On starting a business

August 29 was my last day as a transcriptionist.  No more trying to figure out what the endocrinologist with the West African/French/Jamaican accent is saying 20 feet away from the microphone.  No more bleeding eardrums when someone decides to clear their throat right in front of the microphone while I’ve got the volume turned up all the way so I can hear the West African/French/Jamaican doctor.  No more commuting to work and having to eat out for breakfast and lunch and sometimes dinner.

But also, no more steady paycheck.  No more fun lunches with RS, my partner in arms at the transcription company.  And much, much less daily human contact.

Why did I do all this?  Because my singing career has finally gotten me to the point where I can afford to quit my day job.  And because the past couple of Christmas seasons have made me want to start my own business providing carolers to events.

So I quit my job and formed my own company.  I’ve got so many singing gigs on my own that they are, by themselves, a full-time job, so this is still a side business, if you will.

But it’s certainly VERY hard work.  I started back in March trying to write a business plan and got stuck.  I meant to apply for incorporation documents back in June, but I got busy.  June turned to July and then to August, and I had already put my notice in at work, so I figured I’d better get cracking.

Then there was the website.  After several failed attempts at building a website with a prefab Wordpress template, my perfectionism was getting the better of me.  I know just enough about websites to make me dangerous; I wanted the site to do certain things and look a certain way, but I didn’t (and still don’t) have enough chops to achieve my goals.  After about 10 hours of hair-pulling and gnashing of teeth, I realized that if I wanted to get it done right, I’d have to pay a professional to do it.

Enter BeSeen.  One of the founding partners is a fellow singer in The Crossing and also happens to be an advertising whiz.  His company will be putting together a fantabulous website just as soon as we get the pictures, video, and sound from last night’s photo shoot/recording session.  I’m very excited about this!

Working from home is wonderful and horrible all at the same time.  There are a million distractions from housework to TV to Facebook and Twitter to video games (I’m currently at the very end of GTA IV and am really frustrated I can’t/shouldn’t devote more time to it so I can finish the dang thing!!). Never mind the leather pouches I’m sewing for Ray to bring to Faire and the cloth pouches and sashes I should be sewing because I can sell them on consignment.  I also am volunteering my time negotiating a union contract that’s taking more time than we all had anticipated.  Oh yeah, and lest I forget, I have three different gigs I’m learning music for at the same time.  You know, for my job that actually pays the bills?

In order for me to set up this business properly, I have a ton of long to-do lists, from assembling music (I’ve decided to self-publish my own arrangements) to making sure there are enough costume pieces for those people without costumes (more sewing or paying someone else to sew!  Which do I have less of:  time or money?) to auditioning singers, building a client base (REALLY important), and writing contracts.  Ugh.  I need a clone.  No, I need several clones.  But I don’t have enough money for an assistant (or a clone…the R&D costs alone would be astronomical!), so I’ll just have to go nuts and try to do it all on my own.

Wish me luck.

Hoodlum Hasidim

On Monday, Ray and I had to go home, rent a van, and bring it back to the Ren Faire. The leather shop needed to be packed up, and none of us have cars big enough to bring back all the crap they’ve accumulated over the summer, at least not in one trip. Thus, it was up to me to keep Ray company as we traversed half the state of Pennsylvania twice in one day.

Luckily we had plenty to talk about, such as setting a date for our wedding (March 17, 2007), a place for the wedding (Oahu, Hawaii), how big the wedding should be (SMALL: only 30 people or fewer, so don’t be offended if you don’t get an invitation), and if we should have a big reception when we get home for our friends who can’t make it all the way to Hawaii (that’s a big yes).

At one point, we stopped at a rest stop, and I saw the strangest sight. There were about three or four guys sitting at a table outside the rest stop building, smoking and chatting. Nothing strange about that, I know, but they all had thick beards, those curly locks in front of their ears, and all of them had tassels or tzitzit hanging under their shirts. I immediately pegged them as Hasidim, but there was something incongruous about them: they were all wearing brightly colored baseball caps and smoking.

Now, I’m not Jewish, so if I offend any of you with my ignorance, please forgive me. But my only exposure to Hasidim have been at banks and on the subway in New York. And usually they’re dressed in black and white, no colors at all, so the baseball caps were throwing me for a loop. And since I’ve never seen a Hasid outside a non-smoking area, I have never seen them smoke. I suppose my feeble mind thought their strict religious practices would prohibit smoking, since it’s bad for you. So the first thought that came to my mind was, “Hey, these are hoodlums. They’re sitting outside wearing colors and smoking! Those are some real bad boy Hasidim!”

Anyway, the thought gave me the giggles. Hoodlum Hasidim are taking over the rest stops on the PA Turnpike. Guard your daughters and lock up your dogs. There’s Trouble with a capital T that rhymes with P that stands for Pareve.

Frolicking At Funky Formal

When we got to the Funky Formal, the party was in full swing, with DJ Kiltboy at the helm, playing all the funky music he could get his hands on.

