Trying to get bits and pieces wrapped up this morning so that I can work over at
the house this afternoon. Not sure it's going to happen, but worth a try. Drew
and I are going to head over to the Bricktown Brewery by about 7:30, so I can't
lollygag around too much. Have to deal a little bit more with the Ballet crowd,
and then ship out a bunch o'stuff to me reps. Good problems to have, good
problems. Hopefully will see all for a jont down to the WD after
midnight...looking forward to MMB, NJ, the whole bit...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
December 2003 Archives
...and I'll be done, I promise. But let me restate, for the record, what a
hellish past two months things have been, workwise. Just when I think things are
slowing down, another round of issues start to arise. Today it was bills--my
favorite issue of all, because it means I get to snap people's heads off who
have over 90 days of payments owed to dear me. And I have payments I owe people,
too!!! Yeeks! Not fun. I usually find a way to wade through it all, anyway, but
the current stress level is high. I'm very excited about several things,
however--first of all, my brand new marketing firm is rocking...I'm loving the
result of their efforts to re-market my line. Also, Kevmo is working on the new
site--which will no doubt be a superb reflection of amazing talent. Market is in
two weeks, in January, which means orders will be coming in, needing to be
filled, and that I've got some hellish weeks of printing and packaging coming
up, but, hey, that means money. So I trade one predicament for another. And
frankly, I'd rather be in the busy predicament than the poor predicament.
a Home Depot gift card, a Lowe's gift card, some coffee table books, a check for
$25 bucks, some black and white pictures of my family, recessed lighting for my
house, some white ironstone pieces, an antique card table, a glass candy bowl,
the Vera Wang fragrance, a triple strand pearl bracelet, and a box full of sexy
panties, thanks to my sister. Not bad. Now it's on to Happy Kwanzaa, or however
you spell it. Today we're supposed to be celebrating unity. For the six days
after today, we're supposed to be celebrating some other civil-rights oriented
"hug the world" ideal. It's only been a holiday since 1967 (or '69?), didya
know? And it's not even a religious holiday, but some people are opting to
celebrate that instead of Christmas! Whole article in the paper this morning.
C'est la vie, what can you do?
And every word I didn’t say that caught up in some busy day And every dance on
the kitchen floor we didn’t dance before And every sunset that we’ll miss
I’ll wrap them all up in a kiss And pick you up in all of this when I sail
away Thank you, train.
How is it, that six months ago, I had little or no idea who these Ragan and
Kevin guys were, and now I have the honor of being included in their annual
Christmas party? Talk about blessings! Also not to be forgotten are the families
I babysit for, who continually pad my pocket with benjamins and more custom
projects than I care to take on in a lifetime. And then there is my niece,
darling thing, and the dear people from my dad's car wash that sent us picante
sauce for Christmas. It's definitely a longer list that I'm not going to get
into at the moment, but the gratitude is there, and you people rock!
Last night was Girls' Night (finally!). Ash and I got together, and over
expensive appetizers at Flip's we had great conversation about how desperate
most single women are and then patted ourselves on the back for not falling into
that categorical trap. Flip's is great for people watching, but after a drink or
two, you're kinda tired of seeing the same people, so we headed down the street
to Classics. Lo and behold, the infamous Tucker Road was playing there. We
decided to sit and review. And critique. And analyze. I'm not going to be the
one to describe the performance, but we left after our Club Specials were gone
and four songs into the night. And for me to leave Classics after one Club
Special is a rare occurance. So it was home by midnight and straight to bed.
Drew and I have gotten into the habit of spending Sundays watching football and
sitting on the couch and just hanging out, so with him being in Chicago, I guess
I'll just work on some catch up stuff.
I'm reading I Don't Know How She Does It right now. It's one of those Nanny
Diaries type books, British humor (the best kind), all about the upper class
crazed crazies trying to fit more into their lives than a normal shopaholic
would. I, like the rest of us non-Brits, am currently completely swept up into
the irony of these novels. At the end of every chapter is a Must Remember list.
As a tribute to this season, here is mine: Must Remember: buy Ethan play doh
present, mail Megan present to Hawaii, buy Dad gift certificate; wrap all gift
certificates with something more personal (drawing? stocking?); make dentist
appointment Monday, finish scrapbooks, finish line for next year (then scan and
edit), finish sanding woodwork in bedroom at new house so I can move in (by
Christmas?), call and schedule guy to refinish hardwood floors. Get website info
to Kevin, call Kelly about her website. Stay in a good mood. Ship out new card
to P.I. store. Finish After Christmas cards, buy stamps, mail. Finnegal money,
send Tim check, send printer check, order armoire at Mathis Brothers. Quit
spending money. Get loan from bank. Collect from clients.
