Well, dear readers, perhaps someone can enlighten me as to how August is a thing of the past? Perhaps someone can just enlighten me because frankly or even stevely, I simply do not understand it. Yes, it is now September, which is already flying by like a gazelle eating a pop tart. Well, before I go any further, may I just wish everyone (me included) a happy, healthy, prosperous, and wonderful September? I may and I do and I shall, not necessarily in that order. I must say that the final day of August was both nice and annoying. I got another good night’s sleep, and did a three-mile jog, after which I packaged up and shipped several orders. I decided to satisfy my craving for pasta with butter and cheese, and made a nice big batch. Then the annoying stuff started and it basically didn’t abate until the evening. First the pressing plant was having trouble with a machine, but after a long conversation, they still said they’d get the CDs here this morning. But soon after, they called back and said that the last four track titles on the inlay card weren’t matching up with the CD master. I found that decidedly odd, as I’d approved the master and the inlay and I knew both to be absolutely correct. I opened my pdf of the inlay and it was indeed correct, and as I read her the last four track titles, on HER inlay they did not match up. She scanned her inlay and sent it to me and I saw instantly what had happened – somehow, one line of text on the track titles had slipped and renumbered, causing the final track to have no number at all. I have no idea how these things happen, but when everything is on a computer, I guess screwups can happen. But my designer should have caught it when they sent him the proof of the film, and he did not. He now knows to always proof carefully and not take things for granted. I talked to the printer and he assured me he’d have it reprinted and to the plant in the morning. As long as that happens, I should have discs tomorrow, and hopefully by noon. If I don’t, there will be problems, because Thursday is booked from ten to six-thirty, and I don’t want to get a hernia trying to rush everything in the late afternoon tomorrow. I should know more today. Then for the fourth time in a month, paypal sent me an e-mail saying they were suspicious about a purchase and were putting a hold on the funds until they did their research. Now, keep in mind that none of these had anything to do with me or my account, and yet they hold those funds, and it shows up in my account in the resolution center as a problem. Well, I went ballistic, and after being on hold for twenty minutes finally got someone in the resolution center, and I read him the riot act, whatever the HELL that is. I read it good and loud and told him if I didn’t have the funds from that transaction back in my account immediately there were going to be real problems. He had no argument because this time they flagged a transaction from a dear reader who has ordered every CD we’ve ever put out, and therefore has a long history with the Kritzerland account. I kept badgering him, asking him WHY this keeps happening, and he said it was just bad coincidence. I informed him that the bad coincidences were over and that I did not want this happening again – ever. He apologized, put the money back in my account and closed the case, for he’d glanced at the payment history of our dear reader and saw the tale. At one point he asked me if I had a tracking number to show that we’d shipped the item, and I told him it sure sounded like I was being accused of SOMETHING. I told him that a) I don’t use tracking numbers on single orders, b) it’s a pre-order, and c) it’s none of his business if I shipped or not, since they haven’t had a complaint from anyone ever. I believe he heard me loud and clear, and then he kept trying to get off the phone, but I made sure he understood this was not to happen again, and that I felt that my account had been flagged somehow for no reason (he denied this), and that I was being harassed. Hopefully it will be the last time.
I did manage to watch six more episodes of Adam 12 – it does get rather silly sometimes, but I still like them, and there was one great shot of Riverside Drive in Burbank that looks shockingly close to what it does now, including Paty’s and Marie Callender’s. I had no idea the latter had been there that long. And I began watching a motion picture on DVD entitled Carny, starring Jodie Foster and Gary Busey – but I had to stop once the paypal stuff happened, and then I wasn’t in the mood to watch any more. So, I’ll finish it tonight.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button as we try to remember the kind of September that we love – healthy, happy, prosperous, and filled with good and positive things.
Today, of course, was supposed to be a shipping day and now isn’t, so I’ll do some errands and whatnot, and then we’ll see what else the day brings. We did decide to announce our new release at midnight, so hopefully I’ll be printing out lots and lots of orders. I will try to do the long jog, and I’m sure I’ll find something amusing to eat – after yesterday’s topic, I’m sort of craving a good burger, so I may make take a drive to Islands. We shall see.
Tomorrow, I was supposed to have a lunch, but now I’ll be shipping – thankfully, Mr. Cason Murphy can still help. I’ll have to reschedule the lunch, probably, unless the CDs arrive early. I suspect they won’t and that they’ll probably get here between noon and two. I do hope it’s noon, because when they get here at two it’s just really hard to get everything done and to the post office and UPS in time. We can’t do the bigger store orders until the discs actually get here, so there’s all those boxes to prepare. Noon allows us a little breathing room. Of course, morning would be optimal, so I’ll hold out hope that that can happen.
Thursday is the long casting day, and I do mean long, which, I suppose, is what you have to have for a long musical. I think we do get a twenty-minute break at some point.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do the long jog, do errands and whatnot, and eat something amusing, as well as hopefully print out lots and lots of orders. Today’s topic of discussion: Since we’re on a food and nostalgia kick – what was your favorite lunch that your parents packed for you – in a sack or lunch box? And what was your favorite thing to have in the cafeteria? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, and do try to remember the kind of September we love, i.e. healthy, happy, prosperous, and filled with good and positive things.