Tues. March 21, 2023: Hints of Spring

image courtesy of Jill Wellington via pixabay.com

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

New Moon

Cloudy and chilly

My interview with the Boiler House Poets Collective went live on The Rumpus yesterday. You can read it here.

I hope you had a lovely day. It’s time to curl up for our regular Tuesday catch up.

I booked my hair appointment online on Friday for yesterday.

I also ordered my saucer chair online. At first, I got a confirmation that I could pick it up around noon. Then, I got a confirmation it was ready to pick up – about five minutes after I ordered it. The problem was that, in order to do the curbside pickup, I had to download the store’s app. Which made me furious. I do not want everything run by app. And that should have been clear when the selection for “curbside pickup” was made; then I would have just had it shipped.

Anyway, swearing the whole time, I downloaded the app, drove up the street to pick up the chair, brought it home, and deleted the app from my phone.

The chair is wonderful. It’s a lovely turquoise, and detailed to look like a shell. It’s comfortable, lightweight, and folds, which means it’s my official “residency chair” that I can take when I do residencies to which I drive.

I revised the two micro comic noir radio plays and submitted them, per the email exchange I had with the producers over the past couple of days. The third play, one of the Declan Shane plays (where the detective has his office in a Broadway musical rehearsal hall), doesn’t work as a two-hander. I will expand it back into a three-hander and send it when they open their ten minute call, which they told me opens in a couple of weeks.

I uploaded and scheduled next week’s promos for both Legerdemain and Angel Hunt. I thought I’d written the loglines for the set of Angel Hunt episodes I uploaded a couple of weeks back, but I guess I didn’t. So that’s on the agenda for the week.

I booked tonight’s yoga class.

I had to trudge back out to pick up some of my mother’s prescriptions. Even though Aetna Silver Script was paid through the end of March, it was cancelled once Compass was entered – but Compass hasn’t bothered to send the insurance cards with the information. So they tried to charge me the full, uninsured price for the drugs. I said no, there was a screw up. They did some magic on their own computers, and it wound up being a ZERO co-pay. So much better than on Cape Cod, where every month’s prescriptions were a fight, and they tried to sell you pills “by the pill” under the table for cash only while they “investigated.”

Insurance in the United States, especially Medicare “supplemental” insurance is a scam.

I finished the script coverage on the novel a production company wanted me to read, and sent that off.

The first box of office supplies arrived, with the stack of yellow pads. So I’m fine with writing in longhand on yellow pads for this next bit.

I was happy to hear that the ICC issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest. About damn time. This country needs to charge The Narcissistic Sociopath. It’s been promised for years, and the indictments never come.

I started reading a Major Book by a Major Author (that was written/published in the 70s). While it’s well written, I wasn’t in the mood for male 70’s whatever, so I put it aside. I started reading Mary Gordon’s SPENDING instead, which I’d come across when researching and writing The Process Muse post about muses a few weeks back. That’s definitely more what I’m looking for right now. It deals with the theme of the male muse, and, in this case, it’s a wealthy man who underwrites an older female artist’s career.

I actually slept well Friday going into Saturday. I was still a little disoriented by the time change – between that and losing a few days due to the storm, I was never really sure what day it was last week.

We  left the house on Saturday and headed down to Pittsfield. We stopped in a shop on a whim, and found a few fun things, including a cake pan that makes little cakes in the shape of trains. We checked Re-store, but what I hoped for wasn’t there. Checked another favorite store and found a trio of gorgeous valences. Not that I know what I’ll do with them, but they are so beautiful and well-made that I grabbed them.

All the mail that had stacked up during the storm arrived in a flood: magazines, cards, my mom’s new insurance cards (finally), and the tarot deck I ordered.

It’s a pair of tarot decks, interpretations by Barbara Moore, art done by several artists. One deck is “As Above” and the second is “So Below.” They are different from each other and different than I expected, and it will take time to work with them properly. They do make sense for the coming year’s year-long reading that I do on Samhain, which takes two decks out of regular usage for an entire year.

