Friday 5: Final Frontier

1. What would you do with more physical storage space? Probably stash things like the vacuum and mop. The best spot for them is the hall closet, but it’s full of, like, giftwrap and bags and things.
2. What would you do with more living space? I don’t know, because I actually feel like we have a decent amount of living space. Maybe just throw in more bookshelves and arrange the furniture in a way that makes a little more space.
3. Would you rather have more kitchen counter space or kitchen cabinet space? Cabinet space. It’s not uncommon to have groceries still bagged on the floor because there’s nowhere for them to go. Part of the problem is an old, dated kitchen that I’m almost positive hasn’t been touched since the house was built in the ’60s. The cabinets aren’t always the most functional, particularly where we store our pots and pans. It goes all the way around and meets up with the cabinet under the sink, but especially for me, it’s hard to even reach back there to get anything. My mom is in the process of having her kitchen redone, and I’m having serious cabinet envy. So much functionality!
4. What would you do with a larger bedroom? Bigger closet, for sure. I always say that’s the only part of the house where we lost space by moving out of the apartment. The closet is small and isn’t enough for my stuff, let alone both of us, and that’s even after doing almost all I can to alleviate things–I bought a tall dresser, a bed with built-in drawers, and multiple closet organizers to maximize space. It’s all helped, but there are still clothes everywhere that just have nowhere to go. I’ve been toying with the idea of going to a store that specializes in closets and having them come and put in something more functional. Another one would be a proper nightstand. There’s technically room for one now, but with the way the room is, the furniture almost has to stay where it is, and the issue with a nightstand is it would block a heat register and part of the doorway for our tiny en suite bathroom.
5. What’s taking up too much space in your brain lately? Ugh, work, for a few reasons–and a reminder I work in the closed-captioning business. First, I’m still working right now, fortunately, but if the shutdowns go on much longer, I do think we’ll take a hit. Then thinking long-term, I would absolutely much rather be able to quit and do the stay-at-home mom thing for at least a little bit, but we can’t afford it, at least not until some things are paid off, and Paul’s job is still up in the air thanks to a transition to Mexico, although I have a feeling coronavirus is buying us time on that front, aside from the fact that it’s obviously stalling his job hunt. Automation is also a thing, and while this was never my dream job, it’s looking more and more like it’s gonna shift a fair deal from where it was when I first started to something I don’t want to spend eight hours a day doing. My dream is instead of taking FMLA–because we don’t have maternity leave–I just say I’m not coming back, but unless we get really lucky in the next three months, it’s not happening. And then my supervisor wants to meet with me Tuesday afternoon. I know what it’s about in a vague sense, but I’m frustrated because I don’t really see why. She sent me an e-mail probably Thursday evening that I got when I started Friday, and I really hate having to wait so long–I’d much rather get it over with than have to sit through Friday and Tuesday’s work days plus the weekend in between wondering about it.

From Friday 5.