Weather Or Not

Wednesday February 18th, 2009 - Lake Villa, IL

This is the time of year when living in the Midwest really rots. It’s either cold or snowy and sometimes both. Today the snow came and made things interesting for everyone. The temperature was right close to the freezing point and it turned the roads into a sled track.

Brake slamming wasn’t an option as everyone was sliding around trying to find traction somewhere. It was really tricky so I just took it slower than slow while I drove home after running some important errands. The last thing I need is to get into another big collision.

I don’t need a small one either. I’ve had my fill of accidents in my life and if I can avoid another one I’ll do whatever it takes including staying home and getting work done which is what I need to do anyway. It seems like the harder I work the more that needs doing.

One thing I did get done before the snow hit was visiting the Alpha Graphics in Vernon Hills. It’s the same one that does the printing for Zanies and it’s owned by a great guy that also runs the Wisconsin Paranormal Investigators. His name is Jay Bachochin and he was a guest on the Mothership Connection radio show a couple of times along with his group.

He’s been doing Zanies printing for many years and they’ve never had a problem so I’m going to hire him for several of the projects I’m working on. He’s printed a few rounds of paperwork for my comedy classes and has been very fair with pricing and I appreciate it.

I need to build relationships and that’s what I’m trying to do with all these new ventures I’m working on. I’ve built a great relationship with Zanies to the point where I’m almost a member of the families of all the managers and many of the staff. We’ve had a productive business relationship for going on twenty years that‘s crossed over into strong friendship.

That’s what I want to build again and again but I need to find more sources. I’ll need to have a reliable printer in the very near future because I want to make bumper stickers and greeting cards and I’ll need a whole new press kit and business cards too. I also could use an updated slick printed version of my comedy class handouts condensed into a booklet.

I spent about a half an hour going back and forth with Jay and he was very helpful. I am trying to find someone I can work with and I get a very good feeling from him. He totally gets the concept of what I’m trying to do and he’s on board for helping me achieve it all.

I need to really make a splash in a good way in the next little while. The Craig Ferguson shot will be a nice feather in my cap but I need to follow it up right after with something a management company and bookers can plug into. I need to keep cranking out products.

I will have another CD out before too long so that’s a positive. I’ve got at least two and maybe even three in the can but I want to get one out first and use that to finance the rest. I still have to watch the budget like a hawk but I think I’ll be able to make a solid effort I can be proud of. Now I just need some fans to buy it. Maybe I should include a free prize.