rue-madame's Diaryland
Diary
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Insomnia
: Begin Parisian Party People Transmission : Do not miss this show! It should be pretty cool. Pop Sunday Party sur la Guinguette Pirate avec JackDrag Dimanche 1er d�cembre � 19h 8 euros : End Parisian Party People Transmission : I have been awake since 5 am. I waited half an hour, conjuring soporific images, but finally hauled my ass out of bed when my body wouldn�t cooperate. I made coffee, checked email, did dishes, watched some birds finally use Terence�s bird-feeder, I watched one bird simultaneously eat and poop, separated the laundry, went to the laundromat, ate a bagel, went to Ralph�s, came home. All before 9: 30 this morning. Makes me exhausted just thinking about it. So check this out: remember how I had that publisher client who took forever to pay me? Well, they contacted me about a month ago, wanting to know if I�d be interested in working with them on another guidebook. I said, �yeah, there�s time in my schedule so let me know when the manuscript is ready.� Not wanting to get burned, I used the second paragraph of my email to state that my preference would be to receive 100% of payment when the project is finished (net-30), or 50% upfront. I didn�t think this was an unreasonable request, and it�s pretty standard procedure, especially since I never issued them a contract, and they never issued one to me. Well, they shined me on for a bit, then nothing. Not a peep. No communication whatsoever. That is, until yesterday, when Terence noticed that they had posted another �Quark Expert Wanted� on Craig�s List Los Angeles. Their email address is concealed but the description of the project is unmistakable. They even lure prospective designers with this promise: �If you like us and we like you, more work will come your way.� I guess this is their way of letting me know that my services are not needed. Waaaayyyy more professional than just calling/emailing me and informing me that my terms don�t mesh with their business practices. For a nanosecond I was tempted to post my own ad, but I will take the high road. And complain vociferously in this diary instead. In all fairness, the publishers told me that I would be paid in installments, over a 30 to 60 day period. I wasn�t really happy about this, but I figured they�re a new client of mine so I�ll make an exception to my rule. Big mistake. To placate me (I�m sure,) they said they would try to get the entire amount to me as close to net-30 (my terms) as possible but they didn�t. When I sat down yesterday to figure out what happened what I realized is that it did indeed take more than 60 days to get paid. God, I don�t like cowards. This has been the week of trials. The trial with the publisher just exacerbated the trial with the washer/dryer rental agency. Good goddamn, those guys are thiefs and I lost my temper with the customer service representative. Normally, I am pretty good about keeping calm, but I fucking went haywire and made the rep reverse a charge on my debit card. When I got off the phone, I was practically shaking from irritation. I really need to learn better anger management techniques. Yoga definitely helps, but sometimes I still have the smashy smashy, crack skulls and break bones impulses that are not so pacifist. : unrelated to anything : Who the hell does formerly junked-out Marianne Faithfull think she is covering Beck songs? She is just awful! If she still sounded like she did in the 60s when she was shagging Mick Jagger, fine, I�d let her have a go at contemporary songs, but have you heard her sing �Nobody�s Fault But My Own�? It�s atrocious. Even with my subpar mewling, I could do a better job. Rue-Madame is just a weeeee bit cranky today.
10:59 a.m. - 2002-11-26
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