Da Goddess

…we’d all go insane. That’s what Jimmy Buffet says, and I’m in complete agreement this week.

It’s been a little nutty around here. I had to get the blues calendar done, write three reviews, a blurb about an upcoming event (which I totally cheated on and copied from our website — there wasn’t anything different I could really say), and I was fighting to get people to submit gigs to me in time…or at all. I don’t get it. Every band needs an audience. Every club needs patrons. So why do they have such a hard time sending me the information that amounts to free advertising? I go through this every month and I’ll tell you, it’s worse than when I had periods. Yep, once a month I turn into this grumpy person because the very people who will benefit most from what I’m doing don’t, won’t, or can’t give me the information I need. It boggles the mind. And the few who do, well, some forget to include dates or locations or even what time the gig starts. Or they send it in a format that makes it difficult for me to use. If they send it as plain text, I can copy it and pop it into the database easily. One venue sends me a .jpg — every time…even though I ask them to send it to me as text. Sigh.

But now we’re done for another month and I’m glad it’s done. I just have to upload the data to the website and set it to auto-publish at the right time.

Okay, so there’s one bit of craziness out of the way. Now, it looks like we’re going to be subjected to another (yes, ANOTHER) day of plumbers running in and out of here to fix the leak they thought they’d already fixed. Our upstairs neighbors (the loud ones) seem to have plumbing problems that first cause the paint in the master bath to start bubbling. Then there was a straight out leak. This was the second time someone had been out to fix it since we moved it. We had one day of no problems, but now the roommate says there’s water dripping out of the ceiling fan. Oh joy.

In this past year and a half, in addition to the master bath issues, my bathroom has had to have the handle on the tap for the shower replaced twice and the sink has had both a leak and a stopper that was uncooperative.

It could be worse, though. It could be as bad as the condo we lived in before. For those who don’t remember, the old condo had some major plumbing issues the last year we were there, including the dining room light fixture that served as a sprinkler, the water heater that developed a slow leak, and then the major leak that took out the furnace along the way. And let’s not forget the landlord who didn’t want to fix it, leaving us without hot water or heat in the middle of winter for three weeks. That was fun.

At least we’re not there anymore.

So, here we are. Aside from the plumbing, we had to have someone come in yesterday and fix one smoke detector. Now, I think it’s pretty silly to have two smoke detectors that are only about twenty feet apart. And the one they had to replace is the one that has given us the most trouble. It’s situated so that if LD takes a hot shower, the steam from the shower sets it off. If we cook something like, say…a turkey, it sets it off. Now, the turkey doesn’t even have to be burning. Nope, it’s simply enough just to have the oven on at that temp. Fun, eh?

The best part about all this is that everyone comes here to work while I’m trying to get things done or trying to get a nap because I couldn’t sleep (still having sleeping issues — back pain, meds making me feel weird, and Lord knows what else). I guess it’s safe to say we haven’t had many dull moments around here of late.

I can’t wait for Death Valley. I’ll be glad to get away for a few days and take in some amazing scenery, and learn some new techniques to improve my photography! That’s the part I’m most excited about — learning. Big thanks go out to Lloyd, Pam, and Leslie for their support and encouragement. I hope I do them proud with my photos. And if you’d like to commission a photo that no one else gets, it’s not too late! Just take a gander at the sidebar and sponsor your own personal photo. Yes, each person gets a unique photo that no one else can choose! Once sponsors choose their images, those can only be shared online or printed for my own personal use. They cannot be sold to anyone else.

Not only have my sponsors/friends helped me take this trip, but their belief in my talents makes me feel as though I can achieve anything. And that ain’t nothing to sneeze at, folks. Additionally, they’re investing in my growth as a photographer, which is truly amazing. The others who will be on this journey with me are exceptional landscape/nature photographers who possess a keen eye for scenic beauty. What I’m going to be learning from them is worth its weight in gold.

Big thanks to my friends and let’s make it an even bigger thank you because of the relief it’ll bring to my addled brain. After this week, I’m more than ready to get down to business and discover some hidden talent.

(Hmm, now that I think of it, maybe I’m not so crazy after all. Maybe this is the universe’s way of telling me I HAVE to make this trip.)