And, you are asking, “Exactly what does this have to do with sage and eggplant?” Be patient, friend, you can read on for awhile. After all, I haven’t blogged for days! Sit back, relax, and enjoy!

On Memorial Day I received a phone call from a co-worker, “Barbara, I just got a call from our landlord. Our office is flooded!” I looked outside—it was sunny, dry, no rain in sight and it hadn’t rained for days. Becky went on to explain that a pipe had broken in the bathroom across the hall and clean water (I emphasize CLEAN!) flooded through the building.

Armed with a roll of paper towels, I headed to the office (A roll of paper towels???? Can you tell I was in a lot of denial?). I was greeted by my landlords, who apologized profusely. Although that was kind, it was totally unnecessary because we work in a beautifully decorated and well maintained building! With artwork and sconces on the walls in the hallway and both rough and smooth marble tiles on the floor, we work in the lap of luxury. I knew this pipe thing was a fluke.

I surveyed the damage and quickly realized that the paper towels were a laughable addition. We had standing water (did I mention it was CLEAN water???) in varying amounts throughout our office. Miraculously, our server was in a closet that had minimal water—wet carpet but no measurable puddles! Within minutes, the company that cleans up water damage was in our office packing up our bookshelves and moving furniture away from the walls. As I left the crew was wheeling in commercial fans and dehumidifiers. Everything was going to be fine…

Ignorance is bliss…I had no idea how many fans, etc. the water damage people were bringing in nor did I have any idea how long we’d work amid what sounded like a roaring tornado. And although the water was CLEAN (I think I mentioned that!), the walls and carpet retained a slight odor—mold, mildew—oh my, do we need to call the EPA, the CDC, EEOC, the ABC, and XYZ????? After the landlord’s insurance company’s claims adjuster’s 3rd trip, he agreed that we needed new carpet in addition to the new paint he had already promised!

Yesterday was the 4th of July, another holiday, and nobody called to report a disaster. In fact, today the painters came in and we now have new colors on our walls that match 2 of our company’s colors—sage and eggplant! This weekend the new carpet will be installed and on Monday, I invite you to come visit our newly redecorated office! Yes, we had 2 weeks of unbelievable noise; we worked in chaos with furniture jammed in the middle of the rooms, extension cords creating spider webbed designs; we assured clients we were not a “here today, gone tomorrow” company, that we’d had a flood, etc; we’ve had to pack up all our files, cabinets, and drawers; and tomorrow we’ll close early to move our computers to a storage room for the weekend; Michael and I will spend Sunday evening moving furniture and computers back into our office; and on Monday we’ll still have to empty many boxes.

And, you know, with all that hassle, we’ll have a beautiful new office in which we’ll create wonderful experiences for our clients—how cool is that?