March Madness

And no... I don't mean basketball. More, that things at work seem to be, well, wonky. I mean... most of us are in alignment except for this lynch-pin of a person who doesn't seem to organize, delegate, or supervise very well. Which I find odd, considering her other sideline of work is stage management. Having done event production and stage management, I know you have be super organized, be able to direct people around, and keep people moving. So, why don't those skills transcend to her role at the magazine? Perhaps what adds to this oddity is the fact that I have found skills I built up in one role transcended to all others.

Add to the above some rather high maintenance people in my life right now, it makes me wonder just what my role is, in this life. Hey goddess, I didn't get married and have children for a reason! Why do I feel like everyone's mother sometimes? If I wanted to be a mom, I would have certainly done more procreating! At least that part would have been fun... I hope.

Okay, goddess, I know you're laughing at my expense. I, who believe I am patient and mellow, have discovered I might have actually become a bit impatient and slightly high-keyed as I've gotten older. Nice joke. That's not the way it's supposed to work. So, instead, you send me someone with the patience of a gnat to help? Why is it that I have to teach them the lessons? Get back to me with an explanation sometime, hmm?

Yes, I know I missed February, Aaron! I probably didn't have much to say... or too much to say and it mostly sounded like whining.

The foyer, for those looking for an update, is now painted Dried Chervil and Blackberry Harvest, according to Behr Paints, and is damn awesome! We hung a tiffany-style dome light over the bare bulb and mounted the huge fireplace front against the wall, atop a slab of marble. With the grapes lights and religious votive stand all lit up, it makes a pretty impressive entry. All that's left to do is mount the coat hooks on the wall.

I've painted a total of one accent wall up in my sleeping area -- in something Behr Paint calls Classic Cherry. It's really red. Really, really red. More red than sanguine, which was what I wanted, but it's nice. It also showed me that fresh, new walls suck up a ton of paint! Especially dark paints -- which is what we want to use in the living room area.

I was inspired the day we finished painting, and came up with a plan for the hallway wall perpendicular to the windows. I'm going to offer the wall to some enterprising student from the California College of Arts and Crafts, so they can paint a trompe l'oeil, matching the facing window and brick. It'll look like we have another whole mega window on the wall, with a backdrop of blue, wispy-clouded sky. My theory is that it will open up the space and provide an outdoorsy feel to the main hallway. We can set up a little sitting area/library there. Maybe even get one of those big, oversized, overstuffed chairs and ottomans there, that converts into a twin bed. The student can use it for credit, we'll pay for supplies and maybe a small stipend, then I'll manage some PR with local papers, magazines, perhaps even a national publisher. During studio open house season, the loft can be open for display.

I'm back on the CE side of things again, in the game, working with the players -- which I should have never stopped doing. All in all though, working in Dev with Pete's been a dream. I must be the only one thrilled to be handling referrals again. Hee! How's them apples, Jared? Oh wait... I STILL work for the company. You don't. I'm not that bitter that you harassed me for two years and lied about it not being personal. No, I'm not even that mad that you tried to get me fired. All I have to say, though, is... karma, she's a bitch on payback, isn't she?

I'm turning three years of BBS roleplaying into a bodice ripper. The player of the other lead character and I have been trying to come up with a pen name that doesn't sound too ethnic, since that seems to be part of the issue with publishers. Your name has to be as romantic (or slutty) as the book. We might actually have material for two or three books... and my co-partner in crime has suggested another, more modern option. That we actually create a site that posts serializations or chapters about our characters -- perhaps picking up where we left off. For a small subscription fee, people can tune in and get a weekly update into the lives of the Captain and his witchy wife. We've got it all -- witchcraft, privateering, dock fires, witch hunting, a strete faire, a church burning, a kidnapping, pirates, rum-running, a daring escape from Newgate prison, a duplicitous duchess en ceinte with the Captain's supposed son, a sudden midsummer's eve wedding, voyages to the orient. It's been fun, so I'd like to see it continue in some fashion.

Happy birthday, Dad! Have a great day tomorrow.