And how they're sneaky bastards. I'll only take up a few moments, so I can't get crazy obsessive, but honestly, life is looking complicated right now. (Not omfg the car is dead and I'm pregnant in the middle of Texas and broke complicated. More the: Oh wow, so this is what a lifelong condition will look like?)
Cat no. 1 went on an awesome puke-fest yesterday, starting late last night and barfing the loaf of catfood, followed by extensive after-retching of all the bile, random juices, and empty air he had until finally we were both exhausted from whorfing/cleaning up said whorf that I showered and collapsed on the thankfully avoided bottom sheet of the bed. When I left for work, Hubs took over for a while, and then the pukapalooza pt. 2 commenced, lasting several fun and stink filled hours.
During this time, I am informed that the problem is going to be pondered by the vet on Wendesday. Great, fine, I will clean out the bathtub from voms when I get home, and we'll go to the vet on Wednesday.
As soon as the appointment was scheduled, sir heaves-a-lot was fine. Happy, healthy, cheerful, able to keep his food down, and life was looking normal. I fully expected an embarassing visit to the vet, explaining "but he was sick yesterday" while this ball of happiness and koala rainbow farts rolled gleefully on the floor.
Interesting, but there will be no skittles-fueled orgasmic unicorns in this story, apparently. He looks fine, temp is good, etc, and we decide on some bloodwork for safety's sake.
Well his bloodwork raises a middle finger and points dead at some unhappy kidneys/renal issues concealed carefully within this ball of fun and laughter (and previously, barf). So the tech got to teach me how to stick a NEEDLE under his ADORABLE FLESH and pump him full of fluids LIKE A FURRY BALLOON.
This fun and rewarding endeavor will apparently be repeated twice or so a week, along with a diet change to Crazyexpensive brand kidney cat food for a month, and then we will see what the blood says THEN.
Also, for added funsies, I get to seek a urine sample. I have been provided with 'no-sorb' litter (about a palmful), a small pipette, and a test tube. Urine, apparently, will need to be refrigerated until given to the doctor for testing. I'm more concerned that someone will develop a diva syndrome and will have to be locked in a bathroom with a small litter pan every time he looks like he's thinking about going potty. Which will result in the complete refusal to make tiddles, and the commencement of "Cat Opera in G sharp: Try to sleep/watch tv/knit through this chorus of hellbent wailing, you hateful human sow".
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
I would honestly rather be knitting.
Knitting on the Scotty's hat that mate has agreed to wear, as the weather becomes increasingly cold and bastardly.
I do not want to type you, anime review, but I'll do it because it looks like work and knitting does not. I will warn you, however, that the loft and bounce of my garter stitch Cascade 220 in a green-y heather will call to me, and I will have to drive very quickly to ensure I do not knit this on the way home.
In the car.
Possibily at times which are NOT stoplights.
I do not want to type you, anime review, but I'll do it because it looks like work and knitting does not. I will warn you, however, that the loft and bounce of my garter stitch Cascade 220 in a green-y heather will call to me, and I will have to drive very quickly to ensure I do not knit this on the way home.
In the car.
Possibily at times which are NOT stoplights.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Because I love you
We will now experiment in posting Youtube links.
If this works, the next series will introduce you to more awesomesauce from my youth.
If this works, the next series will introduce you to more awesomesauce from my youth.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Please keep your angry to yourself
I keep hearing bitchy posts about people who sell hand-crafted items for less than...well, less than almost anything short of the sun, moon, and stars.
Usually, these rants come from people who, in any other situation, would laud a fellow crafter on their accomplishment, popularity of wares, and general skill level. But as soon as one hears that a crafter is selling their wares at thrift-store/big-retail-giant prices, all hell breaks loose and the pack swoops down on the unwary with varying degrees of vulturesque ferocity.
One of these will be a harpy extremist, who will often go so far as to curse at the offender, and begin an unwarranted diatribe about how my low cost is not only undermining whatever talent/effort I may have poured into the item, but also deliberatly devaluing their own work, by perpetuating some stereotype that crafted items are kitschy and not worth enough to make a decent living on. "How dare you" will be thrown into the same screeching hiss-fit as buzzwords like "sweat shop", "small business", "living wage", and "hourly rate".
