she is of Mexican descent and speaks Spanish fluently (though many in her family do not speak English and she seems to refuse to require her children to speak Spanish).

I suspect that, once the weeds are cleared, our office will be a friendlier place to be and an easier place to like. It just gets depressing seeing masses upon masses of paper, strewn about in utter randomness.

I have plans to paint the walls in the office in the near-term. Another effort to elevate the mood (mostly mine) and get people feeling good about being shut inside.

Next steps will include, most decidedly, heavy efforts to find new business. That's a must. We're looking at ending this year with at least a $16,000 loss, not something we can tolerate long. We need new business and we need someone to devote fulltime to our own for-profit association. Absent that, we will go under, no doubt. How I will pay for that someone is anyone's guess. How I will find someone I can trust is even tougher. I have had two...make that three...people dedicated to the association and none of them have done anything like the job they should have done. I MUST stop talking about it and do something...fast.

I have to clear all the weeds and redirect, fast, or lose more than I can afford to lose. Focus. Focus. That means I need to devote blog time to business. Or I need a new life.

I have an idea...how does "Street Coffee" sound? Don't share the term...don't share the idea. More on this Australian-inspired idea soon.