Busier than a One-armed Paperhanger.

To those of you who have wondered if something was wrong and e-mailed, called, sent out esp messages and generally worried and/or threatened me, nothing has been wrong, I've just been busier than a one-armed paperhanger. What does that mean, anyway? How could someone with one arm hang wallpaper? Heck, I have two arms and still can't hang wallpaper. I think maybe if they grafted two more arms on I could hang wallpaper. No probably not, I think it is more of an eye-hand coordination thing. Basically I'm a klutz.

Anyway, I've been very busy, though if you asked me what I had gotten accomplished I'm not sure I could tell you. It seems like everything I need to get done has to have twenty things done to prepare for it. I start out with good intentions but we all know how those go.

One of the things I haven't gotten accomplished. Kathy and I went to Hobby Lobby the other day. She doesn't allow me to go in by myself. They had presentation cases on sale. Of course, they were on sale for 1/3 off and every week you can get a coupon for 40% off on anything not on sale, but anyway, We went back to look at them because I have been hauling my designs around in a mailing tube to interviews. Keeps them protected, but doesn't look very professional. So, being used to work in 24x36 format, I started out looking for 24x36 cases. They don't have those. They have portfolios, but then you have to tie the pieces of paper down and they get all wrinkled and look nasty. So I kept looking and the largest they had was 14x17. Ok, so almost everybody works in quarter sheets any way. And although I would have to redo all my designs to get them to quarter sheets, I can do that. They'll look more professional and keep better protected and everything. Then I started doing some simple math (yes, I almost flunked out of algebra, but I can do subtracting and dividing... Well, I can if I take off my shoes and socks) a quarter sheet isn't 14x17. A quarter sheet is 12x18! Nobody even carries vellum in 14x17, or even 11x17 (the ISO standard quarter sheet). Everybody carries vellum in 12x18. I can get all I want at Michaels, Hobby Lobby or Triangle A&E. But if I want 14x17 or 11x17 I have to go to Triangle A&E and buy half sheets (at almost twice the price of quarter sheets) and have them cut down (yep, that's another charge). Anyway, my plan now is to call Triangle A&E and find out if they have presentation cases in 12x18. I would have asked them when I called about the paper but I got sidetracked by learning that they would charge by the sheet to cut the things down! Don't they have one of those big guillotine looking cutters that can cut ten or fifteen sheets at a time? Why would they have a cut charge for every sheet? Because like the rest of the world they are out to get me. Remember, just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out after you.

So, rather than get anything done, I have been dithering around worrying about paper sizes. Last night in class we were talking about plotting our designs and Tom the instructor asked me what I usually worked in. But talk about too much information! I think he tuned me out about a third of the way through the rant. Of course, some of you tuned me out a lot sooner than that.

Well, I have to go pick Kathy up from work. She is working downtown now. I hate downtown. I hate traffic. I hate cars. I'm gonna get a horse!

Take care of yourselves.

Wayne