Ramblings, rumblings, grumblings, and rambling grumbly rumblings.

For the last several weeks, I've been in "production mode." In general terms, this means that I've been focused on a particular project or two that isn't necessarily creative but nonetheless needs to get done. This has been the case at both my day job and Seamlyne.

As a result, my creative side is going out of its mind. I've got a project in mind, an animated short film, and I've found a software package that will allow me to create it (AnimeStudio, if you're interested). I set myself to an hour a day working through the tutorials and it looks awesome; the learning curve isn't terribly steep, but as usually happens something came up. Several somethings, actually. Many tights orders and a huge project at work. So much for learning time.

On the subject of Seamlyne, I've grown increasingly frustrated there. It's making next to no money, and what money it is bringing in is being pulled out for personal bills. That's its purpose, I know, but there's nothing left in the business account to actually, you know, run the friggin' business. I've twice had to put the "sorry, long turnaround time" message on the website knowing that, should an order actually come in, we'd have to wait for the deposit to clear to buy the fabric for it. Seamlyne's only line of credit is burned up, too.

Frustrating.

Tax season is officially behind us, but we only filed last week, and it's a tax bill we can't pay. We'll have to apply to have this year's taxes rolled into the payment plan from last year. Lowe's won't get their payment until late, and it's getting later every month. Yes, our money situation sucks mightily. We're more behind than we have been, and it isn't likely to get better soon, if at all.

Hurts to type those words. I've never said it "out loud" before. Signs of the times, I guess.

Victim to this also is the Front Porch Project. I've got everything but the wood, which I had planned to buy at Lowes, but we haven't made a payment there so the account is closed for business. Yet another hole in the house, and though this one at least doesn't let the bugs in, it is right in front where it is plainly visible and unattractive. I imagine we'll have to save (if we can) and buy our lumber at The ReStore. It won't be treated lumber, but porches were built with untreated lumber for centuries.

Let's see...I don't want to keep whining about money, but that's what I've got just now. I need to get to work, so we'll just let it go for now.

Some days, when I work from home, I can get more work done than I can at the office. Yesterday was not one of those days. The project I'm on now is reasonably complex but not well thought out - I'm making up solutions where the problems haven't been well defined so progress is, to say the least, slow. It's not unlike a puzzle where each solution provides clues looking forward, and helps to clarify the next problem.

And I hate puzzles.

In other news, though, I got the lawn mowed last night. I had planned to pull out the tiller and start on the garden beds, but the damn thing, full of stale fuel and apathy, wouldn't start. The areas to be tilled had finally dried enough to get into, and overnight and into this morning it rained. I think God or Nature or whoever doesn't want us to have a garden...or for me to reseed the area under the maple tree.

I did eventually get it started after draining the old gasoline, cleaning the spark plug and adding fresh fuel, but by that time it was nearly full dark.  I hope that once it stops raining later this morning, it stays not-raining the rest of the day into tomorrow. If that happens, I'll be able to till in the morning.

That's the idea anyway.

This morning, after only five minutes in the office, I got to be witness to a loud-ish, angry pissing match between CFO and DG. I'd stepped in to DG's office just to update the morning before starting work and CFO barged in and proceeded to have it out with DG over accounts receivable and customer handling. Nothing for me to do but move to the back of the bus and watch the carnage. Not a good way for a HSP to start the morning.

The day will get bettter, I'm hopeful. There are a few tasks I can do - unrelated to the current project but valuable nonetheless - that I can Get Done and scratch off the list so I have at least a few wins for the day.