![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meccahiI haven't the foggiest idea of where to start..
( the beginning..duh!).
I left Arizona on Monday night... not Sunday night as I had intended. It seemed like there was just one thing after another that had to be done..to be packed, to be organized, to be shoved into a corner of the car. But leave I did (finally!).
I made it to just past the border of Texas, where I had to pull over and sleep. I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. I think the combination of stress, plus the exertion of packing All The Things.. plus the relief to finally being on the road, caught up with me hard. My poor tiny car was smooshed to bursting ( as usual), so I had just my driver seat.. stuck in the upright position to sleep in. Luckily I'm little enough that it was enough room to nap. And nap I did. For about 3 hours longer than I meant to. I had meant to just sleep for an hour, then get back on the road.. but I guess that just wasn't happening.
Woke up, and hauled ass across Texas.. I figured I had enough time to stop at Scarborough Faire and visit friends and see the site since I hadn't been there in something like 8 years. Kristi was there, along with a few other people that I hadn't had a chance to visit with during the Arizona show.
Pulled on to the Scarby site just as evening was falling.. and felt a huge wave of nostalgia. Everything is the same. The entire layout of the site flooded back into my memory and I knew exactly where to go to find Kristi's camp. Met her halfway along the road to the campground. Pulled in, and immediately took my shoes off.
I know, I know. Damn hippie. And I know how dicey it is taking one's shoes off in Scarby.. between fire ants, and pokey branches and other bitey bugs... you're safer wandering around in kevlar socks. I didn't care.
Kept on running into friends along the dirt road to the campground... and in the campground.. Kristi and I grabbed some wine and scampered off to The Junk ( a building on site used as kind of a cafe/hangout/music spot).. Lots of talking.. lots of laughing..
I stayed in Scarby way longer than I intended.. but I am so glad I did. Got a few less hours of sleep than intended also.. but it didn't matter.
Lots more driving... across the rest of Texas.. into Louisiana.
I pulled into Tallulah, Louisiana for gas and for food. As soon as I pulled in I was charmed. Tallulah is one of those tiny Louisiana towns that sprung up along one of its many river ways. Beautiful 1800's houses surrounded by green and trees. It lies along the Walnut Bayou. It's lush, and quaint.. and again...Tiiiiinnnny. It has a population of less than 10K.
In fact... what the heck.. here's a link en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallulah,_Louisiana
I wanted something quick so I decided to go into Popeyes for red beans and rice ( way, WAY better than they have any right to be). Sat down and ate lunch while reading e-mail on my laptop..when I find an e-mail that I had somehow passed over.
A week before I left, I had posted an ad on Craigslist looking for a place to rent in Georgia for during the faire. I've been doing this for 15 years, and I am DONE with tent camping. Especially with what they charge at the Georgia show. ( $25 a week, plus $200 a month if you want electricity). I was asking $300 a month with utilities and internet included.
I had one place semi-lined up. Older gentleman by the name of Lawrence.. his place was within my mileage requirements, included electric, hi speed internet AND cable. He sounded intelligent and Not Creepy. The only drawback was that the place wouldn't be available till the 18th, and I was getting there on the 14th. But I figured I could wing it, or just do some urban camping until then. I could totally work with that.
Anyways...So I find another email that I somehow missed. I open it up to find that it was from a gentleman saying that he was the Astrologer at the Georgia Ren Faire...and that it sounded like that was the event I was vending at...and that he had a basement apartment that he was willing to rent.
That was too much of a coincidence for me, so I decided to call him, and at least let him know that I was in fact working the Georgia show,.. and that, while I had a place in theory, lined up, I'd be willing to take a look at his place, and to meet him. We chatted for a couple of minutes, and I let him know that the place I was looking at renting wasn't going to be available for a few days...and that I needed to drop some things off since I needed to make space in my car for my sales tent that I was picking up in North Carolina. I had originally intended to just rent a hotel room for a couple of nights, and just leave my stuff in the hotel room.
My spidey senses told me that I should probably stick to that plan... but I was so excited to hear from someone else from the show that I ignored it. I told Astrologer Dude that I would be pulling in kinda late since I was only in Louisiana...and that I needed to pretty much just dump stuff off, and then dash out again to go pick up my tent ( this is a Wednesday by the way). He says no problem..and that I could just stop by his place that night when I got in, and drop my stuff off.
We hang up, and I amble out to my car, happy that, while stressed as all get out...things seems to be going somewhat smoothly.
I slide into my tiny Yar Car, put the key in the ignition...aaaaaaaaand... Nothing.
