What I've Been Doing

Things have been really strange and busy around here. Our drummer left the band. Why? I do not know. After our last gig, we simply haven't heard from him, and it's been a month now. Well, he did post twice on the band's message board two days ago, but that was all, and, even at that, he didn't bother to give us an explanation. Just that he was "sorry." We're working with this kid, now, but I don't think he's going to work out. He likes metal, and we don't play metal. Besides, we've been working with him for almost a week and a half, and he can't even get down twelve originals. I shudder to think what it will be like when we throw 106 covers at him. I'm shaking my head here, because I don't think I can take it.

So, we're in talks with Cactus to return to the band. If he says no, we'll keep working with this kid. But I am not holding my hand over my ass.

In other news, I am pretty well jobless. I have looked and looked and looked for work and can only find shitty little jobs that are from people who don't want to pay for what they want. For instance, this one guy (I'll call him "Bronco") wanted a site where he and his office buddies could run an office football pool... for $50. I listen to what he wants, and say, well, okay. At least it's a little money, and I can save it, I guess, for other projects. Well, I do exactly what he tells me, and send him the link. I hear NOTHING for a week and a half. Then, two days before the season starts, he begins barraging me with telephone calls and e-mails. He wants changes. LOTS of changes. The first list of things he wanted went something like this:

-a main page to make selections of activities from
-a page where all the weeks of the season were laid out in numerical format for people to click on
-a page for each person to make his or her picks and then send it to him
-a forum board
-and a sports newswire

Fine. Done in a day. But then, he wants:
-the main page to change daily. I would be doing the updating.
-the pages for making the picks had to be built as a "confidence pool" where the people picking could place values on the picks they made. The range of numbers needed to be from 16 down to 5, with five games being able to use the number 5 and the rest of the numbers only being able to be used once. These pages also needed to include a place for the pickers to make "suicide picks" weekly, and a place for name and e-mail.
-all picks were to be compiled by ME and sent to HIM
-all picking had to be "locked" at the start of the first game
-all picks made had to be posted on the web site at the start of the first game
-after the games, all results (including his point awards) had to be posted on the site immediately following the Monday night game
-no forum
-no newswire
-the entire site had to be password locked
-each person had to have his or her own, unique username and password, picked by him
-each person had to be able to change his or her password, but not his or her username
-I had to be available to him 24/7 for technical support, training, and updating.

ALL FOR $50!!!!!!!!!!

Now, you see the downside to my job. The upside is people like this one client I have, who lets me do whatever I want as far as design and implementation, and, if he is short on funds, lets me know to stop working, pays me what he owes me so far, and lets me know when to start up again. And he pays WELL. But your average client is just a putz.

After dealing with Bronco for so long, I took the weekend off. I retreated to my Mom's for the weekend, and basically just slept. I did take a shower, and I learned to drive stick shift. I also got started replacing the lost copy of A Night Borrowed, the sequel to Night Cries. And I did that on my laptop, which I used for the first time in three months. My bassist repaired it for me, but I was gun shy of it. So, I used it. At least it runs. The thing is three and a half years old, and I need to replace it, but I can't afford to. I wrote the bulk of Night Cries on an HP laptop that was built sometime around 1997. It ran Windows 95, and worked fine until one of my nephews stepped on it. Then the screen wouldn't work. So I got my files off of it, and finished Night Cries up on my new laptop, which, as I said, is about three and a half years old. So, I guess I can start writing this new book on my three and half year old laptop. (Incidentally, my old laptop now works fine again. I gave it to my bassist as payment for fixing my newer laptop, and he replaced the screen for $9 (got the part from Germany, I hear) and put Windows 98 on it. I guess he really likes it.)

So, now, the band is practicing with the hope of being the in the studio to re-record the album by Saturday. Oh, yeah. We have to completely re-record the album.

Nothing else of import is going on. Just a bunch of random stuff.

Hurricane Katrina

I would like to take a moment to send my thoughts and prayers to the people of New Orleans, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. I cannot imagine such devastation as what you are experiencing.

