Spoiler Alert!!!! Graphic images of post-op foot below… don’t read if looking at bruises and stitches makes you queasy!
How many sayings could apply to this past week? Let me come up with a few…
- It never rains, it pours.
- What is it that comes in threes?
- If something can go wrong it will…
Monday started out well enough… day 7 after foot surgery for bunion correction which will hopefully see me back to going for long walks along the beach with the dogs this summer and moving around the boat and between buildings at work without being crippled by evening. Recovery is going well, I’ve been a good patient and followed doctor’s orders for bed rest and elevation. Then things started to unravel. Actually all hell broke loose. The major project at work that I’m responsible for had already started going pear-shaped last week; I was still working through issues and determined to find a resolution. Liaising with stakeholders remotely by phone to understand the issues and options for a way forwards, very quickly becoming an expert in organisational hierarchy databases. As newly appointed secretary for the Owners Corp Committee of one of my investment properties, multi-tasking and organising a Special General Meeting to appoint the new OC Manager. Also attempting to use the enforced rest to remotely organise a fundraiser for Children of Phoenix. Only 3 balls to juggle… can’t do much else with my time at the moment, so should be do-able, right? Enter my friend Murphy….
First the power goes out. No modem, no internet connection, no remote desktop for work. Work-around; I have my blackberry. Emails are painful on the mini keyboard (and I don’t even have fat fingers), but I can receive them and make calls. Then the blackberry starts going flat; no power to recharge. It dies at the end of a conference call meaning I appear to very rudely hang up just as a key stakeholder is advising she can’t make a meeting the next day.
A comedy of mis-communication and the decision at the OCC SGM has to be deferred… meaning another meeting needs to be called with a new 14-day notice period, leaving us 2 days for hand-over from previous OC Manager to new one.
A key sponsor pulls out of the fundraiser (my fault – juggling too many balls, used the wrong logo on the flyer); back to the drawing board.
A real estate agent phones to say a potential buyer wants to look through one of my properties on Wednesday, can I arrange access… haven’t been able to get hold of the tenants for two months.
Maybe Tuesday will be a better day?
Tuesday arrives, pow
er is back on, all devices charged, remote access issue of incompatibility between MacBook and Citrix finally sorted out after 2 months of the keyboard freezing every time I logged in. Phone meetings with stakeholders confirm that the project delivery cannot go ahead as planned in November; earliest possible deployment will be Feb next year. Major setback – unable to deliver to expected outcomes.
Follow up appointment for foot in the afternoon; surgeon is happy, haven’t really had any pain for a few days. Bandages come off, arrghhh…. without the protective cushioning, each step is a nightmare. When I see my foot, I realise I’ve got a little way to go before I’ll be doing those long walks on the beach with the dogs. At least the X-Ray looks straight!
Stop! Rewind…. let’s change perspective for a second.
How could I think and therefore feel differently about this week?
- I’m working with fantastic stakeholders; who, despite being disappointed, are very supportive
- I have a job that allows me to work remotely much of the time, meaning I can continue to be productive whilst recovering from surgery
- I have a job
- I have a job which is challenging and interesting, working with people I enjoy
- I live in a developed country with a good level of medical expertise and health support (compared to many other places in the world) and I have private health insurance, which has allowed me to select the surgeon of my choice
- I have a number of investment properties which are (for the most part) appreciating in value and helping secure my financial future
- I have a loving, caring partner who has been waiting on me hand and foot (I feel like the Queen of Sheba!)
- I have fantastic, generous friends and neighbours who have been walking my dogs every day
- I have an awesome crew who have taken my boat out to race without me and finished 2nd on PHS in the Wednesday twilight; go girls! So proud of you!
- I haven’t felt this physically rested in a long time
- As I haven’t been able to go sailing and I haven’t needed to spend time commuting, I’ve been able to churn through the initial units of the Cert IV I’ve enrolled in and am ready to start the practical component
How lucky am I? Murphy, take a hike!