376 Tuesday's Horoscope & DLand entry

Mar. 12, 2002
Taurus

Horoscope (by astrocenter.com)
No one is going to be catering to your needs today, dear Taurus, so
get up and do things on your own. You will find that there is little
sympathy coming from others, and strong opinions are a dime a dozen.
There is a great deal of gossip buzzing around that you may be
tempted to join in on. Don't be an enabler of this sort of behavior.
It is only going to alienate you from others in the long run. Keep in
mind, that today's aspect wants you to realize that other people
should serve as a mirror and that you can only grow, if you analyze
the projection carefully.

Gemini

Horoscope (by astrocenter.com)
Listen closely to the wind, dear Gemini, for the answers are blowing
around right in front of you. Make contact with people you haven't
heard from in a while. You will find that you can be quite productive
today in situations where you least expect it. Ironically, the less
you plan, the more you will get accomplished. Be spontaneous in your
actions. Revelations will come to you like lightning. You won't have
any serious obstacles in your way, and you should be successful with
any kind of transactions and/or negotiations
==============================================================
Last nite: I made a run to Hobby Lobby for glass and 50/50 solder.
Went by Jo-Ann fabrics and didn't find anything that just jumped out
at me, either for my 10th-century garb or my tents (I want to add
little medieval-looking flaps to my EZ-up top, & strips of fabric to
cover the legs). Got a neat idea for a folding-screen type thing to
hang suncatchers on. Another trip to Home Depot is in the works, I
imagine.

I got several stained glass shields cut out last night, and that's
about it. I will grind, foil, and possibly solder them tonight.

Still no solution for my March 24 quandary. I called Excalibur
management and they implied, but did not come out and say, that if I
didn't vend the faire on 3/24, there may be ugliness if I try to come
back and vend final weekend. And, of course, having breached my
contract, I would not be allowed to vend at Excalibur ever again.

Management suggested I post a "help wanted" sign up at the entrance.
Um...yeah. Put someone I don't know in my booth, have them handling
my cash and my product, and possibly misrepresenting my business? I
am not comfortable with that. Not to mention the fact that I made so
little this Sunday that paying someone to run my booth, even minimum
wage, would end up costing me more than it gained. Plus, I don't want
to be an 'employer'.


I suggested to management that they go thru their 'emergency back up
list' (the one they originally had me on) and see if they could get a
vendor to occupy that space on the 24th. "Impossible," I was
informed. So why have an 'emergency back up list' if it's not
possible to use it? Whatever!

The thing is:

1)
a)I signed up for Natural Magic's b-day wayy in advance, 2 months
before the actual event.
b)I signed up for Excalibur, at their invitation, 2 weeks before the
actual event.


2)
a)Excalibur has something like 100 vendors this year. (Way more than
the patron population can support, IMHO)
b)Natural Magic has something like 15 vendors this year.
So, me not being at Excalibur is not going to impact the overall
faire experience for anyone, but me not being at NM's event will.

3.
a)I have history with NM, having been a vendor since the first year
they were in business.
b)I have no history with Excalibur,
and looking at last weekend's numbers, I don't know if it's even
worth my while to want to come back next year.


4. I don't really see why they could blow off the costume requirement
for me so easily, and then get all militant about the attendance
requirement. What if I got sick? What if I had a family emergency?
Would that be an OK reason to miss faire, whereas a prior committment
is not? Seems very arbitrary to me. If/when I ever run a business in
which I have to direct other people, I will not be arbitrary. If it's
in the handbook, you do it. Or else why bother making a handbook?

Anyway, I guess I'll send out another pathetic email to all my
friends and see if I can find someone to cover for me. I have someone
who can possibly watch my Natural Magic booth for a few hours, but
not all day. I have another friend who wants to help, but wants to be
wherever I am, as opposed to running a booth by herself. Which is
very sweet, but I tend to get short with people when I'm setting up
or tearing down the tent, or otherwise preoccupied with stuff that
needs doing. So...I'm not really that fun to hang out with when I'm
in that mode. X is bringing a friend this weekend to fill in for me
for a couple of hours on Saturday while I go to a meeting...maybe her
friend will be willing to come back on the 24th. But that gets back
to the "someone I don't know in my booth" problem. Hopefully we will
hit it off and I'll feel comfortable asking her about it.

I take my obligations seriously; it is stressing me out to even think
of not being able to honor my committment to Excalibur on the 24th.
But if it comes to a choice between the two events, Natural Magic
wins and Excalibur loses. I hope some solution comes to hand, but
with less than 2 weeks to go, I am not too hopeful.

377yay!

Mar. 12, 2002
My coworker L.m. will do my booth for me on the 24th. I am a litle worried
about her trustworthiness...but I can go out, set up, leave there at
9:30, go set up at NM, and then if excalibur says "nobody was at your
booth" I can say "Gee, I hired booth help".