Not a click. Not a beep.. not even a tiny cough. Completely dead.
Fuck.
All the calm that I had started to feel flew right out the window. My poor baby car has just over 140K miles. I immediately started thinking of what it could possibly be... mainly, my thoughts centering on either the alternator, or the starter. This is where my fancy phone came in especially handy. I looked up what auto parts stores were in the area and found out that there were two. First I called Napa... and then felt really stupid..because as I was talking to them, I looked up the street and saw the big Napa sign.
Tallulah is really small.
The other auto parts store was right across the street from Napa. Neither of them had a starter.. which sent me into more panic mode. It was Wednesday evening... I was in Louisiana...I still had to drive to North Carolina to get my tent, and then drive BACK to Georgia to get it, and the rest of my shop set up. I questioned not only my sanity, but also pretty much every life decision I'd made in the past 7 years. Why did I think that this was a good idea???
Then I realized that it would probably be a good idea...if I popped the damned hood first and took a look at what was going on before I start freaking.
Pop the hood...and am greeted by the site of my battery..and my battery cables covered in almost an inch of sediment and what looked like ash. I clean off what I can.. try the ignition again... but nothing.
I finally decide that I should walk to the Napa store. See two large ( and oh boy...very southern) men. I walk in, and they recognize me as the "Crazy girl from the phone earlier".. I asked them about a mechanic.. and in unison, they both point to a tiny blue shack...just across the train tracks. No sign. And apparently no telephone number. I see the figure of a man off in the distance with a yellow shirt on... "That's Richmond Auto" they tell me... "that guy workin' on that Dodge"..
So I hike myself on over across the tracks, to a yard scattered with various bodies of cars and parts, and see an older black man standing on a stool, bent over the open hood of an old giant Dodge truck.
"S'cuse me sir...I was told you were the person to talk to about fixing a car"..
Silence. He doesn't even look up from his work. I'm starting to feel panic again.
"My car is dead over at the Popeyes, it won't start... Umm... can you help me?"
He still doesn't look up... but grunts at me " What'd it do before then?"
Me: "Umm nothing... it started and was working fine!"
Now he looks up at me accusingly .."Don't lie to me, girl! What'd it do?!"
"Nothing! I swear... it was running just fine... I think it might be the battery.."
He grunts again, and steps off his stool... still not looking at me. Without a word he wanders off. I wait... hoping that he is actually coming back. He disappears into the back, and then I see him drop the garage door cover. He ambles back and gets into a giant dually truck.. and unlocks the passenger side. I crawl in and without a word, he drives me to the Popeyes ( 2 minutes away)..
Pulling up, we hop out.. and I pop the hood again.. I tell him that I saw the huge amount of corrosion on the battery.. He gets out his voltage meter.. I turn the ignition a few times...still nothing. He knocks a few more deposits off... putters a little more.. then tells me to turn the key again.
*Vroom!*
Car starts right up.
He shuts the hood and tells me to follow him back to the shop so he can clean the battery some more and test the alternator. I follow him back and as he starts cleaning, we actually start talking. And surly, monosyllabic, somewhat intimidating mechanic turns into an absolute sweetheart when I tell him that I used to work on my old Dodge, but that I was terrified to do anything to my very new, tiny Toyota. We start talking about Tallulah, and Louisiana..and traveling... and music. By the time he finished cleaning and checking my battery, he was one of the friendliest people I'd ever met.
And what did he charge me?
$15.
Amazing.
I felt so much better driving off.. the car ran fine, and I had only lost maybe an hour and a half of time.
I continued on .. driving through Missouri, then Alabama, then crossing finally into Georgia.
I called the Astrologer to let him know that I was on my way, but still a while out... luckily he was a night owl.
Finally found his place at almost exactly midnight... He came out to help and the moment I met him , I got the ookey feeling. He seemed nice enough... he and his two spastic dogs... but I felt like he was one of those people that could have an aneurysm at any moment. There was a tension around him that just felt...off.
He helped me unload a few things, all the while making veiled snarky comments about all of the things I had in my car. He kept on talking over me and insisting that I stay the night instead of following my plan of driving to Carolina and sleeping there . ( I had already set everything up with Vanessa..the woman I usually stay with during the Carolina show).. and then started telling me all about how my sign was affecting me. We kept the conversation pleasant... but all the while he kept on going on about how his plan was better but " you can make your own decision"..all the while still insisting that his idea was better. I tried to explain to him that I had a limited amount of time, and that I wanted to get to Carolina tonight so I could sleep there, get up in the morning, get my tent..and then drive back to Georgia.
