Special Cuts

I've rounded a corner in the shower, and I've made the special cuts for the tiles around the shower faucet, taping them in place because each tile is snowflake-unique, with its own angles and dimensions.

Jam, my corporate motivational coach, is a constant presence at the job site, making notes for the bosses and sipping espresso and surfing the web while I work, sticking his shiny nose into the bathroom every few minutes to sniff around, as if the quality of my work had some particular odor.

His friendly and casual manner rubs against me like a wet stone. And yet I am glad when he gives me a lick or the slightest bit of attention. Obviously I am not management material, because I still don't understand this mystery--why do we feel the need to please some people more than others?

This weekend I should be finished with the faucet wall and the back wall. Then it's time for the ceiling--tiling upside down...