The Rules of Gibbs: For Interior Designers

The Rules

Rule #1: Never let multiple clients stay together.

Rule #1: Never screw over your project manager.

Rule #2: Always wear work boots at a jobsite.

Rule #3: Don't believe what you're told. Double check your measurements.

Rule #3: Never be unreachable…have your Blackberry glued to you at all hours.

Rule #4: The best way to keep a secret? Keep it to yourself. Second best? Tell one other person - if you must. There is no third best. Accept you should probably tell the project manager…..

Rule #5: You don't waste good ideas.

Rule #6: Never say "You're Sorry." It's a sign of weakness. Say “I apologize” it’s much more professional.

Rule #7: Always be specific when you lie….. but it better not be on the construction documents.

Rule #8: Never take anything for granted. Including laser’s that measure the ceiling height for you.

Rule #9: Never go anywhere without a measuring tape.

Rule #10: Never get personally involved in a project.

Rule #11: When the job is done, walk away….as fast as you can walk in heels.

Rule #12: Never date a co-worker…or an architect…or a contractor….or an engineer.
Rule #13: Never, ever involve a lawyer.
Rule #15: Always work as a team.
Rule #16: If someone thinks they have the upper hand, break it…. With a strongly worded email.
Rule #18: It's better to seek forgiveness than ask permission….unless it involves a load-bearing wall and a sledge-hammer.
Rule #22: Never, ever bother a contractor on concrete pour day.
Rule #23: Never mess with a designer's coffee... if you want to live.
Rule #27: There are two ways to follow someone. First way, they never notice you. Second way, they only notice you…when you’re checking the contractor’s work behind their back.
Rule #35: Always watch the giant crane….it’s cool.
Rule #36: If you feel like you are being played by the sales reps, you probably are.
Rule #38: Your project, your lead.
Rule #39: There is no such thing as coincidence.
Rule #40: If it seems like the engineer is out to get you, they are.
Rule #42: Never accept an apology from someone who just sucker punched you…figuratively in a strongly worded email.
Rule #44: First things first, hide the women and children…on demolition day.
Rule #45: Clean up the mess that you make...on painting day.
Rule #51: Sometimes - you're wrong.

Rule #69: Never trust a woman who doesn't trust her man.

Red, white, and blue spandex

This Sunday I participated in the Wounded Warrior 10k and Half Marathon. I finished the 10k (6 miles) in just under an hour. In that hour all you can really do is think, observe, and be in pain. Luckily 2 of these benefit my blogging. Being the Wounded Warrior Project's race, there were patriots all over the place! It was enough to make you tear up as people were running with shirts on that said "I'm running for my son." and everyone who ran by her would say- "Tell your son thank you." A group of grandma's sported pink camo in honor of the troops. One couple ran the whole race each carrying the end of an American flag. Military men and women ran with huge backpacks on...which I can assume were not filled with cotton balls or feathers. Red, white, and blue spandex, sweat bands, and even hair could be seen amongst the crowd. It was very encouraging from a runner's standpoint as well as an American. It was harder to stop and walk when I see the guys running with the backpacks. It was harder to walk when I saw a Dad trudging along with his daughters name written on his calves. It was hard not to feel a sense of camaraderie with complete strangers running right beside you. We were there for a common cause- to run and to support our troops.

When last we left them....

