Squiiiiiiiiiiiiiished

Last May I ordered my first portfolio, a 40-page landscape 12x9 (bottom). This year, I ordered a portrait 9x12 book with the capacity for 80 pages (top). But I only purchased 60 pages because I just don't have 80 pages of material yet. Also, I thought it would be easier to fit 60 pages into an 80-page book than it had been to fit 40 pages into a 40-page book. I had no idea the fight I was in for.

Late Saturday night, after all my pictures were printed and trimmed, I set to work placing them in the new book. I was already unhappy about the color of the pictures, and my mood was not improved when I could barely fit 40 pages into an 80-page book. The books are designed with a flap that folds around three bolts that hold the pages in place. I've never needed another person to help push the pages down in a fight against that flap. I always win against the flap. Saturday night, LV and I were no match for that flap.

LV concurred that there was something wrong with the book, but said that I was also overly harsh and overly tired. He said I should call to complain on Monday. I left the 30 pages we could fit fastened into the book.

Monday morning I was nervous about calling the portfolio company because I knew I would sound like an idiot. The fear of sounding like an idiot would make me super-defensive. Nothing would be accomplished except for me feeling like an idiot. So before making any phone calls, I took out the portfolio to see what could be done about fitting the rest of the pages.

The spine of the new book really was larger than the spine of the old one, so there had to to be a way to make those pages fit. First I took out all the pages in LV's book and all the pages in my book to swap bolts. Then I learned that, though 60 pages fit perfectly on his bolts, they were just too large for my book. So I put all his bolts and pages back.

Then I started cramming pages into my book, pressing at the center instead of the edges like I do with my 40-page book. Between the new pressure points and the time the 30 pages had spent pressing on the flap the previous day, I was able to just barely fit all 60 pages into my new book. I still think the pages need to be reprinted, but I was happy they all fit.