Why is it that on days when work is slow and I can waste a lot of time all of my games are quiet?

So...our shows are open.  Our costume designer still doesn't have all the costumes done.  We are waiting on at least two sets of outfits for one show, plus she hasn't put together everything for our swings (understudies, except they cover ALL the parts in the show, not just one role), in both shows.  In fact, in our evening show, one of the girls doesn't even have a costume for one of the sets they perform...and she's supposed to be performing this weekend.

I'd just toss my hands in the air and say, "Sorry...that's not my job.  Nowhere in my job title is the word 'Designer' included," but I suffer from an irrepressible 'the show must go on' work ethic, so I'm going to spend the next couple of days figuring something out, regardless of whether or not it's what the director or designer would have chosen.  Knowing the designer, she'll show up Saturday afternoon with everything she wants to use, and want to do a costume fitting while the band is setting up on stage...when I'll be busy helping the band and won't have time to do alterations.

AND, just to make my week that much better, I found out that the producer of the show I designed props for earlier this year still hasn't paid the company we rented all the weapons from.  I would normally dismiss it as a bad business decision on their part (and goodness knows, they've made a LOT of those), but it's MY NAME on the rental contract.  I realize you feel like you need to pay all the local talent, but finish paying the bills on the last show before you start paying people for the next one.  As it is, you're making one local artist (me) incredibly reluctant to do anything for you, ever again, which is sad, because I've been helping those guys put shows up since they started.  But being left to flap in the breeze and hope the rental company doesn't sue ME because YOU didn't pay the bill for your show is not a good way to inspire continuing loyalty.  You can only play the 'help me out, old friend' card so many times, and you've done it A LOT.  So far, it's just a reminder invoice, not nastygrams or collections notices or anything like that...but it's been three months since we sent these guys their stuff.  THEY DESERVE TO BE PAID, TOO.  At the very least, contact them and tell them that you, as producer, are responsible for the bill and further communication should be with you, and get me out of the loop.

Okay...I had to let this out somewhere and this is the one place where I'm relatively certain it won't come back to haunt me somehow, but...

Just saw a friend's post on Facebook.  She's starting a new business and is looking for a videographer to help her put some stuff together...and, as she put it, the pay is 'exposure and credit on the project.'  Now, that, in and of itself, should be enough to get me started, because that isn't 'payment'...that's something any camera operator gets with ANY project they work on that actually gets shown somewhere, including the ones where they get paid with real money.

No, what really made me sit back and say, "You've got to be strudeling me!" is the fact that this woman used to head up a performance troupe, and has taught dance classes, and has worked as a freelance performer, and is one of the multitude of friends I have who has posted about the outrage of people expecting an artist (performer, designer, photographer, painter, sculptor, etc) to do what they do for little or no actual pay, and instead offering good word-of-mouth advertising or something like that.  Seriously, lady...?  You think just because these people can afford camera equipment worth a few thousand dollars that they somehow don't need cash to pay rent (or a house payment), utilities, or buy groceries?  If anything, many of them need the cash even MORE, because they're trying to pay off the tools of their trade (in much the same way you posted about still trying to pay off dance classes you'd taken...)

I could excuse that request from a lot of people that I know...but after all the fuss you've made about how you hate the fact that people don't pay you for performances, you've got the gall to turn around and ask someone else to do a job for you for NOTHING?  I mean, offer them a steak dinner or something...a massage, a dance lesson, a performance at their next party...SOMETHING of some kind of value that they can't get from every other job that people are trying to foist on them.  This is why I don't do makeup for you anymore...and I'm incredibly thankful that I never got talked into seriously doing costumes for you, because I can only imagine the kind of farce that would have turned into, come time for me to present an invoice...
This message was last edited by the user at 00:00, Fri 07 June 2013.

How come people who want to modernise society almost always are interested in getting free access to your economy rather than providing the service they claim they provide?

New standards for my bank and mandatory implementation of the travelcard.
I am not a fan.

