Fri. Feb. 3, 2023: Brrrrrrr!

image courtesy of HANSUAN FABREGAS via pixabay.com

Friday, February 3, 2023

Waxing Moon

Bitterly cold

It is brutally cold out there, and an advisory went out, asking people to stay in unless absolutely necessary. I plan to heed that warning. Power outages are also rolling through, so it could be a cold, difficult weekend. The internet and phone keep going in and out, too.

Meditation didn’t happen yesterday. The leader was away; she’s very organized, but the person who organizes the group at the library doesn’t communicate well enough with the rest of us. This happens too often: we all show up, and then it’s canceled ten minutes in. It’s definitely easier because it’s virtual than if we all drove in and showed up, but it still gets frustrating.

The fourth episode of Angel Hunt drops today.

Yesterday was somewhat of a fractured, fiddly day. I did the social media rounds to promote Legerdemain and to drop the #28Prompts. Spoutible is still having issues, although, by the end of the day, they were claiming (on Twitter) to have fixed them and run faster than Twitter. Like I said yesterday, ballsy of them to openly do their admin on Twitter when they are a competitor, and Yegads Muskrat has worked so hard to prevent people from posting their links to Post or Mastodon. I guess I’ll find out today, when I do today’s rounds, how it’s running.

In the live Q&A pre-launch, they claim they want to support working artists who promote and share information about their work, so we’ll see if that’s the case.

I have to keep reminding myself that Twitter didn’t start paying off in engagement or in boosting sales right off the bat. I grew the audience over years, and continued to grow it. However, in that time lag it takes to grow new audiences and support on other platforms, my income takes a hit. So I have to come up with an interim marketing strategy as I grow on various platforms, and pull back from those who aren’t fulfilling any need (because it’s not all about boosting sales, but there’s no point in continuing to post on sites with zero interaction even on non-marketing posts).

I managed to get through a lot of email and deal with it, but the amount that remains across several inboxes is depressing. However, reading newsletters as palate-cleansers between tasks is working for me better than saving them to batch-read later.

Did some work on the article. Got part of what I needed from MassMOCA very fast, and we’ll see if I need to contact them for more information.

Having conversations about the possibility of a week-long residency in the fall. There are a bunch of pieces that need to fall into place (some of which have nothing to do with me), but if it works out, I’d really like to do it. I have the idea for a project I’d work on during that time, and it would shake up my process and stretch me, so I hope it comes to pass.

One of the handlers at an agency with which I’m signed is pitching me for a 3-month, 20-hour/week gig to a company. The money’s right, and 20 hours works with balancing the rest of what I do. It’s more big corporate than I usually do, but I’m definitely qualified for the work AND would learn a lot AND it’s only three months, which is the kind of thing I’m looking for. I updated my remote cover letter, did a project-specific blurb about my qualifications, updated the marketing portfolio and sent it off. We’ll see where it goes from there. But nothing ventured, nothing gained, and I’m pleased that she thought of me for the slot.

I managed to plant a pot of butterfly-friendly plants (Shasta daisy, Black-eyed Susan, Coneflower) and some of the Bergamot seeds from the local botanical garden, in honor of Imbolc. I have to update this year’s plant journal, and move some of the pages to the big, multi-year binder.

All those little dribs and drabs prevented me from any deep dive writing, and that’s part of what left me feeling unsettled all day. I’m taking note of that, so I can fix it for today and moving forward. A reminder that “oh, it’ll only take 10 minutes” putting a task before the first major writing session of the day often means I lose the day’s writing – because it NEVER takes just 10 minutes.

I’m trying to figure out how to set up my bedroom as more of a sanctuary. The space is fine (I’ll never have a bedroom as big as the one on Cape again, that was an anomaly), the furniture is fine, there’s a limited way to arrange things, but I can do more (on a budget) to make it feel more sanctuary-ish. I just have to figure out what that is. I am not one for a Spartan aesthetic. That stresses me out. I want cozy, warm, texture, books, crystals, soft lighting, etc. Getting a rug in there will help, and I know what I want, but haven’t yet found it (in my price range). Putting up curtains will also help. I have no issue with the blinds up there, but I’m more of a curtain person. Figuring out how to put something on the big wall behind the bed that feels elegant and cozy and doesn’t cause me to lose my deposit will help a lot, too. I have ideas on what I want it to look like; now I have to apply my theatre skills on how to pull it off.

Never let anyone tell you that skills you learn working in theatre are irrelevant in life. It’s simply not true. My theatre training in various aspects has done more to add value to the rest of my life than anything else.

I also need to do some work on my office again, organizing and straightening things out. Juggling projects has gotten a little messy, and I like the office to be tidier.

None of it has to happen all at once; I keep my eyes open for what will work in my price range and keep adjusting.

The weekend is about staying in, writing, reading, working on reviews and contest entries. If scripts come in, I’ll do them, since it was so light this week. Sunday should be warm enough to venture out and go grocery shopping. Next weekend, I might actually go out and do a few things – I’m signed up for a meditation session at my yoga studio, and I’m invited to an artist talk. The risk assessments and safety measures in place seem to work for both.

Have a good one!