03 December 2003 - 9:25 a.m.

things, they are a'changin in this living space of mine.

i cracked it a few weeks ago and decided that *something* had to be done about our apartment. it's not terrible by any means, but it's not great, either. it's also very small, and i think this can make it feel a bit like prison at times. there's nowhere to hide.

i started The Home Improvement Project (THIP) with a shelving unit from ikea with different-colored buckets for sorting laundry. now the delicate items have their own bucket, so there's no need to cry over improperly washed or dried items because someone was in a hurry. the shelving unit capitalizes on one of the great foundations of ikea - that of organizing and pushing your crap up toward the ceiling rather than leaving it all spread out. so now the laundry area is sorted.

i also bought some plants, including one yucca-like specimen that almost qualifies as a tree. it's been living in the bathroom (away from mischievous miko) until we can pot it properly.

in a total surprise move, i got a phone call while at mrs T's on sunday. simon was rearranging the rest of the apartment and wanted to know where i would like the bed. ! keep in mind that i thought he had been napping the whole time.

we ended up at ikea not long after, with a new computer desk (it rocks! and pushes everything up toward the sky) and coffee table (with hidden storage space, expanding table leaf and area underneath for the week's newspapers). the place already looks better, and, by the end of the week, i think it will be close to amazing. just in time for round 2 of the English rellies coming to visit.

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i've pulled what could be considered my worst work schedule yet, in order to get issue 3 of the newspaper out on time.

i was at a photo shoot until 8 pm last sunday, so i didn't get a proper rest over the weekend. the next day i was at work until 7, tuesday (when i found out about the emergency deadline) until 10.30 and wednesday until 10. i worked from 11 am thursday overnight into friday and didn't leave the office until 7 am. in case anyone's wondering, that's 20 hours just in the one stretch.

i then drove to fitzroy (45 minutes), called my family to wish them a happy thanksgiving, took a shower, dropped the disc off at the printer, bought another iced coffee and drove straight back to work (45 minutes again) so i could *chair* an editorial meeting on no sleep. i then worked on a position description while eating a sandwich before *chairing* a budget meeting at 2. that lasted 2 1/2 hours, after which i had to return phone calls and schedule more necessary meetings until 6 pm.

i am only working two days this week, and i have five meetings scheduled. and to think that, in the beginning, they thought this was a one-day-a-week job.