My question is not the obvious "Why are you so angry at this crafter's low prices?" but "Why do you think anyone understands the cost-of-production well enough to comprehend the astronomical fees you suggest?"
Why do we price things so far below their actual cost, in terms of materials, time, and effort? Because that is the purchasing method we use everyday. I pay about $3 for a gallon of milk. I would not pay more than triple for absolute organic 100% green milk. This is because I am purchasing the milk itself. The end item.
The average consumer does not consider the actual production costs of that milk. Stop a moment, and explore what costs are probably involved in that single grocery item. A baby cow must eat every day up to and throughout it's life until it can produce the milk I desire It also needs shelter, and hay for the stall. It may require vet visits, and medication to overcome some illness or injury. After the milk is available, the costs only continue to escalate. Equpiment and wages to milk the cow, special processing equipment necessary to pasteurize, package, and lable the milk, as well as transportation costs and wages to get the milk to the store. All in all, it must be an incredibly expensive endeavor for this one item to arrive at my grocery shelf!
However, once it has arrived, those things do not matter to me. I would not, in any way, consider that absorbing all of these costs into the price of my jug of milk to be fair to me as a consumer. I would undoubtely enjoy my million-dollar milk just as much as the cheap stuff, but I can only afford one of these options.
Knitwear and handcrafts are no different to the consumer. They are not considering the years of training/practice you went through to achieve your skill. They do not consider that you had to scour the world for that yarn/wood that would perfectly complement the idea you had for your wares. They do not include the cost of paint/needles into their consideration of the item itself, and they do not care whether you spent years or days making the item. Why should they?
To justify the prices that some professional knitters suggest to mom-and-pop crafters, you must fight the very system you currently reside in. You as a retailer are not just competing against other local and skilled artizans, but you are asking customers to suspend all of their understanding of how-to-shop just for yourself and your own wares. I can understand your motivation (to get a living wage by knitting or crafting), but really, stop blaming the non-customer who won't pay your prices, and quit hating on the crafter who is pricing their wares according to their own plans.
If I sell for a dollar, and you sell for twelve, then I'm automatically going to be more popular than you. That's not my fault. It's not yours. However, if you consider salesmanship to be part of the process, then my job is harder. I have to sell 12 of my items to equal the success you could make with one of yours. Don't bitch because some local knitter sells dishcloths for 50 cents. Just work harder to either educate your consumer base on the reasons behind your higher prices (and accept that some people will always vote with their wallet), or find another venue for your higher-priced wares.
Usually, these rants come from people who, in any other situation, would laud a fellow crafter on their accomplishment, popularity of wares, and general skill level. But as soon as one hears that a crafter is selling their wares at thrift-store/big-retail-giant prices, all hell breaks loose and the pack swoops down on the unwary with varying degrees of vulturesque ferocity.
One of these will be a harpy extremist, who will often go so far as to curse at the offender, and begin an unwarranted diatribe about how my low cost is not only undermining whatever talent/effort I may have poured into the item, but also deliberatly devaluing their own work, by perpetuating some stereotype that crafted items are kitschy and not worth enough to make a decent living on. "How dare you" will be thrown into the same screeching hiss-fit as buzzwords like "sweat shop", "small business", "living wage", and "hourly rate".
My question is not the obvious "Why are you so angry at this crafter's low prices?" but "Why do you think anyone understands the cost-of-production well enough to comprehend the astronomical fees you suggest?"
Why do we price things so far below their actual cost, in terms of materials, time, and effort? Because that is the purchasing method we use everyday. I pay about $3 for a gallon of milk. I would not pay more than triple for absolute organic 100% green milk. This is because I am purchasing the milk itself. The end item.
The average consumer does not consider the actual production costs of that milk. Stop a moment, and explore what costs are probably involved in that single grocery item. A baby cow must eat every day up to and throughout it's life until it can produce the milk I desire It also needs shelter, and hay for the stall. It may require vet visits, and medication to overcome some illness or injury. After the milk is available, the costs only continue to escalate. Equpiment and wages to milk the cow, special processing equipment necessary to pasteurize, package, and lable the milk, as well as transportation costs and wages to get the milk to the store. All in all, it must be an incredibly expensive endeavor for this one item to arrive at my grocery shelf!
