When things go wrong.

This is one of those essays that will not feel good, so here's a picture of flowers that I took today in front of Belle Isle, in the middle of November, one week before Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

Every teacher has multiple stories about times when everything that was perfectly planned went to complete crap.

Just yesterday, I finished an enormous project. It was under budget and on time. I had spent 22 hours on this. I was quite satisfied.

Before relaxing, though, I tested it to be sure everything was doing what it should. This one small but incredibly important part would not work. No matter what I did, it wouldn't go.

So I contacted the company that was hosting this, and explained the timeline and the situation. It was 10 am Eastern, so we had plenty of time. It was one small thing. They acknowledged that the fault was on their end—technical stuff—and they would take care of it.

And nothing happened.

Finally, at 4 pm (six hours later) I reached out. What is the status?

No response. From none of the six members of the tech team.

None at 5pm., 6 pm., 7 pm., or 8 pm. For a 24 hour service company.

So I found a different company, tested everything first to make sure it all worked, transferred all of my materials over to the new, deleted the old and canceled that account. I did all of that without emotion; it needed to be done and complaining would waste time. Save it for when after everything is in our possession.

Done! Now I can rage against the machine!

Grrrrr! GRRRRRR!!!!!

And now I'm gearing up for the hours required to restructure and launch. *deep sigh *

Jean Luc Picard of the Enterprise said, It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness, that is life.

This is life.

If you're doing anything important, this will happen.

The timing will be horrible.

Others will be depending on you.

You may even be evaluated while the disaster is happening.

It won't feel good.

You might cry or think angry thoughts or eat peas and carrots together. Ugh.

And then.

And then, after the anger crests and begins to subside, you see there's the other side. The side where you realize you've learned a lot. You're more efficient. You're better.

You'll be smarter this time ‘round. Faster.

Maybe the Fates smiled upon you for a millisecond and let emails through with the previous company begging for your business back. That happened. I've moved on, I reply in snide corporate speak.

And that gives me some relief.

And now, funnily enough, I have a story.

Let's pause a moment:

I was really upset. I still am, a little bit. I tried to work today, to re-set it all up, but after a couple of hours I realized I was writing the same sentence over and over, angrily pounding the keys, and I needed to walk away.

As a result of walking away:

1. I discovered a new grocery store
2. I ran into a friend who has been living overseas for a couple of years (Sam Morgan’s going back next week)
3. I was gifted some freshly made Italian stuffed mushroom ravioli and fresh bread. She prefers to remain anonymous.
4. I commiserated with a friend who reminded me who I am and helped me adjust my crown (Dan Tyrell), and now I can get back to work.

You can't ignore these things. That's why your network is important. You'll learn what excellent company you keep by what folks do after stumbling. Or when others stumble into you.

You shouldn't ignore these things when they happen. These things can hurt. It hurts, right now. Let it and tell someone. You're not gonna die from the hurt, so just leave it be. It'll be uncomfortable for a while and then it won't.

Sometimes things go completely to crap through no fault of your own. It sucks. It really does. It happens.

And then you sigh. Maybe sit on a sofa like me right now just thinking about all that work that I have to do. Again. *deep sigh *

Then you let it do what it’s gotta do until it don’t do it no more.

That's what I do when things go wrong: Stop the previous action, find an alternate solution and make sure it's viable, cut off the old not-working thing, rest and recover, then proceed, having stopped the old thing, found a new thing, processed it all and truly leaving the other behind.

The level up is not in the thing you acquire.

It's in the not staying down when—when—you get tripped up.

Or maybe that's just how we do in the D.

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