About a half an hour after we got to the party, Kiltboy picked up the microphone and said, “This has been a very romantic weekend. I understand two people got engaged.” Ray and I looked at each other, and several of our friends started whooping and pointing at us. I had told Kiltboy earlier that day, but didn’t expect him to announce it, and although I don’t mind public humiliation, Ray does tend to shy away from the spotlight. Then Kiltboy continued, “Angie and Darren, will you come on up here? This one’s for you.” Another couple came running up on stage and started slow dancing/making out. Ray and I looked at each other, both puzzled. Angie and Darren? Who the hell are Angie and Darren? Someone stole Ray’s idea of proposing on the last weekend?

Well, whatever. We figured maybe Kiltboy would let them have their time, and then announce our engagement next. And sure enough, after a few more songs, he picked up the microphone again and said, “Well, it seems romance is in the air. Can I have your attention please?” Then he handed the microphone to another guy who proceeded to propose to his girlfriend right then and there! “Jeez,” I said, “is there something in the water?”

We waited the rest of the night for DJ Kiltboy to announce our engagement. We figured he MUST have it on his agenda, right? No. As they were kicking us out, Ray approached Kiltboy, who smacked his forehead and said, “Dude, I’m so sorry. I was so drunk I totally forgot to announce your engagement.” Riiiiight. My theory? Kiltboy doesn’t remember my name. But I’m just keeping that one between you and me.

The Quality of an Inn

On Sunday night, we went to the Funky Formal, an annual end-of-season event for the merchants and cast up at the PA Ren Faire. It was being held at a different hotel this time, due to a change in organizers. I don’t think anybody really cared where it was, as long as there was music and alcohol, but those of us who spent the night at the hotel cared a little.

The ironically named Quality Inn left much to be desired in the way of hospitality. Our room was difficult to find because the rooms were outside (”Nobody told me this was a motel,” complained Ray) and the light in front of our room was out. When we entered the room, we figured the entire breaker was gone because the light switch wasn’t working, and we had to stumble about in the dark for a lamp, any lamp, that would turn on.

When we finally had light in our room, I wasn’t horrified at our surroundings, but Ray was upset that we had no in-room fridge for his drinks. The shower had mold on the ceiling, and it looked like someone had recently absconded with the hook on the back of the door. When we were ready to go to bed, we heard the people next door having a huge fight, and the walls were so thin, I thought of mediating their discussion through the wall. All in all, we came to the conclusion that just because it’s called the Quality Inn doesn’t tell you what kind of quality inn.

The ballroom was quite nice, though; much better than the other place. It’s as if the owners spent all their money on the meeting rooms and didn’t have enough money for the actual bedrooms.

Stay tuned for adventures at the Funky Formal.

Ending the Suspense

All right, finally I have some time to tell my stories.

This past weekend, at the last weekend of the PA Renaissance Faire, Ray asked me to marry him. I was standing on the steps of the As You Like It/Up Your Kilt booth (where I usually do my spinning) and he came walking up the hill with something big under his cloak. I was curious to see what was under there, so I tried peeking under the cloak, but he wouldn’t let me. Finally he pulled out a huge basket full of roses, most of them red, but some yellow, which have significance hearkening back to the first bunch of roses he gave me.

I thought that was the big surprise. Ray’s not much for grand gestures or anything, so giving me flowers on the final weekend of faire was big enough for him, or so I figured. But then he said, “I don’t have a song, I don’t have a poem, I don’t have a speech, but I do have a question for you. Will you marry me?”

Well, of course I said yes. And my friends at the booth are so excited that it happened in their shop that they intend to memorialize the event by painting a little red heart where I was standing. Hopefully, they said, this will start a trend.

So after we got engaged, it was up to me to announce to everyone at the faire our happy state. Ray, in true form, didn’t even tell the Leatherboys what he had done. The reactions from the people he worked with ran from predictable cynicism of, “Haven’t you learned from my mistake?” to “Why didn’t you do it at our shop? After all, it is where you guys met.” (Strangely enough both statements were made by the same person). Another friend shouted to the entire faire grounds, “Ray has FEELINGS!” And of course, everyone offered their congratulations.

There are more stories, but I’m going to give them to you in piecemeal so you can have something to look forward to later.

Not Much Now

Of course I have to run off to work and such, but I thought I’d give a little summary of my weekend. The bottom line is, I love children, but when you get a two-for-one day at the Renaissance Faire and the theme is Children’s Fantasy Weekend, you’re in for trouble. There were way too many hellions running around with little or no parental supervision, and I was getting ready to drop-kick a few of them.

On a happier note, I test-drove a new spinning wheel that I want. Oh, this thing is nice. I had a few problems with the tension, but that was mostly because the wood was expanding due to being outside for three days. Well, we’ll see if I can afford it.

Sleepy

Besides staying up late for these union negotiation meetings, I’ve been running around like mad trying to clean the house. Only the house just doesn’t get clean because there’s always something else more important that I have to do. Argh!

I made Ray a peasant shirt for the Ren Faire yesterday (he tore one of his last weekend, so I thought I’d be nice and make him a new one. I doubled one of my measurements by mistake and I made it WAY too big. I don’t think math and I get along very well. Maybe I should make an effort to be nicer to it, and it will help me get jobs done.