In case you've been living under a rock, a Category 5 hurricane hit southern Louisiana yesterday. The damage is said to be catastrophic, especially in the northeastern sections of New Orleans, and the city of Slidell, which is said to be under 20 feet of water. I have been reading blogs most of the evening from those inside the "strike zone" of Katrina, and, to say that my heart goes out to those people is an understatement.

I do not fully comprehend the topography of New Orleans, however, I am told that it sits in a "bowl" that is contrcuted of natural topography, levees, and causeways. A two-block stretch of the 17th Street levee in New Orleans broke a few hours after the hurricane's passing, and, as Josh Britton, who lives in New Orleans (or close by) reports:

"According to Mike, WWL is reporting that “80% of the city is underwater, up to
20 feet deep” and “both airports are under, the yatch club is gone, water is
still entering, houses have broken off their foundations and are floating free.”
This is all presumably because of the delayed breach of the 17th Street canal
(see below). Lake Pontchartrain is entering the city and become Lake New
Orleans. The cable news networks have not really caught on yet to what is
happening. [...] If this is as serious as it sounds, the worst-case scenario is
happening. The bowl is filling."

Grammar, people! Grammar!

I saw this tonight on a local job board:

Will mow grass along state highways using a medium size tractor and rotary
mower. Will also operate a week eater. Will assist in minor maintenance of
equipment. Must have some tractor related experience, be 18 years of age and
have a valid driver`s license. Must be willing to travel around Northern and
Central Idaho. Will work 50-60 hours per week. Pay starts at $7.50 per hour with
overtime over 40 hours per week. $100 per week per diem. Job will end around
Sept. 1.

The first person who correctly tells me three things grammatically wrong with this ad will get a free copy of my book when it comes out. (There are actually, logically speaking, WAY more than three things wrong with this, but I'll accept the person with any three correct responses.)

Site Designs

I decided that the web site for my book was lacking and that I needed a personal author's page, so I went looking at what some other people are doing on their sites, prepared to be completely wowed.

I wasn't.

It turns out that a lot of writers have REALLY crappy web sites... even well-known writers. What's worse, some of the writers have majorly crappy artwork for their covers. Most of these are, typically, ePublished authors, but, still. Come on. I saw this one where there was a computer generated vampire that looked like he was stolen off of a Commodore 64 game and altered to have sharp eye teeth. Another was an erotic fantasy novel that had almost the same Commodore 64-style look to him, but, despite being set in modern day, the guy was wearing a coat that had puffy sleeves ala the era of Henry VIII.So, I don't feel so bad. Still no ideas on the web sites, though.

More Blank Filling

The band played in Spokane and twice in Cusick and worked on the record and got a photographer to take pictures for the CD and bought a van. The layouts for my book got almost finished. Got my classes for my second-to-last semester of college before I have my BS. In August.... The band played once so far... drummer maybe leaving (taking our keyboard player/backup singer with him... can't decide to use the same guy to finish mixing the record; ... getting "okay" reviews on the songs, though.

I'm Up Early

I actually went to bed at a semi-decent hour: 1 AM. I must have been tired. The eCommerce site is finished, the studio site is started well, my book is going well, the album is almost done, I found a nice photographer to work with for the CD cover and interior photographs, my friend David is going to print the CD inserts for me... all in all, things are going really well. Today, I am going to Coeur d'Alene to finish getting my classes for the fall semester, and then over to Spokane to pick up my shoes that I left at the studio the last time I was recording. I may stop at Guitar Center and buy some more guitar strings (but I buying a different brand this time; I am tired of the string breaking).

Things

We found a manager on Tuesday for the band. The same day, we found a drummer! Friday, we fired our "booking agent," who has been harrassing me ever since and lying to people about me and my band. Oh, well. No such thing as bad publicity, right?

People I have met in my town have started stopping me and asking me about my book. Yay!