The last of UPS left last night at 7. It was scary. For the first time in a
year, things were done. I could move on to #2 on the To Do list. There is a void
in my life, and the list looks strangely similar to a blank piece of paper. I
don't have to draw anything for anyone or worry about getting something printed
or somebody else screwing something up. It's just me and my pen and my paper as
the line for next year starts to unfold. I get to draw for me!!! Drew is leaving
for Chicago on Friday morning. I'm going to miss him while he's gone, but at the
same time, I'm looking forward to getting to do some hang out stuff with a few
people I feel like I've been neglecting. Ashly and I should really make some WD
appearances, Meg and I are going to see Mona Lisa Smile and spruce up her
apartment, and in January, I'm getting my girl time in with Popp and Suzanne.
There--I think I mentioned everyone. Did anyone get left out? I'm still working
on the Christmas cards. They're going to be Merry After Christmas cards, because
there is just no rush in wishing everyone Merry Christmas when everyone knows
that they've already been wished it enough times this year to carry them well
through six life spans. But Merry After Christmas--there is a novel concept. And
I'm going to send out TONS of them, so, again, let me know if you want one, and
haven't already. Today I have stuff to do (like clean up the disaster area
called my bedroom), and get a set-up to the printer for the Ballet Oklahoma
invitation and meet with a marketing firm at 3 and then babysit at 5, but for
the most part, the crazy stuff is done. Hard to believe... Anyway, people, hope
you all have good one!
this morning I spend 45 minutes blogging the best, funniest, most original blog
you've ever read in your life and blogger ate it. go figure. guess everyone will
just have to wait to hear my hysterical tale later. gotta get UPS out before 3.
I still feel like crap. Better, but still crappy. Stinks, totally, this bug
thing.
Middle of the night phone calls always have interesting overtones. I have to
admit, since college, the calls occur less and less frequently. But there is an
air of excitement about them, a sense of mystery, the sudden effect of surprise.
Yesterday I laid on the couch and watched movies all day, and actually headed to
bed around 11. I couldn't sleep. My head was pounding, my throat was burning, I
couldn't breathe, I hate being sick. There wasn't any reason to try to
sleep--sleep wasn't going to come. Drew called around midnight and said he would
call after he got home from the David Lee Roth concert. But when the phone rang,
it wasn't him. The caller ID said it was my ex, and wide awake as I was, I
answered. Strangely enough, no one responded. I could hear the chatter in the
background, like a party or TV on, and someone was listening. I hung up,
thinking maybe it was a bad connection and called back. Someone answered, and I
heard the same background static. But still, no one said anything. So the
question I pose is this: why does someone who has always been suspiscious of my
motive make the effort to call (after months without speaking) and not say
anything at 1:47 in the morning? Talk about reason to be suspicious. That's just
weird. When Drew called, I told him (partly because it was plain old interesting
and partly because I want to be above reproach) and he thought it was weird,
too. I have to admit, as well as I once knew my ex, and as good a friends as we
should be (but really aren't), you'd think I'd understand a middle of the night
phone call from Dallas. I just don't.
today I'm sick. Flu-y sick. So no Wormy Dog. And I'd really love to get my hands
on some flu medicine. All this after I got a flu shot. suck. And three orders
came in yesterday. Gonna go fill them. Yeah.
...because I have to vent. Why do I do nice things for people? Why am I
generous? Why do I go out of my way to help people, only to have the end result
be a griping client, a demanding brother in law, a lazy protege? And in return,
why is it that no one seems to care how late I have to work, or that I want to
move into the house I have to remodel, or how exhausted I am? Why do I even try
to be the epitome of patience and understanding? Why do I feel like I have to
offer custom crap at a lower price than people would pay for regular cards?
Because I want people to be happy. I don't want to rock boats. I want to make
others feel good about themselves, and who they are. Well, no more Miss Nice
Girl. No custom orders under $1,000. And I have to have 50% up front. No more
stock orders without a credit card on file. And don't even think about asking
for Net 30. You're smoking something. And no more rush ANYTHING. And if you want
commission checks, freakin sell the line! And don't ask for money if the line
hasn't been sold. I want a life, and I want a profit margin. And frankly,
whoever doesn't agree to my terms can just shove off, cause there's NO DEAL.
I walked into work today, and I feel like I actually have a list of things I can
finish in one day. It seems rather nice to know that at five o'clock I'll be
able to go home and really veg, instead of stress about everyone else's
Christmas crap. I've updated the "listening to" section of the site, because
it's changed recently. And it takes time to do that stuff. I have to say, I am
so lucky to have a pretty incredible guy that's crazy about me. Quit reading
right now if you don't want to hear the mushy stuff, but I would just like to
say that I'm so lucky to have someone who makes me laugh so hard and smile so
much and supports me 110%. Makes me look at life through glitter-lensed glasses.
1. I only want to be exceptionally extraordinary. 2. Being famous takes as much
work as the pythagoreum (sp?) theorm (sp?). 3. But anyone can do it. 4. Anyone
can be rich. 5. But not everyone can be happy.
Starving does not even come close to describing the hunger crawling within me.
