Sickness and email blues

Yesterday, time was spent sorting out new email addresses for work. The guy who runs the hosting service for my website was, as usual, a star and talked me through setting up dedicated addresses. I've got 2 now, but can have more if I need them.

I woke up at 3am feeling dreadful - my head felt like it would burst, swallowing felt like I had broken glass in my throat and my sinuses were agony. Looks like I have a cold. I couldn't drop off again so I got up, made hot lemon and honey and sat at the PC. It took me more than 2 hours to go through every professional website or forum I'm registered on and change my log-in details to my new email addresses.

Then I spent almost an entire morning emailing clients old and new and countless other contacts to let them have one or t'other of my new addys. The afternoon was spent finishing editing a PhD thesis for a client. And sacking our cleaner.

Yes, Wordsmith Towers has been experiencing domestic chaos yet again. The Mr Mopp we've been employing for the last 18 months has gradually turned into Mr Sloppy. Things that used to get cleaned properly no longer are, he has slowed down. And he broke things and didn't tell us. We made the decision to "let him go". Fortunately a friend of a friend has just set up a cleaning business so we got her to pop round for a chat and offered her the job.

Firing Mr Mopp was weird. I'd expected him to ask for another chance but he was very laid back, suggesting that maybe he didn't care about cleaning for us after all. This evening I went to watch EastEnders, as usual, and discovered a dirty wine glass on the coffee table that had been there 2 days. In a room he was supposed to have cleaned thoroughly this morning. So sacking him was the right decision. Wordsmith Towers is a tightly run ship with no room for slackers. Especially not when they are charging us a tenner an hour and not earning it.

The other American job I mentioned yesterday has landed in my lap. Hee. Two clients across the pond picked up in less than a fortnight. The contract is sitting in my mail box - all I have to do is sign it, scan it and mail it back. There will be lots of work going on this one.

Told you I was feeling lucky...