More Drummer Crap

As some of you might know, I have been looking for a drummer to replace my old one. I posted ads all over the Internet, networked people I knew, blah, blah, blah. When people talk to me about the position, I generally get one of three replies:

1) "Music sounds good. Nice and marketable. I can see why you're going on tour with this; you'll be signed in no time. So, like, here's what I want to be your drummer: I need $1,000 per week, plus a daily allowance, plus one-quarter of all gig money, one-quarter of all merchandise money, one-quarter of all CD sales, an extra stipend to cover my time spent recording, and you'll need to cover hotel rooms and food for me."

2) "Your music is too light for me."

3) "Sure! Let's do this thing!" This is followed by never hearing from that drummer again.

So, like, what makes these guys think they're so special? The first time someone mentions money to me, they automatically go down the list of prospects. I suppose that I shouldn't feel that way, but, darn it, I advertised that I was looking for a full-time band member, not some gun-for-hire that I can't count on! Being in a band is like being in a relationship: you gotta trust the people you're with. In the old days, they called asking for things like this being a mercenary. Sheesh. I really don't have a problem with answer number two: at least the person was being honest. Number three really bothers me, though. Why say that you're going to do something that you have no intention of doing?

At any rate, I am still looking for a drummer. It sucks.

Happy Birthday to Me!

It was a pretty nice birthday. When I logged on, at exactly 1:10 AM, "Lady Writer" by Dire Straits came on my Internet radio station. Perfect. I love it. Why?

By my next birthday, I want to have accomplished something. As many of you who read this know, I fancy myself a writer. I wrote this book that is coming out in September. I want this book to be something special. I don't even pretend or fantasize that it will be super successful, but I believe that it could speak to a few people, anyway. Maybe this will be my accomplishment.

I'm also in this band, and we're maybe going on tour (if everything works out the way I want it to), and we're recording an album of songs that I wrote. Maybe this will be my accomplishment.

I also run my own business, which I have given the tagline, "Internet Marketing for the Rest of Us." That simply means that I am targeting small and home-based businesses for Internet Marketing services (like search engine optimization and marketing campaigns) that those businesses wouldn't, otherwise, be able to afford. Maybe that will be my accomplishment.

I am also going to college full-time. This fall, I will begin my final semester of my Baccalaureate studies, and get my Bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in Communications and English. I know I will, at least, accomplish this.

But no matter which takes off, I will detail my journey and travels toward accomplishing something big. I will detail every peak I reach, every pitfall, and every other thing I discover along the way.

In Regard To Comparisons

"If you compare yourself to others you may become vain or bitter, for always there are greater and lesser persons than yourself."

A Good Day

Well, I finally had a good day. About %#^&ing time!

I got up, did a little work, went out to my Mom's for lunch, read the newspaper, and then went to Coeur d'Alene to meet the guy from the management company. Anyway, so the guy liked our demo, and booked us right there for six new shows!!!

Night Cries Release Date

It looks like the date for the release of Night Cries will be pushed back. It was looking like May 1st would be the target date, but now it's looking more like September/October. Which would work out all right, 'cause Night Cries ends on October 15, 1066. Neat coincidence, eh?

Random Thoughts

A long time ago, I was infatuated with romance novels. I read two or three per week. I loved them. I was a real connoisseur. But I realized something tonight. The reason I no longer read romance novels (and haven't for some time) is because I am no longer disillusioned with the idea of love. I realize that it doesn't exist, so I no longer want tonread about it. Or, maybe, my tastes have just evolved. I dunno. Anyway. The kinds of books I like are few and far between. I used to be into time travel novels, but there's only so many times you can read of the hokey ways authors send their characters back in time before you tire of it. I used to be into fantasy novels, but I realized pretty quickly that most of them pretty much stuck to a familiar formula: magic and/or some magical force and/or some evil wizard/troll/elf/other magical creature caused some problems for a group of people and they had to work it out and fix it, not through the use of magic, but through the use of wits and/or human characteristics. El Yawno.

So, now, my tastes tend to lean toward an amalgamation of all the things I used to read: I like books that are based in history with some magical element, some human element, and some fantasy element combined. Which is why I plan to be one of the first to buy my friend Jennifer's book when she finishes it and gets it published. She's a good writer -- no, a great writer -- in the vein of Gabaldon and Neville. I dare anyone to dispute me. En Garde.