Eventually I agreed to at least try and sleep ( I was still wired and ready to get back on the road)... Carolina was only 3 hours away. I wanted to get there so badly.. And he lead me down to the basement that he wanted to rent to me.
A basement with no door... that, quite frankly.. was quite smelly ( thanks to cats)... aaaand, kind of reminded me of "Silence of the Lambs".
There was a bed. And a small carpet. Other than that it was a washer and dryer, and concrete, and a mystery door. So.... not quite as finished as he had said.
We went back upstairs and talked some more. He started to relax some...and said that he had just lost his job...and been kicked out of his band. That the woman he had been dating had left him recently.. That most of it wasn't his fault and that it was just a tough time for his sign.
Hrmmm.
We talked for a bit longer than I intended.. but he seemed a little lonely. We talked about the faire...and he said that the faire would probably place my tent down by the river because "That's where they put all new people and they kept me there for two years until I built a booth".
This had me a bit worried. At this point I'd already dumped over a grand into Georgia...between gas, and booth fees. My new rule for any two month long show is that...it HAS to make its booth fee back in the first weekend (barring certain circumstances), or else I will not consider it worth doing again.
I finally went back down to the basement to try and sleep, while Astrologer Dude went back to watching something on his computer.
I tried to sleep. I really tried. But the whole place just felt... tense. Uncomfortable... and the bed smelled badly. I eventually drifted off for an hour.. and woke up with a start. The smell was pretty overpowering..
I somehow managed to creep out of the house without waking the spastic dogs.
Hopped in the car.. and got the Hell out of there.
Reached Vanessa's house in North Carolina around 8am.. She was up and around, and ( bless that woman's heart).. had a bed set up and a towel set out for me to take a shower. No matter what happens with her hellion kids, she is quite possibly one of the nicest people I have ever met. We talked for awhile.. and then I took the most wonderful shower in the existence of cleanliness. After 3 days of driving, I swear, I heard angels singing in there. It was orgasmic.
I slept for a couple of hours, woke up and chatted with Vanessa a little bit more.. then headed off to the Carolina site.
The actual tent getting part didn't take long at all. I managed to get all the poles and canvas loaded up in under an hour. While pulling out of site I realized that I was starving....and also, only 3 miles away from one of my favoritest gyro places in the country.
There is quite possibly nothing more heartwarming than to walk into a restaurant, and have the owner go " What the hell are you doing here at this time of year???"
And Om nom nom nom... delicious gyro.
Originally, Astrology Dude had wanted me to come back to his place once I picked up the tent...and by the time I was back in Georgia..I knew that it was too late to set up the tent ( It was Thursday evening). Started to feel mild panic again... and I knew..I just couldn't go back to his place. I wanted sleep... sleep without the smell of cat pee...and without feeling tension.. and to have a place that had a door that shut. Privacy. Even after making this 2,000 mile trip alone...I just wanted quiet time alone to myself. I decided to get a hotel room in Atlanta and just tell Astrologer Dude that I had stayed in Carolina..
That hotel room was sweet, sweet bliss.. and super cheap to boot. So worth it. I also managed to get a hold of the two local friends that wanted to work for me at the show. They were available to help do set up on Friday morning.
Friday morning kicks in, and I high tailed it to the Georgia site. The first time that I've been to the new site.
I love Georgia. I always have. It has a warmth and a beauty that reminds me a little of Oregon, with that touch of New Orleans charm. And the Georgia site is beautiful. So far, the management has been nothing but helpful and lovely.
The couple that I hired to help out showed up..and we had no issues getting my monstrously large tent up ( in windy conditions none the less). Sadly..that was really all we had time to do. Get the tent up, and get the tables arranged. Still so much work to do, but no daylight left. I decided I'd head in super early and get the rest of what needed to be done, finished.
Also.. contrary to what Astrologer Dude insisted..the did NOT put me down by the river. They placed me along a main roadway, not far from the main stage of the faire. It's an awesome spot.
That night, the couple insisted that I stay with them .. We picked up the rest of my stuff from Astrologer guy's place...and I explained that I'd be staying with them since they were helping me out that weekend anyways.. He seemed un-offended, thank goodness. I was worried about hurting his feelings.
So.. The couple and I headed to Wal Mart for booth stuff for me, and stuff for them... did our shopping, and then headed back to their place for the night. I got to play with the most adorable 6 month old Silver Bengal kitten. Freaking. Adorable. And HUGE. Still growing and he's already as large as an adult male cat.
I crashed out pretty early that night... and woke up ridiculously early.. and drove out to site.
