Neither here nor there

As the process of moving from one office to another has come to a sudden shrieking halt, I find myself stuck between a rock and a hard place, or perhaps a stink and a soft, sticky place. Here is the situation:

Last week the Powers That Be sent minions over to clear everything out of the Big Office in the Corner in preparation for painting and carpet replacement. I was told that I would be able to move into the Big Office this week just as soon as the carpet was done, so I dutifully started packing my things in cardboard boxes.

Now the painting is done and new ceiling tiles have been installed and the carpet is done...well, almost. Phase One (laying the carpet on the floor) is done; Phase Two, which involves attaching carpet strips partially up the walls in place of baseboards, will be done "soon." Maybe a week, maybe two. Anything we move back into the Big Office will have to be moved again when they come to finish the carpet, and of course I can't move any of the things from my office into the Big Office until it's all done.

So I have a choice: work in the Big Office, where there's basically nothing but a computer and the overwhelming odor of carpet glue, or work in the Old Office, where I'm surrounded by boxes which, thanks to the high moisture level throughout the building, smell like wet cardboard. The potted plant in the Old Office has sprouted a crop of mushrooms (!) but the glue smell in the Big Office makes the entire contents of my head come running out my nose.

I'm excited about moving into the Big Office, but it's not easy lingering in limbo. I'm working hard to prepare for my summer class and make the transition to my new position, but everything I need seems to be neither here nor there--which, for the immediate future, is where I can be reached.