Music, Montana, Monotony

The band just got back from Montana for that two-night gig. Things went really well, even though there wasn't as big of a crowd on the second night as there was on the first. The first night kicked some major behind, and we actually did really well the second night, too. Just that there were fewer people out, I guess. Some of the people from the bar went and scoped out the other bars, and it turns out that they, too, had smaller crowds than they'd had on Friday night. Oh, well. But, we got asked back for the 19th of February, and that's good. And we're going to be working on a demo and working with a new bassist.

Stuff

Let's see. I am waiting to hear about what's happening with my book.

I am working on web site redesign and search engine optimization for an attorney from southern California.

I am writing some web copy for my (ahem) former "employer."

I did a whole bunch of wood burning projects for Christmas.

I spent WAY too much money on Christmas.

School starts tomorrow night. I had better finish up the attorney's site and the web copy.

Good night, folks. Sweet dreams.

Pondering

You all know about the place that hired me and then laid me off, right? Well, you would if you read this thing. Anyway, so, after they laid me off, I started doing my thing with Crescent Moon Design Studio again, and I posted a link to the work I had done for this other company. I mean, the guy said that he wanted to consider everything I had done for company as "contract work," even though that was never intimated to me at any point during the working relationship. Well, I took that to mean that, if I did the work as a contract worker, then that means that it is part of my portfolio as a designer and writer, so I posted a link to the work from my web site. That is acceptable. Anyway, so then the guy wants me to write something for his blog: a bunch of short news snippets for the tech industry, et cetera, and I do it and send it to him. Don't hear from him for a couple of days. I go to his web site a few days later, and, lo and behold! There is a new "News" link on his main page. Only, it's not what I sent him... well, it is... PART of it. Out of the context I wrote it in, it makes no sense. To top that off, it was not attributed to me (although, seeing how he mangled it, I am almost glad that it wasn't). Anyway, so then, a few days after that (I was trying to figure out a way to tell him to either remove the article or put it up as a whole with my name on it [and PAY me for it]) I get an e-mail from this guy. He informs me that, although the work I did was appreciated, the work was done by his company, not mine, so I needed to take the link down.

Now, this is WRONG on multiple levels. One, as a freelancer, you make your bread and butter by word of mouth, references, and your portfolio. If I was a contract employee for them this entire time, then that means that all the work I did can be referenced in my portfolio. I did the work. Yes, subcontracted through his company, but *I* did the work. Two, even though I was paid for the work, it was a pittance of what it was worth. I mean, search engine optimization is big business these days. I know what people will pay for this kind of thing, and it sure as heck is more than $500 or so. Thirdly, all the content writing I did for the company is uncredited unless I have that link. Now, that wouldn't bother me if we had all signed an agreement stating such, but we didn't. And, according to the terms of service I posted on my web site, I can use any work I do as promotional material unless asked not to in writing and both parties sign the agreement. Since I was never an "employee," I can use my work any way I want to so that I can generate more work.

In other news... I am getting better. I can speak normally now, and my nose isn't running like a spring branch, nor is it stuffed up like January in the middle of the Klondyke. I am hoping to be well enough to sing Saturday for band practice, but we'll see.

Tomorrow, I have to take these disks up to a client in Sandpoint and get paid. I should go to the bar and talk to them, but I don't feel like it. I know I won't later. At any rate, my friend, Dave, is helping me make some band posters for the New Year's gig, which is going to help me out ALOT. (Thanks, Dave!)

La la lalala

I came down with a cold just in time for a gig we had on Friday. I am still not feeling up to par. I actually lost my voice for three days following the gig. I am now resting, but I am distraught, because we may have another set of gigs on December 17th and 18th in Libby, Montana, and we have already been booked for New Years' Eve. I am just afraid to sing or talk at all for fear that I will mess my voice up, but I have to practice, too. Yipes! It's a catch-22 if I ever saw one.

Anybody Got A Whisk Broom?

The old saying goes: "When you get knocked down, just dust yourself off and start over."

So I am asking here for a whisk broom, because I got a little dirt on me.

