Why Do We Do This?

Yesterday was such a horrible day (not including the overall horrible week I've been having...). I've been sick since Sunday, but because there are massive important projects due at work, I sacrificed my recovery by trying to be a responsible adult and get these done. Now, I feel worse than ever - partly because work was so bad yesterday that I spent half the day crying - first over one thing, then over another. So, here I am at home, missing E3 because I have an earache that started yesterday from my sinuses getting all swollen because I'd been crying over the state of my projects. The client even asked when we could ship (since we'd missed the first date due to elements needing to be replaced), I told them next Friday, they sent an email saying Tuesday, which just crushed me. I was like: "Is this a real date? Do I need to come in on the weekend again?" Then he was telling me not really, he was just trying to make his boss happy and we could have our date, but it was kinda infuriating as it makes me wonder if I'm supposed to take their dates seriously now. Either way, I'm sure I'll end up paying later for trying to get better today...

The one benefit to being home (and it's not what you'd think!) is that I can now take my car over and see about getting the AC fixed. And just all around get some chores done that are really, really in need of being done.

So, my question, really, is this: Why do we allow someone else's poor planning to become our emergency? This whole week I was supposed to be at E3, but instead I got sick from stress and worked myself up into a tizzy over my client's insistence at moving their deadline up 3 weeks, only to have it move back a week. I'm wondering why I let it get to me. I guess 1) I care about my clients since I've worked with them for almost 4 years now, and 2) Familial issues make it easier to concentrate on work and make that the center of my universe, so that when that gets out of control I feel overwhelmed. Anyway, I've changed cubicles so I'm no longer with my back to the door, and that has helped my concentration enormously, and now I just need to remind myself to breathe and laugh these things off (obviously, refrain from laughing in my client's face, but behind their back, maybe) when they happen. Because as M loves to remind me, the way things are going the nuclear holocaust is going to make this seem like the best time of my life. Lovely.

I'm also guessing that's why I get so involved in my crafting and writing - as these things are *fun* to me, and relatively less stress. I'm sure you've noticed I have a constant string of on-going projects, well, it runs in the family. Both Mom and I do this so that if we get to a place in the project that's boring or too hard or just plain sucks, we can put it down and there's already another project in the works to pick up! It sometimes feels like you get nothing done that way, but then there's that golden moment where you're able to finish 5 projects all at once - and there's no better feeling of accomplishment than that. Trust me.

Don't get me wrong: I sometimes wish I were a super serial crafter - able to finish one project in a single bound, but for whatever reason, I bristle at being tied down to just one thing. Maybe it's just that I see endless possiblities when it comes to crafting and I want to do it all NOW. Or maybe I'm just impatient. But, that's how I am, good or bad. One thing's for sure, I'm hella good at multi-tasking, and that's something you can take to the bank.