A pair of white dudes were roaming the neighborhood pounding on doors, like incoming SWAT team. They said they were “checking the equity of the electrical company” and wanted copies of our electric bills. No lanyards, no company information, nothing. Do they really think we’re that stupid? I shut the door in their faces and refused to answer again when they started pounding. A legitimate company/nonprofit would have contacted the residents in writing ahead of time and had employees or volunteers with clear identification and some sort of professional whatever, even if it was a clipboard. Not dudes in climbing jackets pounding on doors asking for copies of utility bills. Not acceptable. And even with a clipboard and a lanyard, I wouldn’t have turned over my utility bill. Identity theft much?

Finished up the ironing from the latest fabric seasonal refresh and put everything away.

Read a lot. Mary Gordon’s SPENDING is giving me a lot to think about. It’s an exceptionally well-written book, and, especially in terms of what we were talking about on THE PROCESS MUSE a few weeks back about Muses, makes me think I’ll revisit the topic. Because, of course, the female artist/male muse experience is very different than the traditional male artist/female muse, and the book isn’t just a flip of that trope.

Sunday was a lethargic day for me, even though it was sunny. I need to remember that the day before the dark moon I have zero energy. Zero. And plan accordingly.

I did go out to a store to see if they had something I wanted; they didn’t, but they had a sale, and I got some cute summer shirts I can use for yoga and errands. Some went into the laundry basket; others have to be handwashed, and I got started on that.

Tried re-reading a book that had been a Big Deal back when it came out. While there’s some good stylistic work, it’s too much self-involved white boy, on the part of the protagonist and the author, and I just don’t care. There’s a lot of pretentiousness that was touted as brilliance at the time.

Ordered a pizza, because I was too tired to cook. I need to stop ordering in food so often. I can cook, and there’s food in the house.

Slept well Sunday into Monday, in spite of a series of weird dreams that Charlotte pulled me out of several times in the night.

I’d made peace with the fact I wasn’t going to get much of anything done at my desk in the morning, and that the afternoon would be all about script coverage, which took some pressure off me.

Plus, packed up everything I needed for errands Sunday night, which made me feel like I was six years old starting school.

Out of the house early on Monday, arriving way to early at the hair salon in Williamstown, but that was fine. I’d brought a book with me (I almost always have a book with me), and they were all very friendly and laid back. And masked. No signs, no fussing, people just did it, and that, too, made me feel more confident about the choice of salon. And the conversations all centered around the arts, rather than what I’ve heard so often at other salons, where it’s petty, vicious gossip.

The appointment took the full hour. I’ve never had a hair appointment that long that wasn’t with one of the Broadway hair dressers who used to cut my hair in my Broadway days. The longest appointment I ever had on Cape was twenty minutes. But then, only two haircuts in ten years there didn’t make me cry, so. . .

Anyway, the stylist was very nice. We figured length first, then she cut off the ponytail. I mean, the last time I got my hair cut was May of 2021, two weeks after my second vaccine shot. It was a lot of hair. If you saw the photo I posted on Insta/FB/Twitter – it was a lot of hair. They asked if I wanted to donate it and I said sure; they’re taking care of it. Then, it was a wash and condition, and the stylist got to practice her art. And it really was art. We’d gone over some photographs for basic ideas, and then she wanted to try something a little different, and I said, go for it. So she did, and it looks really good.

I feel like myself for the first time in years. YEARS.

It’s flattering, will grow out well, and not need a lot of fuss/product/styling in the day to day.

And it’s done before next week’s grant reception.

I was ever so pleased and gave quite the big tip, because she was worth every penny.

From there, I headed to my mom’s doctor’s office to update her insurance information. I went to Wild Oats to pick up a few things and use my member/owner credit from last year’s profits. I went to the pharmacist to make sure the insurance info was all updated, but the computer magic they did the other day held, and it’s all good. 

