It Can't Be Done

Today is not a good day. If I had a bad habit other than Dr Pepper, I'd be indulging it right now. I've tried to sit down and take a moment, but somehow it's just not suppressing the urge to choke the next stupid person I come across. Every single project I have in the works (the top two being my book and our equine spa) is being delayed by someone else who hasn't done their job. And might I add, just for fun, someone that I paid to do a job. I freely admit that I am an impatient person. If I want something done, I want it done yesterday. But if you advertise yourself as a professional, then I expect a certain level of, I don't know, urgency when it comes to completing a project. You all certainly develop a sense of urgency when you are waiting for your money.
My special cross to bear seems to be dealing with photographers. One photographer, ONE has managed to take quality pictures and deliver what I wanted in a timely fashion out of all the ones I've ever dealt with. And he lives three hours away. He took our wedding pictures, which cost an arm and a leg, but I got the photos I wanted of that day, and seeing as how I don't have a video of it (a whole other story,) my pictures are what I have to remember my wedding. It's been downhill from there.
I've been through several "professionals" since then who can't seem to get an order right to save their lives. One man put half of the pictures he agreed to on a CD and then put the wrong child's name on it. NOT the way to build your business. He also ordered the wrong pictures in the wrong sizes every time I placed an order with him.
Then there was the lady who never seemed to be ready at my appointment time. Look, when you show up with not one but TWO eighteen month old children who are dressed AND happy at the time your appointment is supposed to begin, you should darn well be ready to take their pictures. Putting a freshly ironed smocked dress on a toddler inevitably produces the urge to wallow on the floor like a pig. And as anyone with a toddler knows, you have a very small window of time where they are cooperative and happy. You have to get your pictures quick or be really good at Photoshop.
My proofs always looked terrible. I'm sorry, but there's only so many times you can blame the lab who printed the proofs for the fact that the pictures are too dark. I paid for a package deal with my baby and never got what was promised in the package. Just for fun, the same person has reordered a portrait because she ordered the wrong pose the first time and STILL didn't order what I asked for on the paper I asked for. It's maddening.
And one more thing...don't tell me something can't be done because YOU don't know how to do it. It's a big world out there, and there are still people left in it who are willing to take on a project and work at it until they get it right. "It can't be done" is a load of crap. It's a good thing that our founding fathers didn't have that attitude. Otherwise we'd all still be loyal subjects of the Queen.
Whew! That felt good. Maybe I'm slightly less frustrated than before. Maybe. Lord, put your arm around my shoulders and your hand over my mouth.