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Today is very cold for Vancouver – like 10 below zero (uh, or 14 degrees for the metrically challenged), so it is cold and requires blankets and mittens. And you know, space heaters, because they don’t believe in furnaces in Vancouver. Purchasing a furnace will be our next large purchase, but probably not until next summer. I hope furnaces are on sale in the summer.

I was in Alberta for a few days the week before last, my Grandfather passed away. Death has broken me the past few years but it was this death that made me realize it’s not death that has broken me, it’s pointless senseless death. Accidents, suicides, cancer, violence. This death, however, was of old age… at 86 years old my Dido lived a long and happy life. I am not broken by this.

Last week I mostly cram crafted with every spare minute to get ready for Make It this past weekend, as I was in an emergency collective. It’s a story. Nevertheless, I made many pretty shiny things and then they were in the show and then I was at the show for a spell and now I have more pennies than before and also still lots of stock so I don’t need to re-craft for Got Craft, which was my goal. I also stopped caring about flamboyant sentence creation.

Got Craft is coming up on December 5th and you will all be there, because it is awesome. I will have the usual array of typewriter key bracelets and necklaces, scrabble tile necklaces, and button cluster necklaces but also new leather cuffs adorned with the pages of old books and tea towels also with custom old-book related designs. I don’t even really care if no one else likes these things because I do, and I will happily keep them all if they don’t sell. To be truthful, I don’t even really want to sell some of it, but in theory the point is to sell it so that I will do.

For those playing along in Edmonton, Make It is in Edmonton this week, Thursday through Sunday. YOU MUST GO. Here are details – http://makeitproductions.com/edmonton/welcome-to-make-it/. Make It is a craft show put on by my friend Jenna and her brother Chandler, and they are awesome. There will be an incredible group of artists/crafters/etc. there, and you will be able to buy all of your holiday presents and be inspired by the creativity of wonderfully expressive people. Please go.

Now, mittens and eggnog. Eggnog! I am so putting my christmas tree up on December 1st. And by “I” I mean Reilly, because I will be drinking more eggnog and directing.

I spend parts of every day scripting things in my head to share that I can’t/shouldn’t/won’t say on facebook/twitter/blog, but then I forget most of it before I write it down.

To be clear, I shouldn’t say anything here I wouldn’t say anywhere else either, but this is MY PERSONAL BLOG dammit so you get me the person, and if someone wants to stalk me hard enough to find it then I’m not the one they should be judging.

In May of this year we ran a gr0upon, for portrait sessions. I really should write a book about HOW TO STRUCTURE A GR0UPON OFFER TO MAKE MONEY AND NOT TAKE IT UP THE ASS, but that’s a whole other conversation. We are making a decent amount of money (and I’m referring entirely to after sales here, not what we got from gr0upon as that doesn’t even cover our costs, nor should it have), and did it for a number of reasons all of which have business rationale not pie in the sky unicorns are pretty rationale. Anyways.

We KNEW going in that working with clients who would not normally be our clients would present a unique set of – ahem – challenges. We KNEW they would be high maintenance. We did EVERYTHING in our power to provide as much information as possible, and I think we’ve done a great job.

But SERIOUSLY – THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS NOT CLEVER IN ANY WAY.

I’ve really paid attention and anytime I have gotten the same question more than once, I’ve gone back and looked at the process/system/etc. to try to make things more clear. That being said, almost 100 of these clients have gone through selecting dates/booking/shooting/ordering/receiving product, and I am constantly inundated with completely unique, really really dumb questions. Only, I know it’s not me, it’s them, because 99 other people had no problem figuring these things out. Sorry m’am, it’s just you.

Some of my favourites (facts changed to protect my paranoia)

- “I bought a 6×9″ frame and the print I ordered doesn’t fit.” “No, it wouldn’t, you ordered a 5×7″ print.” “Well, why do you provide prints in that size if they make frames for different sizes?”

- “I’d like to do my shoot in a park because I like the photos you have on your website of a couple sitting in the grass” (until the phone call for clarification…) “I didn’t know I’d have to walk on the grass, my heels sink in if I do that, can we shoot at the park but not go on the grass at all?”