I've reached the conclusion that yeah, I've taken on too much. I'm a full-time student again, I've got unpaid projects left, right and centre, and games across 3 sites. My inspiration is running pretty low, and to say I'm disillusioned with certain things right now is an understatement. Something's got to give.

I started up a game not that long ago (a matter of months) and I've been a fairly shite GM in this instance. Normally I'm pretty good and have games running long term, but I recently ended one game because it went off track and the inspiration had faded. What can you do? Sometimes change is needed for the inspiration to return. Sometimes you reach a point where you know you have too many games and things to keep up with and do any kind of justice to all of them.

I'm going to pare down my games, which is to say, leave a number of them. It isn't necessarily lack of time, because if I dove headlong into posting with my spare time I'd likely keep up with everything, but you can't do that all the time. You need quiet time, time for things at home, time to consider things and let ideas develop to fruition. I just don't have that right now and I hate keeping people waiting almost as much as they undoubtedly hate waiting on me.

Some elements of life have me a little on the depressed side as well, so I know that isn't helping things. It's just difficult to keep so many things going at one time.

McDonald's new 1/4 pound burgers, basically less meat than the 1/3 pound burgers AT THE SAME PRICE!!!

the part that pineapples me off is their 'explanation'... "due to the recession we (McDonald's Corp.) felt that the 1/3 pound burgers were too expensive (correct) for most consumers, so we are introducing a cheaper (by $0.10) alternative.

oh pull the other leg, it plays Jingle Bells!

Seven words you can't say online: strawberry, pineapple, fudge, crumpet, cocanutsucker, mangofudger and twinkies. I'm on a diet!

This one could come back around to being posted in the anti-vent section, but for now...

Our costume designer has apparently decided that she's done.  Whether that means 'for the season' or 'for good', I don't know yet...but the timing of this revelation sucks just a bit.  Upper management decided they want to change a couple of the numbers in one of our shows (one choice I agree with, one choice I think is kinda ridiculous, although I won't mind seeing that particular costume go away...)

So, we have two new numbers in the show.  And the costumes for the numbers they're replacing do NOT work.  The numbers are supposed to start being performed next Tuesday.  Got a text message from our artistic director a couple of days ago telling me when the whole cast would be rehearsing and offering to let me have some time at the end of rehearsal for costume fittings...to which I had to respond, "I still have no idea what we're doing for costumes for that number...have yet to hear anything from the designer."  (I've had to say that a distressing number of times this year).

So, yesterday (one of my rare days off), I get a call from my assistant, informing me that the director informed her that our designer has 'checked out', and it's up to us to costume the new numbers.  Luckily, we'd already started discussing some contingencies, so we're not caught completely flat-footed by this announcement, but...

REALLY?!!  You're done, huh?  You never finished the job you were originally hired for, you know...I had to put together one outfit that we never got from you, and I've had to replace or modify a couple of others because they just didn't look right on stage.  I realize you wanted to have everyone have a kind of distinctive look to them...but when you've got the entire band up there dressed like a pop/rock band, but you have the back-up guitarist dressed like a beach-comber?  He REALLY stands out (and looks ridiculous).  Thank you oh-so-much for dumping your lack of forethought in my lap.  While we're at it, when are we going to get those outfits that you promised were on order for the numbers that we're no longer doing?

Maybe...just maybe...this will finally be enough for the director to stop calling you each year to do the design and turn to someone else.  Someone who will actually, you know, DESIGN the show, rather than blowing the budget on a bunch of stuff and then playing dress-up with the cast members...

Yep, the fridge had gone; at least the freezer part, and it's farewell to holiday as well now, as the repairs to the shed and garage door are making that less possible.  As was the tiny pay rise we were scheduled to get as our union rep - you know, the one who's supposed to be HELPING the poor idiots who PAY HIS SALARY....decided that the wording of the contract we voted on meant that we didn't get a rise - so when I get pay cut number three next week and number four the next month - I'll be making the same salary as when I started eight years ago.  Oh, and the fees on the toll roads have increased 225% since then.  As if petrol, food and other expenses didn't go up as well.  I'll be applying for assistance soon or buying cat food for meat.....   But I shan't need to worry about retirement as the minimum age has increased again and I'll simply drop dead at work one day.