I believe the last post about Chapter 1 of When Matthew met Kasey, left off with him picking me up for our first date. One extremely different thing about how me and Matt started off was that we weren't friends before the date. It was pretty much a cold call- like the dates you see in movies. Sometimes couples can't even define their first date because they always hung out when they were friends and then just slowly made the transition. If you go on a date with a friend- you already know them. All I knew about Matt before our first date was that he was from Leonard, played football, and that he was tall & handsome. So our first date was filled with the basic general questions about each other. But before we could get to the questions.... we had to park. It was a crowded parking lot and Jenny's a big truck...and that combined with being nervous.... caused Matthew to have to re-park the truck about 5 times. I immediately made a mental note that if this thing worked out- I would have to remember to make fun of him, but for now I would smile and make sure he knew that I wasn't judging him on his parking skills. When we went to sit on a bench outside to wait for our table, I remember sitting awkwardly far from him and regretting it because I couldn't hear him that well and I didn't want him to think I didn't like him already- but it was too awkward to scoot closer. While I'm trying to figure out a smooth way to move closer to him, we talk about our family and how we grew up. When we got to the table we were both relieved to be sitting where we could both see TVs. "I was watching the Ranger's before we left, I was hoping to see the end." I said. Then he confessed, "I was watching the Longhorn's game before we left and was hoping to catch it too." (Imagine the light bulb noise happening in our heads) We then began to talk about sports for a good percentage of the time- both the teams and people we loved and what we played ourselves. I breathed sighs of reliefs when he hated the people my Dad hated and loved the people he loved- it just makes things easier. haha. To this day it's a subject we can't talk enough about. I love watching him talk about football, he gets so passionate and excited- I wish I could've seen him play. When we had exhausted sports Matt asked, "So when did you become a Christian?" It was so bold a question it caught me by surprise but I was excited to talk about it. We then talked about our spiritual walks and what the Lord was doing in our lives... Little did we know that He was doing something pretty big that night. We ate good food and never ran out of things to talk about and my jaw hurt from smiling so much. I later found out that, that night was the first time Matt hadn't  finished a meal.....ever. He claims he was a little distracted. On the way back I made a smart comment about if he was going to be able to get out of the parking spot ok, and talked about our weekend plans. In my head I was trying to figure out how would I kiss him..... he's so tall... I can't get up there....I could pull up a chair....that's stupid.....I could jump..... that's dangerous...... ugh! He walked me up to my door and I said thanks for dinner and hugged him goodbye- eyeing the chair on the porch and then chickening out... and he left. I came back inside and sat on the couch and was mad I didn't kiss him, but couldn't stop smiling either. I immediately typed a text to him that said "I had a good time tonight." and stared at the phone wondering when it would be appropriate the press send. 10 minutes later I sent it and immediately got a text that said "me too. : )" He didn't seem like the cutesy-text-smiley-face sender-all-the-time-guy.....so I thought, this has to be good.

25% Meadow, 75% Traffic & Burnt Toast

The more I observe and experience the more I realize that the majority of work isn't what they taught you in school. Not only does this apply to interior design, but every where. In elementary school, high school, and college we're told by teachers and parents to chase our dreams....dream big....land the dream job! What they didn't tell us is that even if you land the dream job, you'll only be experiencing the dream about 75% of the time. They didn't tell my Dad in the Kineseology department that along with getting all the glory for coaching a winning team to the State championship....he'd also be doing laundry 3 times a week, sweeping the gym floor 6 days a week, running the sounds system, being hospitality for the referees, running a concession stand, and repairing the shoot-a-way. The road to glory isn't glamorous. My interior design classes have yet to talk about invoicing, inspections, correct email etiquette, or rules of the construction site. We talk about concept and the psychology of design about 75% of the time in class....I've talked about it in the "real world" about 5% of the time. Today I went to visit a friend who just had a baby in the maternity ward. While waiting for her I was observing the nurses running around like mad-men, cleaning rooms and filing. I started thinking...I bet when they were in school they thought they'd just get to take care of people and take care of babies- I bet they didn't imagine 75% of their time would be spent mopping the floor because a guest of one of the patients spilled a Coke or alphabetizing medical records. My former boss Jeff Miller once gave me the advice that when I go back to school "make everything a meadow". After interning with them for a summer, he was worried that they had hardened me to the real world and that all my projects would become ultra practical. For my year left in college I will try my best to make everything the coolest meadow possible. Even though the real world is really 25% meadow, and 75% construction, traffic, dental cleanings, calling customer service, and burnt toast.

Evaluate & Fall

Why is it that we don't ever truely evaluate our lives until something bad happens? Every movie plot and our own experiences reveal this all the time. It's like our "normal" "happy" lifestyle is like life tunnel vision...and then something unexpected happens and it breaks that tunnel and then all of the sudden we can't believe where we are. This is consistently true with our walks with Christ as well. A loved one dies unexpectedly, and we run back to the Lord and fall at His feet and ask Him for comfort and answers. Just another day at the office, and we tell Him a quick thanks for our meal and skim some Bible verses to check it off our spiritual to-do list. We should fall at His feet everyday. We should realize we're needy everyday. Everyday that we're living on this Earth will be a day that we sin, and He is the only reconciliation for that. We have to fall at His feet recognizing our weakness, but then stand up and boldly face this world armed with the Lord's mercy and truth. If we fall at His feet and stay there, it will turn into self-pity and the Bible strongly discourages that. We have to consistently evaluate our lives to see what the focus is on. Make more of Him and less of ourselves.

• God isn't interested in fixing just a few of our needs.
• Don't worry about "bothering" Him with your needs....He's not impresed that you can live without Him.