In theory the couple were going to show up that morning and help me get set up.
I started the huge undertaking that is setting up my shop from scratch.. I had about 3 hours.
The show starts at 10:30am ( weird right??..usually shows start at 10am).
7 rolls by... then 8... then 9.. No employees. 10am.. still nothing, and I am in panic mode. Only half of my shop is together. There is still SO much to get done.
I have amazing neighbors. The card reader across the way had introduced himself to us the day before...and at first we all thought that he was a scary, angry guy. That morning, I stopped and talked with him for a few moments, and the next thing I knew he was helping me unload, and asking what I needed to get done. He helped me sort stock and then said if I needed anything else, to just call over to him.
I am so grateful that Georgia is a slow starting show...and that my shop is up the hill so it takes patrons awhile to get to us.
I somehow managed to get it at least somewhat together by 11:30am.. Still no employees though.
The show felt a little strangely, just like the Carolina show. Maybe it was the fact that my booth was set up pretty much exactly like the Carolina shop.. or just being back in the South.. but I found my comfort zone. Next thing I know.. There are crowds of people in my shop, and I'm helping 2 and 3 people at once.
By the end of the day.. Georgia had managed to more than cover its initial booth fees.
I called my pseudo- employees that night, to find out that the girl had "overslept"... and then just decided not to come in??? She apologized and then asked if I needed them on Sunday. I declined. I'm still not sure what to do about that. They really are sweet... but I can't have people just not showing up. We'll see.
I went back to their place that night, but they weren't there... and I promptly crashed out..hard. Woke up on Sunday morning and headed back in to do it all again.
Sunday turned out to be almost as busy as Saturday. I was really not expecting that at all... It looks like the weather is going to behave itself for second weekend too.. I'm just a tad intimidated. I know I'll have at least one of the couple working with me, because I definitely need at the very least, a breaker.
Sunday night, my neighbors ( who are ALL just wonderful), and I headed out to the local Rennie restaurant choice.. which turned out to be an Americanized Mexican restaurant... Ran into so many friends ..and they let us have a drum circle on their back patio... which is where I realized when I looked up..that it was a full moon. Beauty.
Didn't get back to the Couple's place until almost 3am.
Rolled out of bed on Monday at 11... hung out with the guy of the couple for a bit, before heading out to meet my prospective new roommate, Lawrence.
My impression of him on the phone was older Jewish New Yorker. What I did not expect was older New Yorker retired black man who is a computer geek and closet Diablo II player. He seems really, pretty cool so far. Very talkative. He's a diabetic that's also a partial amputee. Divorced. Probably mid 60's. The house is in a middle class area that's just a bit outside of the ghetto. It's a quiet neighborhood.
My room has not only hi speed internet... but a TV..and full Cable. *lust*
I think my brain may be melted. But at least I'll have things to listen to/watch, while I knit furiously this show.
This is only my second day here..so I'm still keeping somewhat reserved.. but I like it here so far. I've so far just spent most of my time holed up in my room..catching up on paper work and placing supply orders ( ughhh...spending so much money in such a short amount of time always makes me twitch.. but it's needed).
And I have spent wayyy too long today writing this entry. Crikey! This very well may be the longest entry that I've ever written.
I also decided yesterday that it was time to stop drinking soda. I've stopped before, and it was a huge mistake to start again. So, while at Wally World yesterday, I picked up a hard walled water bottle to carry with me all the time. And no soda. None. I have tea, and coffee, and for now, Crystal Light, though I want to pull myself away from that too eventually.
I will be amazed if anyone made it through this entry... but then again, I more wanted to just remember all the events of the past couple of weeks... which, right now, feels like so much longer.
It's going to be an eventful couple of months I think.
( the beginning..duh!).
I left Arizona on Monday night... not Sunday night as I had intended. It seemed like there was just one thing after another that had to be done..to be packed, to be organized, to be shoved into a corner of the car. But leave I did (finally!).
I made it to just past the border of Texas, where I had to pull over and sleep. I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. I think the combination of stress, plus the exertion of packing All The Things.. plus the relief to finally being on the road, caught up with me hard. My poor tiny car was smooshed to bursting ( as usual), so I had just my driver seat.. stuck in the upright position to sleep in. Luckily I'm little enough that it was enough room to nap. And nap I did. For about 3 hours longer than I meant to. I had meant to just sleep for an hour, then get back on the road.. but I guess that just wasn't happening.