I ran into Big Y to pick up small tomatoes, which I’d forgotten to get at the Wild Oats (although I managed to get curry paste at WO). Then it was a library run, to drop off/pick up books, mostly from Commonwealth Catalog. Love me some Commonwealth Catalog!

Stopped at the bank to deposit some unexpected checks (always love those). And home.

Found out that the article went live on The Rumpus, so I grabbed the link, created a PDF, and sent the link and the PDF to the poets interviewed, and over to MassMoca’s press office, and Assets for Artists. I also pulled an article off Clippings.me and added this one to the online portfolio, and put the link over on the Fearless Ink website. And, of course, saved it to my Clip files.

That took time, but it’s always better to do it right away. Putting it aside to get to “someday” means too much stacks up at once. Plus, I want to make sure that the interview subjects and sources get the link and their PDF copy for their own files before they come across the piece n the wild. It’s just basic courtesy.

Did the social media rounds to share the article link.

Turned around three coverages in the afternoon/evening. I was interrupted a few times to deal with some other stuff that came up, so it took longer than it would normally, and I wasn’t finished until 9 PM. I was able to spend some time working out on the front porch, because it was sunny and mild enough, and the hyacinths are starting to bloom. Willa and Charlotte were out there, too. Tessa had regained control of the sofa and was not about to give it up.

The dishwasher decided to stop working. I hope it’s just a fuse, because I LOVE this dishwasher, and if they have to replace it, it’s not going to be with one this good. But we’ll empty it this morning after breakfast, do the dishes by hand and put them away, and I’ll get in touch with the maintenance guy and see if he can swing by in the next few days.

Made a frittata in honor of the Equinox, and did a simple ritual at night, before I went to bed.

Up early. Weird dreams, including something about a teashop. As I was coming up out of the dream, I kept telling myself to remember the name of the teashop, but, of course, I lost it by the time I was fully awake.

Tessa has decided that she is sick and tired of Charlotte and Willa eating her food, so now she marches into the kitchen and eats their food, especially right in front of them. It’s all the same food, but it’s the principle of the plates and bowls that’s the issue.

After doing the dishes, I will get back to the page. I’m looking forward to the start of the Dramatists’ Guild End of Play, staring April 1. I realized, over the weekend, that the work I’ve done on FALL FOREVER is solid, and the play is ready to be written. It’s not screaming at me that if I don’t start RIGHT THIS SECOND I’ll lose it. But it’s ready to go on April 1. The percolating and note taking I’ve done has set the foundation. I haven’t made a detailed outline, but I know the shape and the emotions and the themes and the characters. It feels ready, in a calm, grounded way, and that feels good and right for this project.

I need to get ahead on Legerdemain; by the end of this week, I have to upload more episodes, and while I have those, I’m running a little too close to deadline on it right now. I also want to do some work on the “Plot Bunnies” revision and re-release. I want to make sure it’s uploaded and scheduled by the end of the week. Later in the day, it’s social media rounds to promote today’s episode of Legerdemain, and then a script coverage. I only have one so far; I hope some more come in for the rest of the week. If not, I’ll switch my focus to the contest entries.

I have yoga class tonight, and then I will work on the next book for review.

I should have planted yesterday, but didn’t. The next planting day is Friday. I’m getting a late start this year. Oh, well. There’s still snow on the ground, so I’m not going to worry about it too much.

Have a good one!

Tues. March 23, 2021: Die For Your Employer Day 305 – Stress Accumulates

image courtesy of pen ash via pixabay.com

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Waxing Moon

Spring is here

There’s still frost on the ground in the mornings, but the days are sweet and sunny. Still a little cool here, but nice.

It was an incredibly stressful weekend. I’m just not comfortable sharing the details publicly, Things hit a real crisis point Sunday/Monday. I managed to negotiate a bit of a reprieve, but I will be under intense stress for the next couple of months.

I managed to do a lovely Ostara ritual. Goodness knows, I could use some rebirth.