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

Boy, these last few weeks have been busy, busy, busy! I’ve been driving here and there, thither and yon. Ray and I drove to PA to do some repairs on the shop at the Ren Faire. I drove to CT to see my cousin, my aunt who was visiting, and my little baby cousin, Samantha. I got to see my brother briefly as he flew into NY for freshman orientation at NYU. Although he was a little trepidacious before he went in, he was much more relaxed and happy when he left two and a half days later. I really only got to see him on the way to and from the airport, but I was happy to have that time to chat. I’ll hopefully be seeing him much more when school starts!

Well, now that the Lord of the Rings Symphony is over, I’m feeling much less stressed. I had a lot more fun this year than I did last year. I go the solo again, and that made me happy. But the best part about the whole thing is that Ray came to see it. He hasn’t come to see me perform in years (no, the weddings don’t count; he’s there as my date), and he said I sounded wonderful. I felt good about it, which is more than I can say for last year’s performance. And I think a lot of that had to do with Markus Huber, the conductor, who is simply fabulous. He’s a true musician, and though I was a little disappointed that he missed a few plot points from the movie when explaining it to us, he more than made up for it by understanding the essence of the piece. It was certainly a pleasure to sing under his baton.

In the meantime, it’s sweltering hot here in NJ. A thunderstorm the other day took out the electricity in a whopping two block radius, and it took the electric company all night to figure out how to fix it. With the AC off and all the fans not working, even the darkness wasn’t cool enough to keep tempers in check, and it got pretty tense here at Casa de la Maren. A trip to Friendly’s for some ice cream was in order, and then after that a nice, romantic walk along the riverfront in Burlington in front of the gorgeous colonial mansions. It was 11:30 by the time we got back home, but we were both calmer, and I was ready to go to sleep.

All’s well that ends well, though, because sometime around midnight the power came back on, so the AC went back on in our room and I passed out. Ray, on the other hand, was still awake and wandering the house, resetting clocks and making sure all the lights were turned off. I’m not sure he slept very much at all that night, because the next morning, he was dead tired and still a little cranky. It’s just amazing what temperature does to a person’s emotions, isn’t it?

Resurfacing for Air

Well, it’s been a whirlwind weekend (like I thought), but I managed to get almost enough sleep. It’s already Wednesday, and I’m still having trouble getting out of bed in the morning. I think I’m addicted to coffee again. Stupid caffeine. I’m having tea today (English Breakfast) to start weaning myself off of the demon coffee bean.

Faire is over (yay!) which means that I’m now in CLEAN-UP mode (boo!). Ray is being really helpful, surprisingly. I think I finally explained to him how important it is for me to have a special set-aside place for my dad to stay. He’s going to move the pinball machine he’s fixing, guts and all, to the garage. But first Ray and Josh have to clear a space in the garage, because now they have all the leather from the faire in boxes everywhere. They’re working on that while I’m doing cleanup in other areas of the house. Today is laundry day. Unfortunately, I still have to work this week, so I can’t start anything until this afternoon. But things are getting done, and that’s good. Ray’s even renting a truck for the weekend so we can go to New York and take Amy’s daybed that she’s been trying to unload on us for a good five months.

Opening, etc.

Friday was our opening night, and it went really well. I went out and got candy for the whole cast and crew (since it’s Halloween time it was pretty cheap) and cards and flowers for the SM & ASMs.

Since Faust is a good 3-1/2 hours, even with cuts, we didn’t get done until 11:30. I had promised to go to the Renaissance Faire on Saturday, and I had the option of either leaving Friday night after the show from Philly (which is closer to faire) or leaving from home Saturday morning. Since I was also driving Jill over there, we both opted for plan B. This meant sleeping for 4-1/2 hours, getting up at 5:30 AM, and leaving at 6 for a two-hour drive to faire.

When we got there, Jill, who had slept in the car the whole way, went back to sleep, and I, who had already drunk two cups of coffee to stay awake, was wired and started opening up the shop where I spin (across the road from the leather shop). I stayed up and alert, giving spinning demonstrations and making sales for the whole day. There was a huge crowd, so I never really got a chance to rest. That evening, I went to dinner with Ray and the crew, and by the time we were done with dinner, it was 9 PM. I had been up for way too long, and my body was starting to shake with the need to sleep, so I figured it wasn’t a good idea to drive home yet.

But I had to be at church the next morning, so I spent the night at faire, woke up on Sunday morning at 4:45 AM, and drove two hours back home. I got home at 7, just enough time to shower and change and go to church. Now remember, I have two church services, so I wasn’t done until 12:30. But there was still no rest for me yet, because I had a matinee on Sunday, too, so I had to get to the theater by 1:30. I managed to get some lunch, luckily, so I had enough energy (just barely) to get through the show. I was done by 6 and home by 7. Once I got home, I showered (I had to get all that makeup and sweat off me) and had dinner, plopping myself in front of the TV to wait for Ray to get home from faire. I was asleep by 10.

I was supposed to go to work today, but I was so sleep deprived that I actually overslept and ended up calling out sick. It’s Columbus Day anyway, and Ray has the day off too, so we’re going to be vegetables together. I’m hoping to get at least three or four naps in today.