Woke up, and hauled ass across Texas.. I figured I had enough time to stop at Scarborough Faire and visit friends and see the site since I hadn't been there in something like 8 years. Kristi was there, along with a few other people that I hadn't had a chance to visit with during the Arizona show.
Pulled on to the Scarby site just as evening was falling.. and felt a huge wave of nostalgia. Everything is the same. The entire layout of the site flooded back into my memory and I knew exactly where to go to find Kristi's camp. Met her halfway along the road to the campground. Pulled in, and immediately took my shoes off.
I know, I know. Damn hippie. And I know how dicey it is taking one's shoes off in Scarby.. between fire ants, and pokey branches and other bitey bugs... you're safer wandering around in kevlar socks. I didn't care.
Kept on running into friends along the dirt road to the campground... and in the campground.. Kristi and I grabbed some wine and scampered off to The Junk ( a building on site used as kind of a cafe/hangout/music spot).. Lots of talking.. lots of laughing..
I stayed in Scarby way longer than I intended.. but I am so glad I did. Got a few less hours of sleep than intended also.. but it didn't matter.
Lots more driving... across the rest of Texas.. into Louisiana.
I pulled into Tallulah, Louisiana for gas and for food. As soon as I pulled in I was charmed. Tallulah is one of those tiny Louisiana towns that sprung up along one of its many river ways. Beautiful 1800's houses surrounded by green and trees. It lies along the Walnut Bayou. It's lush, and quaint.. and again...Tiiiiinnnny. It has a population of less than 10K.
In fact... what the heck.. here's a link en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallulah,_Louisiana
I wanted something quick so I decided to go into Popeyes for red beans and rice ( way, WAY better than they have any right to be). Sat down and ate lunch while reading e-mail on my laptop..when I find an e-mail that I had somehow passed over.
A week before I left, I had posted an ad on Craigslist looking for a place to rent in Georgia for during the faire. I've been doing this for 15 years, and I am DONE with tent camping. Especially with what they charge at the Georgia show. ( $25 a week, plus $200 a month if you want electricity). I was asking $300 a month with utilities and internet included.
I had one place semi-lined up. Older gentleman by the name of Lawrence.. his place was within my mileage requirements, included electric, hi speed internet AND cable. He sounded intelligent and Not Creepy. The only drawback was that the place wouldn't be available till the 18th, and I was getting there on the 14th. But I figured I could wing it, or just do some urban camping until then. I could totally work with that.
Anyways...So I find another email that I somehow missed. I open it up to find that it was from a gentleman saying that he was the Astrologer at the Georgia Ren Faire...and that it sounded like that was the event I was vending at...and that he had a basement apartment that he was willing to rent.
That was too much of a coincidence for me, so I decided to call him, and at least let him know that I was in fact working the Georgia show,.. and that, while I had a place in theory, lined up, I'd be willing to take a look at his place, and to meet him. We chatted for a couple of minutes, and I let him know that the place I was looking at renting wasn't going to be available for a few days...and that I needed to drop some things off since I needed to make space in my car for my sales tent that I was picking up in North Carolina. I had originally intended to just rent a hotel room for a couple of nights, and just leave my stuff in the hotel room.
My spidey senses told me that I should probably stick to that plan... but I was so excited to hear from someone else from the show that I ignored it. I told Astrologer Dude that I would be pulling in kinda late since I was only in Louisiana...and that I needed to pretty much just dump stuff off, and then dash out again to go pick up my tent ( this is a Wednesday by the way). He says no problem..and that I could just stop by his place that night when I got in, and drop my stuff off.
We hang up, and I amble out to my car, happy that, while stressed as all get out...things seems to be going somewhat smoothly.
I slide into my tiny Yar Car, put the key in the ignition...aaaaaaaaand... Nothing.
Not a click. Not a beep.. not even a tiny cough. Completely dead.
Fuck.
All the calm that I had started to feel flew right out the window. My poor baby car has just over 140K miles. I immediately started thinking of what it could possibly be... mainly, my thoughts centering on either the alternator, or the starter. This is where my fancy phone came in especially handy. I looked up what auto parts stores were in the area and found out that there were two. First I called Napa... and then felt really stupid..because as I was talking to them, I looked up the street and saw the big Napa sign.
Tallulah is really small.
The other auto parts store was right across the street from Napa. Neither of them had a starter.. which sent me into more panic mode. It was Wednesday evening... I was in Louisiana...I still had to drive to North Carolina to get my tent, and then drive BACK to Georgia to get it, and the rest of my shop set up. I questioned not only my sanity, but also pretty much every life decision I'd made in the past 7 years. Why did I think that this was a good idea???
