In General

Life has been a bit of a downer lately, which is why I haven't been posting.

• Trying to switch credit card processors to cut my overhead. The sales rep made a huge blunder which rendered me unable to take credit cards for over a week.
• My largest sales volume in over a year came in during said week. So much for my stellar reputation of turning orders around quickly.
• Still no job. A few nibbles from a headhunter but I'm not so sure said headhunter is really on the ball.
  
• My resume : interview : job ratio is really killing me. In my lean and hungry days - when I could afford to work for nothing - For every 10 resumes I sent, I got one interview. For every 1.75 interviews, I got a job. My ratio was probably better than that if you count the fact that I often begged to meet someone even if they had no job. I've been hired 10 years after the fact on some of those!
• In eight months of sending out resumes, I've had two interviews. One was for a job. One was with a head hunter.
• Married friends who have never had to work a day in their lives (much less understand the ins and outs of running a business) really seem to annoy the heck out me lately. After mentioning to one my great week of sales, she dared suggest that all should be well in my life. Let's do the math on that, shall we? On my largest order last week - $400, I had to pay sales commissions of $40. Raw materials cost me another $100. My credit card processor took $14.40. That puts me down to $245 and change. Let's see... I need to order new wood mounts. $85. I haven't ordered food color or pads in ages....$500. And my $1000 mortgage is due.... Yeah, honey, things are looking great!
• I probably ruined a ten year friendship for being my usual direct self.
  
• Being my usual direct self landed me the job of "firing" people from a bead group I belong to. Odd how the thing that can scare someone close to me can the very thing treasured in another situation.
• What I find most annoying about both is that people ASSuME that because I'm direct, I have a think skin. I don't. I get hurt...a lot. I get disappointed in people a lot. And most days, it makes me want to crawl into a cave and stay there forever.
  
• My nightly swims, Mabel Lou and hiking are my saving grace every day. Speaking of which...it's about that time.