- “I want photos of us running in the waves at sunset, in t-shirts and shorts” “We can definitely do a shoot on the beach, but most days are fairly overcast if not rainy in November and it’s pretty cold to be in the water” “I know, but I thought you might be able to make it look sunny, and have some suggestions on how to stay warm”

Not to even mention the numerous emails and calls because people can’t read at all…

I am sadly being reminded of working tech support almost every time I pick up the phone. I can’t wait until we’re back to working only with our normal group of totally awesome, completely rational, intelligent, smart, funny clients who both understand and love what we do

It’s November 1st though, and if I want to do the annual NaBloPoMo thing I have to start today. I am not committing to posting more than today. I just, you know, HAVE TO blog today otherwise it doesn’t work.

My current plan is to try to blog once each day, but not necessarily here. Sometimes here. Maybe just this time. Then sometimes on the business site. Then sometimes – most importantly – on a site that no one but me has access to but I really, really, really, really need to get over my giant block and JUST WRITE ON. I can decide if it goes live later. I just need to write.

This year has been… hard. Only, for no reason. More accurately I suppose I’ve felt stuck.

I spent much of the year waiting. I spent the year feeling whatever the opposite of invincible is. Mostly, I spent it hiding in a hole for no real reason and wondering how to get out of it again.

Now, it’s November, and I realize I’ve been hiding for almost a year.

I wrote a post in February… and then I hid it because it put too much out there. As it is, I’m not invisible here, but I am human. So be it.

2009 was a great year, and I was scared that 2010 could never live up. So, instead of trying, I hid and did much of nothing. Status quo. Bury my head until it’s over.

Well, now it’s nearly over and I was right – it didn’t live up. Can’t imagine why.

Needless to say, doing nothing gets you nowhere. Nowhere further. Nowhere better. Nowhere at all, really. So now, while I’m still battling the continual urge to hide, I’m going to get out to play again.

I thought I was invincible and I thought I could do everything. Good way to set yourself up for failure. I’m still a lot more invincible than I feel, and I can do a lot more than I’m currently allowing myself to believe. Right now I’m fighting the battle of telling myself that there’s no point to do anything because it’s all been done/being done/everyone else is better. I know how ridiculous that sounds when I type it. Trust me.

I am absolutely positively excellent at helping other people see what they need to do and see how they can improve and be better and how to make more money and how to kick ass and how to do anything at all. I’m so, so good at that. That I can own.

But myself?

Not so much.

So – for today – I write here. I’ll probably be back, in my 30 days of writing in random places.

I have a good feeling about this month.

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I thought I did great in May, and this time I sold nearly 3x what I did then. Novel! I could have sold way more as well I just ran out of stock on basically everything to do with typewriter keys as well as some of the letters for the scrabble necklaces.

Parties were fantastic, house is assembled on the outside and slowly being organized, and life is good.

And while I apparently didn’t take any of my own iphone shots, here’s one of me that Tracey took:

]]> http://www.sassycontessa.com/2009/12/07/got-craft-2/feed/ 1 http://www.sassycontessa.com/2009/11/30/almost-forgot/ http://www.sassycontessa.com/2009/11/30/almost-forgot/#comments Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:58:34 +0000 miranda http://www.sassycontessa.com/?p=1024 Last day of NaBloPoMo and I almost forgot to post!

Darwin is currently on my keyboard purring and kneading away, happy as a clam. Late last night Reilly and I were downstairs and I got up to come upstairs to visit him in his nook behind the bed only to find him at the bottom of the stairs in the kitchen! He did a once-round to check everything out and has been pretty OK since. He’s been eating and drinking today and is still quite unsure of loud noises and hides when guests show up, but that’s to be expected.

Today our place actually started to resemble a home. The kitchen and bathroom are unpacked and organized, the office is mostly setup and we even have a place for Reka to work in the am (she’ll be thrilled because we bought her a new office chair).

Upstairs is a little less organized although the livingroom as it currently is (still need to sell a couple things and buy a couch) is setup which is good. The ikea assembly monkeys come in the morning, and my table should be here at 1pm!

Now, Gossip Girl!

- We got the Ikea trip taken care of today instead of tomorrow, which puts us a day ahead that way. My goal in the am is to find a company to come and assemble all of what we purchased tomorrow or Tuesday am so we can do more important things, like find clean underwear

- My fridge does this:

Thanks so very much to all the people who helped move all our many things. We are slowly sorting through the pile of boxes and I hope to have a proper update out soon

now I have to figure out upstairs heat and visit a very scared kitty

chat soon