Packing like crazy, even though we don’t yet know where we will wind up. It looked as though we had it settled at one point over the weekend, but it all fell apart on Sunday, so back to the hunt.

There are so many scams out there. The legitimate listings want proof of income 3X the rental price. I don’t know many people who earn $9k/month, do you? I’m sure as heck not one of them.

Went into the client’s office yesterday to do some work with no one there. As it should be. Had to get in touch with my mom about something. When she didn’t answer her phone, I was worried and came racing back; turns out she was upstairs packing and had left her phone downstairs. At least she was okay. At 96, one worries.

I was wrecked for the afternoon. The stress of the last bit caught up with me. Instead of packing or doing client work, I finished a book for review. I have to think about it a bit before I write the review. I had mixed feelings. I want to be honest about it, but I also want to be fair.

I worked on contest entries. I’m almost done with one of the three categories. I hope I can finish it today or tomorrow, and send off the choices for that category by Thursday, latest.

I did some work on GAMBIT COLONY as a stress release valve.

Today will be about client work, LOIs, house hunting, review work, contest entries, and packing. I have to make a quick grocery run – we’re out of bread and a couple of things.

We’re back to daily mass shootings again? Too many white guys running around with guns and the sense of entitlement that they can play God. Without consequence. I’m really tired of the lack of consequence.

Keep on keeping on. That’s all I can do.

Thurs. March 19, 2020: It’s Not All Working in Pajamas and Drinking Wine

Thursday, March 19, 2020
Waning Moon
Ostara – Spring Equinox

Today is when the hours of daylight balance the hours of dark, and daylight lengthens until Midsummer. May that be a good omen for the coming months!

Hop on over to Gratitude and Growth for a garden update.

I am grateful that the bulk of my work can be done remotely. I am a skilled and experienced remote worker, productive and reliable. I am lucky enough to live in a space that has a covered deck and a yard big enough so I can get out in the fresh air. If I was still in my 42nd Street NYC apartment, it would be quite different.

We’re all having different kinds of stresses, and I’m going to talk about some of the ones that I’m facing as a freelancer, and stresses some of my friends, colleagues, and acquaintances are going through.

The worst stress in this situation, for me, comes from the clients who demand that I work onsite. I’ve ended relationships with some of them. I doubt we’ll work together again after this is over. One client is away this week; I’ve been able to work in an empty office. The other in-office person and I are staggering hours and disinfecting doorknobs, surfaces, etc. when we enter and leave. But next week, when she’s back and doesn’t believe a virus would ever dare attack her? Or that she couldn’t possibly be a carrier? We have a problem.

Stresses are added as other small business clients cancel upcoming projects. I totally understand. I’ve offered to help them craft and send their COVID-19 policy email blasts or web copy at a reduced rate and then, if they need remote help during the quarantine, or getting back up to speed at the end of it (whenever that will be), we can work out a rate that works for both of us — so I’m not hurting myself, but not taking advantage of them, either. Most of them don’t want to craft a policy statement — they just want to stop it all and throw up a few words on their website or in their auto-response. I understand that reaction, but I believe a thoughtful, well-crafted statement will serve them better in the long run. Keep communication open. Let your customers/audience know you care, wish them well, and look forward to hosting them again when it’s safe and possible.

Stresses are added as non-clients, who’ve always sneered at what I do, saying, “I don’t pay for that” (meaning writing and marketing) are now coming to me DEMANDING that I write copy and market their business FOR FREE so they can stay afloat. I’m being told I “owe it to the community.”

No, I don’t. Especially not to people who never took what I did seriously. I, too, have bills to pay. Plus, a lot of the strategy they want is fear-based and predatory, and I won’t participate in that.

Stresses are added when people contact me and DEMAND that all my books be available for free. My publisher and I considered doing that with the first book in each series. It would take at least two weeks to put the change through in a normal situation, with the distributors. It would take longer now, with people not being able to go into work, and not every system being set up so that it can all be done remotely. I heard a rumor that Amazon’s not filling Kindle orders, and that they’re only shipping physical orders they deem “essential.” I’m not sure if that’s true or not.