Then I realized that it would probably be a good idea...if I popped the damned hood first and took a look at what was going on before I start freaking.
Pop the hood...and am greeted by the site of my battery..and my battery cables covered in almost an inch of sediment and what looked like ash. I clean off what I can.. try the ignition again... but nothing.
I finally decide that I should walk to the Napa store. See two large ( and oh boy...very southern) men. I walk in, and they recognize me as the "Crazy girl from the phone earlier".. I asked them about a mechanic.. and in unison, they both point to a tiny blue shack...just across the train tracks. No sign. And apparently no telephone number. I see the figure of a man off in the distance with a yellow shirt on... "That's Richmond Auto" they tell me... "that guy workin' on that Dodge"..
So I hike myself on over across the tracks, to a yard scattered with various bodies of cars and parts, and see an older black man standing on a stool, bent over the open hood of an old giant Dodge truck.
"S'cuse me sir...I was told you were the person to talk to about fixing a car"..
Silence. He doesn't even look up from his work. I'm starting to feel panic again.
"My car is dead over at the Popeyes, it won't start... Umm... can you help me?"
He still doesn't look up... but grunts at me " What'd it do before then?"
Me: "Umm nothing... it started and was working fine!"
Now he looks up at me accusingly .."Don't lie to me, girl! What'd it do?!"
"Nothing! I swear... it was running just fine... I think it might be the battery.."
He grunts again, and steps off his stool... still not looking at me. Without a word he wanders off. I wait... hoping that he is actually coming back. He disappears into the back, and then I see him drop the garage door cover. He ambles back and gets into a giant dually truck.. and unlocks the passenger side. I crawl in and without a word, he drives me to the Popeyes ( 2 minutes away)..
Pulling up, we hop out.. and I pop the hood again.. I tell him that I saw the huge amount of corrosion on the battery.. He gets out his voltage meter.. I turn the ignition a few times...still nothing. He knocks a few more deposits off... putters a little more.. then tells me to turn the key again.
*Vroom!*
Car starts right up.
He shuts the hood and tells me to follow him back to the shop so he can clean the battery some more and test the alternator. I follow him back and as he starts cleaning, we actually start talking. And surly, monosyllabic, somewhat intimidating mechanic turns into an absolute sweetheart when I tell him that I used to work on my old Dodge, but that I was terrified to do anything to my very new, tiny Toyota. We start talking about Tallulah, and Louisiana..and traveling... and music. By the time he finished cleaning and checking my battery, he was one of the friendliest people I'd ever met.
And what did he charge me?
$15.
Amazing.
I felt so much better driving off.. the car ran fine, and I had only lost maybe an hour and a half of time.
I continued on .. driving through Missouri, then Alabama, then crossing finally into Georgia.
I called the Astrologer to let him know that I was on my way, but still a while out... luckily he was a night owl.
Finally found his place at almost exactly midnight... He came out to help and the moment I met him , I got the ookey feeling. He seemed nice enough... he and his two spastic dogs... but I felt like he was one of those people that could have an aneurysm at any moment. There was a tension around him that just felt...off.
He helped me unload a few things, all the while making veiled snarky comments about all of the things I had in my car. He kept on talking over me and insisting that I stay the night instead of following my plan of driving to Carolina and sleeping there . ( I had already set everything up with Vanessa..the woman I usually stay with during the Carolina show).. and then started telling me all about how my sign was affecting me. We kept the conversation pleasant... but all the while he kept on going on about how his plan was better but " you can make your own decision"..all the while still insisting that his idea was better. I tried to explain to him that I had a limited amount of time, and that I wanted to get to Carolina tonight so I could sleep there, get up in the morning, get my tent..and then drive back to Georgia.
Eventually I agreed to at least try and sleep ( I was still wired and ready to get back on the road)... Carolina was only 3 hours away. I wanted to get there so badly.. And he lead me down to the basement that he wanted to rent to me.
A basement with no door... that, quite frankly.. was quite smelly ( thanks to cats)... aaaand, kind of reminded me of "Silence of the Lambs".
There was a bed. And a small carpet. Other than that it was a washer and dryer, and concrete, and a mystery door. So.... not quite as finished as he had said.
We went back upstairs and talked some more. He started to relax some...and said that he had just lost his job...and been kicked out of his band. That the woman he had been dating had left him recently.. That most of it wasn't his fault and that it was just a tough time for his sign.
Hrmmm.
We talked for a bit longer than I intended.. but he seemed a little lonely. We talked about the faire...and he said that the faire would probably place my tent down by the river because "That's where they put all new people and they kept me there for two years until I built a booth".