I got laid off today. At first, the job was 4 days a week. And then two. And then one. And now, it's over. He says that he will be able to use me as a subcontractor, but I really kind of doubt that. They simply weren't ready for employees.

So, now, I have a choice: either I can look for another job as an employee or I can work on ym own business. I lean toward option two for myriad reasons, but there is surer money in option one. I am so confused.

Arg.

So, I have been working almost continuously doing graphics for a client, and, it seems, no matter how long I spend doing it, no matter how many changes I complete for this client, no matter how little I charge this client, this client is NEVER happy. "I want this changed and that changed and this changed and that changed... and I think you charged me for something you didn't do, so you will do these next edits for free... and I don't like this or this or that or that or this or THAT, especially... oh, and I will need a complete audit of everything you've done for me and how long you've spent on it and what you charged me for it...."

I don't need this. I don't need clients that badly.

This is how my life has gone since Friday:

I got up Friday and finished up some band posters for the gig on the 3rd. I then drove to a place that does copying and made 50 copies of the posters and then drove almost 30 miles to deliver what I thought would be the final revisions on the projects for this interminable client. This client kept me there for almost three hours telling me all the stuff she wanted changed, but, before even greeting me, announced that I had charged her for work I had not done. At first, I could not figure out what happened in that scenario, but I remembered that the job had only taken me about 20 minutes, and I was doing printing for her at the same time, so I didn't charge her for the other project, which was to convert 72 dpi RGB JPEGs into 300 dpi CMYK TIFs. I did the project, but I thought, "how odd... simply converting a poor quality photo into a higher quality will only tick the printer off, because it doesn't make the picture better, it just shows off the flaws more." But my job is not to think too much. It's just to do what I am told. Anyway, I did do it, and it only took a few minutes, so I didn't charge for that. But then this client wanted more edits, including doing things she had never mentioned to me before (such as making a certain video box be able to hold two VHS tapes instead of one), including ISBNs and bar codes that she had never given me, and making DVD disk art for four DVDs... with no images to work off of.

Okay, so I agree and then I ask for a check for the work I have done, which totals $170. This is where she asks me to audit everything I have done. I don't think this will be a problem since I kept a reference file on my other hard drive before it died and had to be replaced. I figure that I will just pull the files off that hard drive (including that one) and everything would be fine.

Okay, so, after I left there, I went to the bank and cashed my check and then took the posters to the bar. I met the band that would be playing there that night, and they seemed like really nice guys, even offering to find us other gigs. After that, I went shopping and then went home, exhausted and starving since I hadn't eaten all day, something that is dangerous for me since I am hypoglycemic.

Well, Saturday, I go to Richard's house to have my files extracted from this old hard drive (because putting it in my computer would void the warranty), and find out that, when the drive crashed, it wiped EVERYTHING off it. Irreplaceable pictures; 200 pages of the sequel to Night Cries, A Night Borrowed; my graphics work; and the file that kept track of all my freelance work. I had backups that went back to just before my appendix incident, but I had been sick and/or busy thereafter, so I lost about 100 files. I was devastated, not only because I had lost all that stuff, but because I could not prove A) that I had done the work converting the JPEGs to TIFs; B) that I did have the converted files and had merely copied the wrong folder to that CD that I gave to the client; C) that I had not charged the client for the work; and I did not have that file that would have proved all of it in one fell swoop.

Anyway, so I will end up doing these FINAL edits for free. I am upset about all of it.

The other thing that happened Saturday was that I went to the bar where we will be playing on the 3rd, and the band that was playing WANTED me to sing "La Bamba" with them, and everyone was impressed when I could do it without ever playing with that band before. I was pleased about that.

Exhausted

I am simply exhausted. I went to bed last night at 3:20 in the morning and got up at 6:30. I went to work, got very little accomplished, came home, went out to Mom's, took a nap on the couch, came home (again), watched some TV, and then worked on my website. Only a few pages to go.

But... I was supposed to do a bunch of work for my boss. I was going to do it this evening, but I worked on my stuff instead. I even told my Dad not to stop by after work because I needed some sleep, but now I will have to stay up anyway to get it done. Gak.