One of the nice things about getting laid off is that the company provided an outplacement specialist consultation for everyone who had to be laid off. I recently spoke to one, and we talked about all the emotions that come with being laid off, even if you have a good plan and a hopeful situation.
Not only was I laid off, but I moved–which makes two major changes rather than just the one of changing jobs. His suggestion was that I get my home life in order as soon as possible so that it’s a comfortable place to be, so that these whirling emotions that are natural even when you really do feel happy about the changes are more likely to settle down.
That made real sense to me, especially since I have mostly been confined to my bedroom this entire week when I’m not out of the house because my living room is being dried out (it’s dry, but they haven’t returned to replace the padding and clean the carpet) and my office isn’t unpacked and organized. I’d been working in the living room until I could completely organize the office, but we all know how that has worked out this week.
So that’s my goal for this weekend–get the office into a working state so that I can really feel like I get up in the morning and "go to the office." I think it will make it much better to separate my work and home life, even if it’s just a room away.
I’ve already gotten some great paint–a really nice dark olive green for the bedroom to contrast with my orange/burnt umber bedding and white furniture; a nice light blue (almost a light slate but bluish) for the office–the Olympic brand calls it "Memory Lane," which is appropriate because it’s about the color that I painted my bedroom growing up; the living room will be a nice tannish/light brown called "Puppy Paws," which I just love the sound of–it will go great with my green couch, black-framed black and white photography, and cherry wood bookshelves, not to mention the prints of a couple of Horn Book covers which I have yet to find frames for; and the kitchen will be a nice cheerful green called "Quaking Grass." Oh, and I’ll also use the olive green in the living room as an accent wall, which will go really nicely with the Puppy Paws and the furniture.
Tomorrow I’m off to Ikea with a friend to get myself a nice desk, bookshelves, and a comfy chair for the office.
I can’t wait to have my house really looking right–and to have
all my books and office equipment unpacked.