However, once it has arrived, those things do not matter to me. I would not, in any way, consider that absorbing all of these costs into the price of my jug of milk to be fair to me as a consumer. I would undoubtely enjoy my million-dollar milk just as much as the cheap stuff, but I can only afford one of these options.
Knitwear and handcrafts are no different to the consumer. They are not considering the years of training/practice you went through to achieve your skill. They do not consider that you had to scour the world for that yarn/wood that would perfectly complement the idea you had for your wares. They do not include the cost of paint/needles into their consideration of the item itself, and they do not care whether you spent years or days making the item. Why should they?
To justify the prices that some professional knitters suggest to mom-and-pop crafters, you must fight the very system you currently reside in. You as a retailer are not just competing against other local and skilled artizans, but you are asking customers to suspend all of their understanding of how-to-shop just for yourself and your own wares. I can understand your motivation (to get a living wage by knitting or crafting), but really, stop blaming the non-customer who won't pay your prices, and quit hating on the crafter who is pricing their wares according to their own plans.
If I sell for a dollar, and you sell for twelve, then I'm automatically going to be more popular than you. That's not my fault. It's not yours. However, if you consider salesmanship to be part of the process, then my job is harder. I have to sell 12 of my items to equal the success you could make with one of yours. Don't bitch because some local knitter sells dishcloths for 50 cents. Just work harder to either educate your consumer base on the reasons behind your higher prices (and accept that some people will always vote with their wallet), or find another venue for your higher-priced wares.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
My soul is burning.
I want a FooPet.
I don't even care what it is. Who knows why they invented this program? It could be the cutest spyware ever, and I just want it to scamper on screen and love me.
They company, aptly named FooMojo, even warns that I should consider my emotional avialability before adopting a FooPet via online account. The thing would need feeding/watering every day, as well as occasaional medication for illnesses. I can not do this. But the Bengal. I loves me. We are MEANT TO BE TOGETHER! However, the approximate lifespan is 10 years. I don't even know what the internet will look like in 10 years!
Maybe G will adopt one with me? The site does recommend sharing account information to ensure the thing gets fed on weekends...
I need this thing, people. Well, no, I don't, but when it's staring at me, I can feel my resistance waning...
I don't even care what it is. Who knows why they invented this program? It could be the cutest spyware ever, and I just want it to scamper on screen and love me.
They company, aptly named FooMojo, even warns that I should consider my emotional avialability before adopting a FooPet via online account. The thing would need feeding/watering every day, as well as occasaional medication for illnesses. I can not do this. But the Bengal. I loves me. We are MEANT TO BE TOGETHER! However, the approximate lifespan is 10 years. I don't even know what the internet will look like in 10 years!
Maybe G will adopt one with me? The site does recommend sharing account information to ensure the thing gets fed on weekends...
I need this thing, people. Well, no, I don't, but when it's staring at me, I can feel my resistance waning...
Friday, October 9, 2009
Please pick a side
If the Bible is your basis for argument, please consider taking an "all or nothing" approach to better illustrate your beliefs to us terrible, uneducated, heathens.
Either homosexuality is bad AND selling your daughter into slavery is fine, incest is fine (and almost common), multiple wives is fine, children are property and acceptable marriage fodder, rape is fine if marriage results and all clothing and hairstyles should have FOUR CORNERS.
Or.
Homosexuality may have been written as bad once, but in light of our modern society, this opinion should be reexamined, much like the biblical stances on women's rights/role in society, red meat on friday, and the above examples. Some things might squick you out for the rest of your life. Sister 2 happens to think that tapioca pudding is gross. That doesn't mean she thinks no one should have it or enjoy it.
Please to educate yourself.
Either homosexuality is bad AND selling your daughter into slavery is fine, incest is fine (and almost common), multiple wives is fine, children are property and acceptable marriage fodder, rape is fine if marriage results and all clothing and hairstyles should have FOUR CORNERS.
Or.
Homosexuality may have been written as bad once, but in light of our modern society, this opinion should be reexamined, much like the biblical stances on women's rights/role in society, red meat on friday, and the above examples. Some things might squick you out for the rest of your life. Sister 2 happens to think that tapioca pudding is gross. That doesn't mean she thinks no one should have it or enjoy it.
Please to educate yourself.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)