This had me a bit worried. At this point I'd already dumped over a grand into Georgia...between gas, and booth fees. My new rule for any two month long show is that...it HAS to make its booth fee back in the first weekend (barring certain circumstances), or else I will not consider it worth doing again.
I finally went back down to the basement to try and sleep, while Astrologer Dude went back to watching something on his computer.
I tried to sleep. I really tried. But the whole place just felt... tense. Uncomfortable... and the bed smelled badly. I eventually drifted off for an hour.. and woke up with a start. The smell was pretty overpowering..
I somehow managed to creep out of the house without waking the spastic dogs.
Hopped in the car.. and got the Hell out of there.
Reached Vanessa's house in North Carolina around 8am.. She was up and around, and ( bless that woman's heart).. had a bed set up and a towel set out for me to take a shower. No matter what happens with her hellion kids, she is quite possibly one of the nicest people I have ever met. We talked for awhile.. and then I took the most wonderful shower in the existence of cleanliness. After 3 days of driving, I swear, I heard angels singing in there. It was orgasmic.
I slept for a couple of hours, woke up and chatted with Vanessa a little bit more.. then headed off to the Carolina site.
The actual tent getting part didn't take long at all. I managed to get all the poles and canvas loaded up in under an hour. While pulling out of site I realized that I was starving....and also, only 3 miles away from one of my favoritest gyro places in the country.
There is quite possibly nothing more heartwarming than to walk into a restaurant, and have the owner go " What the hell are you doing here at this time of year???"
And Om nom nom nom... delicious gyro.
Originally, Astrology Dude had wanted me to come back to his place once I picked up the tent...and by the time I was back in Georgia..I knew that it was too late to set up the tent ( It was Thursday evening). Started to feel mild panic again... and I knew..I just couldn't go back to his place. I wanted sleep... sleep without the smell of cat pee...and without feeling tension.. and to have a place that had a door that shut. Privacy. Even after making this 2,000 mile trip alone...I just wanted quiet time alone to myself. I decided to get a hotel room in Atlanta and just tell Astrologer Dude that I had stayed in Carolina..
That hotel room was sweet, sweet bliss.. and super cheap to boot. So worth it. I also managed to get a hold of the two local friends that wanted to work for me at the show. They were available to help do set up on Friday morning.
Friday morning kicks in, and I high tailed it to the Georgia site. The first time that I've been to the new site.
I love Georgia. I always have. It has a warmth and a beauty that reminds me a little of Oregon, with that touch of New Orleans charm. And the Georgia site is beautiful. So far, the management has been nothing but helpful and lovely.
The couple that I hired to help out showed up..and we had no issues getting my monstrously large tent up ( in windy conditions none the less). Sadly..that was really all we had time to do. Get the tent up, and get the tables arranged. Still so much work to do, but no daylight left. I decided I'd head in super early and get the rest of what needed to be done, finished.
Also.. contrary to what Astrologer Dude insisted..the did NOT put me down by the river. They placed me along a main roadway, not far from the main stage of the faire. It's an awesome spot.
That night, the couple insisted that I stay with them .. We picked up the rest of my stuff from Astrologer guy's place...and I explained that I'd be staying with them since they were helping me out that weekend anyways.. He seemed un-offended, thank goodness. I was worried about hurting his feelings.
So.. The couple and I headed to Wal Mart for booth stuff for me, and stuff for them... did our shopping, and then headed back to their place for the night. I got to play with the most adorable 6 month old Silver Bengal kitten. Freaking. Adorable. And HUGE. Still growing and he's already as large as an adult male cat.
I crashed out pretty early that night... and woke up ridiculously early.. and drove out to site.
In theory the couple were going to show up that morning and help me get set up.
I started the huge undertaking that is setting up my shop from scratch.. I had about 3 hours.
The show starts at 10:30am ( weird right??..usually shows start at 10am).
7 rolls by... then 8... then 9.. No employees. 10am.. still nothing, and I am in panic mode. Only half of my shop is together. There is still SO much to get done.
I have amazing neighbors. The card reader across the way had introduced himself to us the day before...and at first we all thought that he was a scary, angry guy. That morning, I stopped and talked with him for a few moments, and the next thing I knew he was helping me unload, and asking what I needed to get done. He helped me sort stock and then said if I needed anything else, to just call over to him.
I am so grateful that Georgia is a slow starting show...and that my shop is up the hill so it takes patrons awhile to get to us.
I somehow managed to get it at least somewhat together by 11:30am.. Still no employees though.