But with all these demands that all of my books are up for free? John Scalzi and TOR can afford to put up RED SHIRTS for free as part of their book club. Believe me, I’m glad they did. Other authors are putting up their books for free. Great. They have the resources. I don’t. The books that sold in the last few months (whose royalty check should be coming through shortly, because it’s 45 days after the end of the half-year) will pay my utilities. I hope. Or maybe my mother’s health insurance next month, when I might not have the money coming in the week I usually do to pay for it.

Stresses are added when clueless recruiters contact me, having found my profile on LinkedIn. One recruiter told me that if I “really wanted” to work for the company he represented, I would be willing to commute in to Boston during the pandemic, because “it’s not killing as many people as the flu does.” This is for copywriting. There is no reason copywriting can’t be done remotely.

I told him to grow up and stop watching Fox News.

When I asked another recruiter who approached me what their COVID-19 policy is, I was told, “We don’t have one. We don’t need one. People don’t come in, they’re fired. When this is all over, the unemployment rate will be 20% and we can hire anyone at half of what we’re paying them now.”

Again, this is for copywriting. No reason it can’t be done remotely.

Stresses are added when idiots on social media rant that it’s “obvious” that any job that can be done remotely isn’t “real” or “necessary” and only those done in-person are. Um, no. Both kinds of work are essential, in different ways. What it does is spotlight HOW MUCH work could and should be done remotely, but how little employers trust the people they hire. It spotlights that workers that we need to be onsite — in the grocery stores, truck drivers, gas station attendants, sanitation workers, and all kinds of health care professionals and first responders, deserve a living wage and benefits. It spotlights that EVERY company, no matter what size, MUST give their workers paid sick leave, including part-time workers, and that health insurance cannot be tied to one’s job. On top of that, it feeds into the whole myth that artists shouldn’t be paid for their work because it isn’t “real” work and they should be doing it “for the love of it.” No, it’s a valid profession.

It’s stressful to go to the grocery store or the pharmacy, for obvious reasons, between people panic buying and the worry that we could all infect each other. Someone actually said I was “lucky” to have an elderly parent, so I could take her along and take advantage of the grocery store’s special hours for the elderly. Um, no. She’s staying HOME. I can go shopping an hour later, and then scrub down and disinfect when I get home.

The actual part when I’m home, plugging along at my work? Is pretty normal. I enjoy the work, as I said, I’m skilled and productive in remote work. I’m trying to offer advice and support and resources to people trying to adjust to working for home. I love working remotely, I always have. I take joy in what I do. I’m an introvert, so not socializing for weeks is fine — I’m fine interacting on social media. I miss going to museums and the library, but I’m not having a hard time in the same way extroverts are struggling. I’m lucky that I know how to keep myself occupied and engaged. I’m lucky that I need a lot of solitude.

Parents are under huge stresses with kids home. If they can’t work remotely, who looks after the kids? If they can work remotely, it’s about figuring out how to get work done while also trying to keep school-age kids learning, and younger kids occupied. I’ve heard that some of these online sessions demand up to seven hours a day of “monitored” learning by the parent. WTF?

When I was in fourth grade, I had to travel with my family from New York back to Chicago because my dad had a special surgery there. My teacher sent me with an entire suitcase full of schoolbooks (no internet at that time). I sat, in the hotel room, for six hours a day, and did my work. Quietly. Because once my dad was out of the hospital, he was resting in the other part of the suite, and I had to be quiet. I mailed my assignments in once a week. I had other books to read when I wasn’t working, and board games. Cards. Lots of cards. I remember playing so many card games. That serves me to this day. My mother and I went to museums and the zoo and walked around when we could (which was lucky — we didn’t have to isolate). But my mother wasn’t “monitoring” my schoolwork. She had to deal with hospital issues and field questions and issues from my father’s office. She was pretty fed up we had to lug an entire suitcase of books to Chicago, and she felt six hours’ worth of work a day was too much, but it was up to me to get it done. Granted, I was nine at the time, and able to take on that responsibility. If I was younger, it would have been harder. If I had been older, we’d have had to deal with bad attitude on my part, probably.

