Grumpiness

It's been a real struggle for me this week trying to write anything more than "buy milk" and "order 24.6" diameter pipe".

There has been a lot of heaviness this week. Between the Tech tragedy and dealing with some bullshit here, all I've wanted to do every night this week is either curl up in the fetal position with my favorite quilt, or get on the treadmill and run until my legs were bloody stumps. Anything to get the constant thinking to just stop for a minute, anything to get just a quiet hum so that I can rest.

We had some very important personal news come through yesterday. Joey's company had been named in a lawsuit by A Very Large Bank With Way More Money Than We Have because something they had installed in their building almost 10 years ago when it was built didn't work. The award they wanted was rather sizeable, like kind of comparing a cruise ship to a rubber raft. Yeah. Well, yesterday the federal judge threw out the lawsuit, ruling that for one thing the Big Bank's attorneys had filed improperly, but also ruling that our company can't be named if they try and refile - that it is a manufacturer's defect so therefore our company isn't liable for the failure. To say that it was a relief would be somewhat of an understatement. So the good news is that we will be able to keep our house as well as get rid of that refrigerator box we'd been saving in the garage. You know, just in case.

On the other side, I found out that my company's insurance company has also filed a lawsuit against our (Joey's) company. Did you follow that? It's a long story, but the Cliff Notes version is that about three years ago, our company had a project downtown that caught on fire. It was windy that day, so about 20 other buildings suffered damage including one that Joey's company had worked on. The owner of the building re-hired Joey's company to fix the fire damage...and now my company's insurance company is sueing them because I guess they didn't like the cost (which the owner of the building is obviously trying to recoup from our insurance). It is very confusing and very hurtful - I know it's corporate America and the fucking insurance company just doing what it would do to anyone, and the chances of us actually having to pay any money out is pretty slim, but it's just...there. There in the back of my mind, eating it away like cancer. Not that I expect to go into the office and slam my fist on the desk and demand that they make our insurance company drop the lawsuit - but it just sucks. It sucks big time.

Sometimes, being a business owner just is a pain in the ass. The more risk you take, the more money you make - but also the more tendency there is for someone to go after you when things go wrong. We've been lucky, so far. I just wonder when the luck is going to run out.

So, to add insult to injury, after all of this I find out that we are apparently going tomorrow to a Forced In-Law Interaction. And y'all remember how well the last one went. I am almost giddy with anticipation. The anticipation of getting to be screamed at by my father-in-law as he chases us down the driveway, since that seems to be his preferred way of saying goodbye here lately. Ugh.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry for being such a negative Nancy this week. I promise that by the time I get back from the Out-Laws' house, I'll be in a much better mood. Know why? Because I don't have to live with them. That in itself is priceless.