The show felt a little strangely, just like the Carolina show. Maybe it was the fact that my booth was set up pretty much exactly like the Carolina shop.. or just being back in the South.. but I found my comfort zone. Next thing I know.. There are crowds of people in my shop, and I'm helping 2 and 3 people at once.
By the end of the day.. Georgia had managed to more than cover its initial booth fees.
I called my pseudo- employees that night, to find out that the girl had "overslept"... and then just decided not to come in??? She apologized and then asked if I needed them on Sunday. I declined. I'm still not sure what to do about that. They really are sweet... but I can't have people just not showing up. We'll see.
I went back to their place that night, but they weren't there... and I promptly crashed out..hard. Woke up on Sunday morning and headed back in to do it all again.
Sunday turned out to be almost as busy as Saturday. I was really not expecting that at all... It looks like the weather is going to behave itself for second weekend too.. I'm just a tad intimidated. I know I'll have at least one of the couple working with me, because I definitely need at the very least, a breaker.
Sunday night, my neighbors ( who are ALL just wonderful), and I headed out to the local Rennie restaurant choice.. which turned out to be an Americanized Mexican restaurant... Ran into so many friends ..and they let us have a drum circle on their back patio... which is where I realized when I looked up..that it was a full moon. Beauty.
Didn't get back to the Couple's place until almost 3am.
Rolled out of bed on Monday at 11... hung out with the guy of the couple for a bit, before heading out to meet my prospective new roommate, Lawrence.
My impression of him on the phone was older Jewish New Yorker. What I did not expect was older New Yorker retired black man who is a computer geek and closet Diablo II player. He seems really, pretty cool so far. Very talkative. He's a diabetic that's also a partial amputee. Divorced. Probably mid 60's. The house is in a middle class area that's just a bit outside of the ghetto. It's a quiet neighborhood.
My room has not only hi speed internet... but a TV..and full Cable. *lust*
I think my brain may be melted. But at least I'll have things to listen to/watch, while I knit furiously this show.
This is only my second day here..so I'm still keeping somewhat reserved.. but I like it here so far. I've so far just spent most of my time holed up in my room..catching up on paper work and placing supply orders ( ughhh...spending so much money in such a short amount of time always makes me twitch.. but it's needed).
And I have spent wayyy too long today writing this entry. Crikey! This very well may be the longest entry that I've ever written.
I also decided yesterday that it was time to stop drinking soda. I've stopped before, and it was a huge mistake to start again. So, while at Wally World yesterday, I picked up a hard walled water bottle to carry with me all the time. And no soda. None. I have tea, and coffee, and for now, Crystal Light, though I want to pull myself away from that too eventually.
I will be amazed if anyone made it through this entry... but then again, I more wanted to just remember all the events of the past couple of weeks... which, right now, feels like so much longer.
It's going to be an eventful couple of months I think.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-04-20 02:52 am (UTC)Best of luck with the show!
no subject
Date: 2011-04-20 01:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-20 04:25 am (UTC)Now relax before your head explodes.
no subject
Date: 2011-04-20 01:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-20 02:06 pm (UTC)I'm glad GA is working out for you so far. I've heard mixed reviews. Mostly bad, actually. But then, Scarbie gets the same bad press and I always made sick money at that show.
no subject
Date: 2011-04-20 02:16 pm (UTC)I have met the nicest, sweetest people on the planet here. And the last time I lived here..I had a cop come right out and tell me where the good cops were..and where the bad cops were.
Obviously there are huge exceptions.. but really, I think people jump the gun and automatically attach a stereotype to this place.
We'll see how the money aspect of it goes. That I still hold reservations on..but if first weekend is *any* indication.. I could easily see having a booth here for awhile.
no subject
Date: 2011-04-20 02:24 pm (UTC)I contemplated applying to that show for a hot second. But it's got more bad press than good from a crafters standpoint so it's not currently under consideration. Let me know what you think though. AZ, Tux and Bristol are the front runners as of now, but I'm not in love with any particular place yet.
no subject
Date: 2011-04-20 02:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-21 04:13 am (UTC)Except Dripping Springs, Tx. I couldn't manage it. That slice of hill country outside Austin is just shitty, period.
no subject
Date: 2011-04-20 09:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-20 01:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-23 12:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-25 05:23 pm (UTC)I hope the rest of the show stays busy. Maybe you'll find someone else to work for you who will be perfect. Ask for a breaker, anyway.
I can't imagine what type of person just doesn't show up after oversleeping. I really...can't imagine. But you made it through. I hope it stays great and you have a wonderful time.