"Prolly"

this is probably supposed to be probably and every time I see it I probably feel like throttling the person who wrote it.

My new boss starts the day before I take 2 weeks leave.

Chances are he is going to make some major decisions about the future of the CMS and eCommerce platforms we use in the organisation.

Chances are my 18 months of experience won't contribute to this decision.

I hope he doesn't fruit things up.

Right. Fruit it!
This exam keeps being swung back in my face with a huge "FAILED" label on it.
Already had to seek dispensation to redo it and they keep failing it.
Last exam before I can write the master thesis and I can't get it passed no matter what I do.
Councillor said I worried too much last time I spoke with her and yet I flunk.
This single exam has already delayed my graduation with a year.
It really feels like a nightmare that will not end.

I'm tired of being poor and setting my entire life on standby for University that can't even give me a clear answer on what they want. Tired of postponing my plans to move abroad.
Tired of feeling insecure and having my future determined a few artificially constructed moments designed to make me trip myself.
This message was last edited by the user at 18:27, Fri 28 June 2013.

This message was deleted by a moderator, as it was off-topic, at 18:52, Fri 28 June 2013.

This message was deleted by a moderator, as it was against the forum rules, at 22:29, Fri 28 June 2013.

I hate the end of the month at work.  It would be ok if the 3rd nurse of the night shift trio would do his fair shaire of the bleeding paperworkm but he won't.  So I'll end up doing half of her side and all of his side, since while we are all full time, I'm the one who swings back and forth between the halls.  I prefer doing that to always being on one side, but give me a break.  at least for the next 3 months after this, I will have the last night of the month off and he can deal with his side only half done.

Yeah, you're still responsible for what you say and what you do, no matter your emotional state.

Excluding other players because you want to be the shining detective isn't okay, even less so when I have to deal with the drama and have to do damage control because you keep swallowing your foot every time you speak.

Injured at work - not a surprise, as it was only a matter of time before they tried to kill off the oldster. (No one has EVER retired from the job I do - they die, they quit, they are fired, or they move up to a desk job). Now I even less money -- though the commute is gone. Contacting the union on Monday to tell them I will need legal representation to keep my job - oh, wait, they cut that benefit.  Pain won't stop and now the sulky weather making me feel worse still.  I am thinking I'm disabled and it is NOT a good thing to be.

Setting up a life I don't want to escape from is proving a lot more difficult than anticipated. :(
I was hoping I could be serving chease with the whine by now...

Hearing "I don't think this is going to work, I want kids."

Sorry,  but,  I'm pretty sure you knew when we got into this that I'm not capable of having kids.  Come up with a decent excuse please.  Also, thanks for ruining the party.

MYST! WHY WON'T YOU RUN ON MY COMPUTER PROPERLY?

Feeling far too retrospective for my own good tonight!

Broke my favorite router bit (carpentry tool, not computer hardware) on the last piece of stuff I needed it for.  Gonna have to take some extra precautions with that particular item, because the part that broke off controlled how deep the bit went into the wood...so there's now a lovely sharp edge down the middle of a section of it that I was trying to round off.

This show's gonna kill me, I swear....

It drives me crazy that I'm on every day and spend most of my time here waiting for replies. :(

This message was deleted by the user at 17:40, Mon 01 July 2013.

So I get my grading on Friday.
I had failed again. It was an exam I already seeked dispensation for last semester and has taken about as long as the rest of my master studies. I have fourteen days to register a complaint about the grading and naturally the supervisor is not replying her emails so I can get an explanation as to why they flunk me and the studentcouncillor who would otherwise be assisting in writing complaints has gone on holiday already.

They certainly know how to cover their apples.
Now I have to spend my vacation coming up with reasons as to why they should allow me one final go at the same exam and delay my graduation with another half a year or if I should change major and accept that I can be twelve to eighteen months delayed.