Have I mentioned lately that I'm swamped?
So I've been hooked on Average Joe since day one. More hooked than I was on the
first Bachelor, more hooked than the whole Bachelorette bit. Hooked, because,
those guys, those "average joes", are some of the most incredible people I know
in my own life. I remember back in highschool always hanging with the guys who
talked drums, Van Halen, politics, ideas, books, poetry, faith. We all had our
nuances, and I was the girl, the nerdy, non-cheerleader, really not even
decent-to-look-at girl who would just sit and throw out opinions. I remember I
kissed one of them one time. The other girls really wouldn't have much to do
with them. They didn't--couldn't--play football. They didn't have brains, in my
opinion, and they didn't have opinions, and that made them Pretty Boy Dull. They
could get dates, but what's a date in high school? Yeah. Not Much Fun. So here
on Average Joe we had Gorgeous Girl Melena, who accepted the situation with
grace and composure. It's a five week show. Way shorter than the Bachelor shows.
Over halfway through, they throw in the Pretty Boys, and she picked one of them
last night. What the??? They knew each other for two weeks!!! I admit, I don't
blame her for wanting to get to know him, but come on. Two weeks??? Adam (the
"average joe") was ten times the man! 27, owner of his own SUCCESSFUL company,
driven, a family guy, head over heels for her--how could she have lost? She
could have gotten on that plane with a man that was completely into her. Not
into, oh, his waiting career, or, um, living with his parents, or, uh, unsure of
what he wanted to do in life, or um, basically going nowhere, and, yeah, overall
personality-less. The only thing I can come up with is that once she got to know
Adam, she realized she wasn't good enough. For all her radiant beauty, something
in her wouldn't allow her to accept him. If it was his looks, I'm sadly
disappointed in Melena as a person. If they hadn't introduced the Pretty Boys,
Melena would have picked Adam. Ultimately, it just tells us all that she didn't
deserve someone as amazing as Adam. She ended up picking the most "Average Joe"
of them all. A 26 year old waiter, student, living with his parents. Sometimes
people are so disappointing.
I'm sending Christmas cards. If you want one, email me your name, address. Keep
in mind, they may arrive post Christmas.
So we hit the WD Saturday night. Great times. Kevin, Ragan, Melisa, Ashly--plus
a bunch of other familiar faces. WD nights are becoming classic. Ash and I
started with the Patron, only to find out today that we were drinking from
double shot glasses and I had four...Drew drove, thank goodness (and in case I
haven't mentioned, I adore him for putting up with me in that condition) and we
met up with Kaci, who works with him, and Donny, who I vaguely remember having a
conversation with. And Poppa Stan, too--the darling! There were a couple of
photo opps--I got a particularly darling shot of Ash and I with Jake, so I'll
have to see about posting it. So it was the best of the best out and about.
Slept until eleven. Kicked some serious booty at work, dropped off proofs at two
clients houses, hung out with Drew and Greg and Holly and then babysat until
about 8. A full day. Tomorrow I have to sort through the orders that came in the
past two days, and get out a big one that I've had on my plate for a few weeks
now. It'll be busy. Alot to do. There is no way I'm going to miss Texas Jack
this Friday, though, so I'll have that to look forward to again--incentive. We
should get Ryin out this time, though. By the way, I found something I don't
think I'm going to be able to live without, and can't believe I didn't think up
first. American Bachelor.
I was in a slump last night. Luckily, Drew saved the day. He showed up at my
office, took me to dinner, made sure I had jalepeno stuffed olives in my
margarita, and then helped me color Christmas cards until wee hours. What a
darling. If ever I rampage irrationally, remind me to not get rid of him. So
it's noon and I'm at the office. Not a great week for breaking some early
morning records. I, like Ash, am trying to get my stuff done in order to make a
grand appearance at the WD tomorrow night. I've been so swamped lately that I've
decided not to do custom stuff next year. I have too much to learn to be trying
to learn it as I go. It ends up frustrating me, and I end up hating the work.
Interestingly enough, the decision to tell people "no" has liberated my creative
juices. In my brain are the CUTEST design ideas for next year's line, which has
to happen soon, along with darling website stuff to go with it, both here and on
the biz site. I'm thinking of changing the name of the company, too...I'm open
to suggestion. Now is the right time to do it, if I'm going to, before I hit the
US market full force in May. exciting stuff, people. Please feel free to leave
insulting opinions, if necessary.
The reason I haven't blogged is because I haven't surfaced for almost five days
now. There have been orders coming in, which is good. December has already been
better than November, but that just means there's more to make up. The
priorities are lining out as follows: 1. Finish all the custom Christmas crap.
2. Spend three hard core days painting the main bedroom at the house. 3. Move
in. 4. Design a line for next year. Fast. 5. Finish the scrapbooks that have
been hanging over my head for the past three years and were commissioned to be
done a long time before that. 6. December 22.
