boi fri floo
Things at work are going well still - it's still interesting and challenging which is what i really really wanted. I'm the only one in shipping, it's all mine, which is great - cuz i prefer to work alone - but being the only one to do everything gets a tad overwhelming. It's mainly the stupid phone calls. Freaking annoying people who expect the world to cater to them and their wants and i mean yesterday dammit! Ugh. It clearly states on the payment slip that if you wish for Skinner to ship your auction item, then there is a 6-8 week shipping queue STARTING on the day we receive your payment. I get people who call me up and say "Um, yes, i won a bid on a painting yesterday and i'd like that shipped today." and they honestly get pissy with me when i tell them that FIRST they have to remit payment and THEN THERE'S THE QUEUE!!! Jerks. I hate answering the phone - cuz i know what they're gonna say, and when yer busy trying to pack up a clock made in 1842, it's annoying to be interrupted! It's neet though, and there's a real zen to it - wrapping the tiniest things in tissue paper and securing everything with foam and bubble wrap and styro-peanuts. Basically, the rule is: nothing should be able to move. You have to wrap things meticulously and ridiculously. I actually had to open a claim with UPS already - a $4000 painting i packed and shipped arrived at the owners destination with the frame cracked in pieces and a hole thru the painting itself. I feel awful -but it's nothing i did or didn't do - you could wrap stuff in airbags made of kevlar, if the carriers are gonna drop kick them and/or crush them, they're gonna break. Still, i feel bad for the customer - i mean, it was a really old painting that can't be replaced and it's trashed now. Sucks. I did a big order of Native American baskets friday, kept me busy all day, one order.
Jim's in jail still - i went to his hearing a while back - he got 2 6 month sentances running concurrently -so best case scenario is that he only has to do half of it - he'd be out in August...worst case, October. I went to visit him last saturday - 1hr+45m one way (North Hampton, MA - western MA, out by Amhurst) he looked very Taylor Hicks - graaaay - but other than that, he looked good. I didn't even print out directions, i just drove out there figuring i'd make a little adventure out of it...it was a sunny day (for once) so just being in the car with the sun on me and the wind blasting thru the windows was nice. Jim calls me nearly every other day - i fear my phone bill (collect calls!!!) but it's only money - people are more important than money. It's nice to be needed as well. Months ago, Jim and i went out for chinese food and my fortune cookie read "All For Love And Nothing For Reward" - i was so taken by that - it's my new credo - it's what i remind myself of when i feel like resentful or just 'down'. The Tao of Fung Wong. Ha...still though, they're words to live by.
I've been a real goon with my camera lately - i'm doing a collage of 11's. It's a Jim thing and i'm not going to bother explaining it but everytime i see 1's, 11's or any series of ones, i'll take a picture of it - road signs, mailboxes, clocks (at work, every clock face i come across now reads 1:11 or 11:11 :)! ) license plates, whatever. It's actually fun hunting around for them...it's like looking for monks at a flea market. I also did a drawing the other day, just a pencil sketchy thing of a woman's face cradled in the palm of a giant hand with a hole in it (Jim asked me to draw something, i said "i need a theme - ya gotta give me a word to go on" so he said "Jesus"...so that's what i came up with) - it actually came out pretty good - but i totally need to take a class or be mentored by someone who's good at shading. I get the whole theory of shading and light source perspective, but i'm too afraid to go too dark or put enuff emphasis on things - i want to learn how to do it properly.
But it was good to do something arty - that's the thing with me, i need to be inspired, it seems that i can only create something when someone ASKS me to...i was the same way in school, i was good then, cuz there were assignments and deadlines and it forced me to be creative and DO it- but as soon as i graduated, that "artistic prompt" wasn't there anymore, and i got lazy. I'll never see my gift as well as others can. The only time i believe i have one is by the reaction of other people when they see my work. God's gifts and talents aren't really for yourself, they're meant for you to share them with others. That's why He gives them to us...least that's what i think. Geeze, i gotta scram, game 6 (Oilers/Canes) is on - if the Hurricane's win tonight, it's over - they win the cup. Good for them :)
Jim's in jail still - i went to his hearing a while back - he got 2 6 month sentances running concurrently -so best case scenario is that he only has to do half of it - he'd be out in August...worst case, October. I went to visit him last saturday - 1hr+45m one way (North Hampton, MA - western MA, out by Amhurst) he looked very Taylor Hicks - graaaay - but other than that, he looked good. I didn't even print out directions, i just drove out there figuring i'd make a little adventure out of it...it was a sunny day (for once) so just being in the car with the sun on me and the wind blasting thru the windows was nice. Jim calls me nearly every other day - i fear my phone bill (collect calls!!!) but it's only money - people are more important than money. It's nice to be needed as well. Months ago, Jim and i went out for chinese food and my fortune cookie read "All For Love And Nothing For Reward" - i was so taken by that - it's my new credo - it's what i remind myself of when i feel like resentful or just 'down'. The Tao of Fung Wong. Ha...still though, they're words to live by.
I've been a real goon with my camera lately - i'm doing a collage of 11's. It's a Jim thing and i'm not going to bother explaining it but everytime i see 1's, 11's or any series of ones, i'll take a picture of it - road signs, mailboxes, clocks (at work, every clock face i come across now reads 1:11 or 11:11 :)! ) license plates, whatever. It's actually fun hunting around for them...it's like looking for monks at a flea market. I also did a drawing the other day, just a pencil sketchy thing of a woman's face cradled in the palm of a giant hand with a hole in it (Jim asked me to draw something, i said "i need a theme - ya gotta give me a word to go on" so he said "Jesus"...so that's what i came up with) - it actually came out pretty good - but i totally need to take a class or be mentored by someone who's good at shading. I get the whole theory of shading and light source perspective, but i'm too afraid to go too dark or put enuff emphasis on things - i want to learn how to do it properly.
But it was good to do something arty - that's the thing with me, i need to be inspired, it seems that i can only create something when someone ASKS me to...i was the same way in school, i was good then, cuz there were assignments and deadlines and it forced me to be creative and DO it- but as soon as i graduated, that "artistic prompt" wasn't there anymore, and i got lazy. I'll never see my gift as well as others can. The only time i believe i have one is by the reaction of other people when they see my work. God's gifts and talents aren't really for yourself, they're meant for you to share them with others. That's why He gives them to us...least that's what i think. Geeze, i gotta scram, game 6 (Oilers/Canes) is on - if the Hurricane's win tonight, it's over - they win the cup. Good for them :)