Office

The furniture is installed.

I'm in.

Pictures to come.

Furniture Day

The furniture has begun to arrive this morning.

So far, one semi truck (or, to use correct AP style "tractor trailer") has been here this morning, dropping off filing cabinets and things. More deliveries are expected this morning and then the installers will start to set up the Exec. Director's office and then my office.

I think I'm being overly optimistic that I will get to move into my office by EOB today, but, I've still got my fingers crossed. In the mean time, I'm repacking up my table from all the stuff I've been using for the last month.

I have to say, I'm really surprised by how much I've gotten done while banished back here. I'm sure I've been less productive than I was even in the old Blue Office, but I've gotten a lot done. Hopefully, I'll get a grant report sent off today and then be ready to start writing some new requests at my new desk this week.

The new office

The official furniture installation dates just went out.
Of course, it's subject to change, but ---
*drumroll please*
If the schedule stays as is, I could be moving into my new office on March 30 or 31.

Let the countdown begin!

Construction and Classes Update

Today's a big day in the renovation world -- ceiling tiles and light fixtures and flooring are being installed. (Oh my.)

The furniture should be here around the end of this month or early next, so it's looking like early-to-mid April to move back into the "real" offices.

I was out part of last week for another Fundraising School class -- Developing Annual Sustainability. The material is starting to sound repetitive, which I'm thinking means that I actually know it now. Next up, implementation of what I learned.

I've got one grant due today that I've got to go turn in and then finding the bottom of my table will be a high priority for this afternoon.

No new photos of construction right now, but hopefully I'll get some more in progress shots soon.

Talkin' about my fumigation...

They are spray painting again today in the office, meaning day two of paint fumes. When they painted walls last week, it wasn't so bad, but the spray paint is a bit noxious (though nowhere near as bad as the dry-erase wall paint upstairs).

The downstairs renovations are now in week two of hopefully four total. The walls have their first coat of paint. The spray paint is where they are doing the ceiling tile grid. (It's a huge cost savings to paint over the old dingy grid instead of putting in new grid and it looks great upstairs.)

Despite all the noise and fumes, we're still plugging along here at work. I've got two major grant applications due in one week, so I'm bouncing back and forth between these projects and wondering how I was always ahead of deadlines last winter/spring and when that changed.

And, just to help the craziness of this week, I'm back at fundraising school tomorrow and Thursday to learn about developing annual sustainability. Good stuff, I'm hoping.

Construction, Pt. 2

We are all back at work now and relegated to little tables in back rooms. It is far from ideal, but we keep telling each other that it's all going to be worth it in the end after the spiffy renovation is done. The upstairs, which has everything but furniture, looks awesome. The downstairs will be equally as awesome after this period of displacement.

Despite the chaos of the morning, I went through the downstairs offices and snapped some photos of the now-empty offices and the current workspaces.

This is my current "desk."

The other main work room, for about five staff.

The old blue office, now sans carpet, furniture or ceiling tiles.

The room that will be my office once the renovation is done.

The reception area, with sunshine coming through the window.

New Website

One of the things I've been doing during my out of office exile is to work on updating the new Starfish Initiative website.

There's still to be work to done to update all the text, but the new site is leaps and bounds ahead of the old site, and far more professional looking.

So, check it out.

The new Starfish Initiative website.