I was lucky growing up. I had more freedom than a lot of my peers, and lot more than most kids get today. But there were two things absolutely forbidden in the house. You never, ever, ever were “bored.” No such thing as boredom. The world is an interesting place, and if you’re bored, that’s on you. Engage. The other thing was I could never ask for something because “everyone” had it or did it. I had to present reasons why I wanted it that were separate from the herd.

Name actors who make millions per movie are fine, with all the entertainment shutdowns but the regular working actors? The tech crews? Musicians? They’re all suffering. This is the time the unions could step up and prove why they’re necessary, but all I hear is silence. I’m not hearing much from producers, either.

Marriott is laying people off, but there was a story that when workers file for unemployment, claiming they’re not “laid off” but their hours are cut back — to zero. Why are they getting away with that? They can afford to carry their employees for a few weeks.

Cruise ship bailouts? Really? The cruise industry makes enormous profits. It’s one of the most profitable industries out there. I don’t have the current figures, but when I started shopping the Nautical Namaste Mysteries several years ago, the cruise industry brought in $37 BILLION dollars in profits a year, and it’s only grown. These ships fly under international flags to avoid paying US taxes. So why are they bailed out with US tax dollars because their admin offices are in Florida, California, and New York?

I don’t want to see airline bailouts, either. They didn’t “trickle down” their tax cuts. They’ve raised fees, fought raising pay and benefits for workers, and done stock buybacks instead of investing in their workforce. That shows they don’t know how to manage money. Don’t give them more to mismanage. Make them EARN it. Some airlines need to go under, so new airlines who actually treat both customers and employees right can emerge.

We do need Universal Basic Income right now. Desperately. Not maybe by the end of April, but by the end of next week. Much more than bailing out huge corporations that squandered everything they keep getting handed and screwed their employees. UBI would keep food on the table and a roof over my head. It would allow me to support individual businesses by buying from them rather than big box stores (which I try to do anyway) and maybe allow some of them to hire me for remote writing work. While we’re saving our lives and those of the people around us by not infecting each other.

We need to make sure the health care professionals have what they need to protect themselves and stay healthy and to care for people coming in sick. That has to be a priority. That and testing EVERYONE. So we can get real numbers. Up manufacturing what we need. Get the supplies to the medical profession.

It’s not at all surprising that this administration has failed on such a large scale. The arrogance, the greed, the grift, the racism, has been on full display since the 2016 campaign. Now, they ALL need to be removed, as issues of both public safety and national security. Policies that save lives and get people back on their feet need to be put in place.

Then, when we are up and running again, the corruption needs to have consequences. Or this will all just happen again.

So those are some of what’s happening in my world. I’m deeply grateful for what is working right now — the remote work I have (such as reviewing books and contest entries, articles, the clients with whom I’m still working). Plenty of people are under much worse stress than I am, especially if they’ve got underlying health issues. I’m lucky that the health crisis that could have killed me was handled before the pandemic hit. I’m worried because my mother is in the highest risk category, and I have to do whatever protects her — even if it means losing clients. There are going to be some nasty scenes in the upcoming weeks, because there are still people acting like it’s not a big deal, and/or it won’t happen to them, so why can’t they go about their normal routine? Why can’t they put lives in danger because they “feel fine.”

The arrogance of it all is unbelievable.

Today, I intend to enjoy Ostara, and have a solitary ceremony, on the deck if the weather is good enough. I made some rune eggs yesterday that we’ll eat as egg salad for lunch. If the weather holds, I’ll do yard work.

Tomorrow was supposed to be my surgery, so I cleared it. I’m taking it as a rest day. Extra yoga and meditation. I might read books for review or contest entries, but I intend to enjoy the day.

Have a wonderful weekend!