Gettin’ Crafty

I have to admit, I’ve been wondering what’s been keeping visitors from commenting on my posts since I’ve switched my blog over from Blogger to WordPress.  Is the content not thought-provoking?  Is the math problem that proves you’re a real person just a little too challenging?…we can switch to single digits, just say the word!  Is it the extra effort of typing in your name and email address?  Seriously people, what is it?  Please comment and tell me!

While I wait, I’ll let you in on what I’ve been doing.  No writing yet.  I’ve been testing out Scrivener just a little bit, trying to write a proposal, and…collaging!  I had my doubts, but it worked so well with the last book that I thought I’d give it another shot.  (I will tell you that several elements on Book 2’s collage didn’t make it into the actual book, but they all served their inspirational purposes.)  So I spent a good bit of my free time last week mapping out a high level story line for Book 3 and casting all the characters.  Then I printed off pictures, pulled out my scrapbooking supplies (which have not been used for scrapbooking in a good long time), and started taping things down.

Here’s what I came up with.  It’s actually supposed to look a little scrapbook-y.  Like it was created as a sort of bulletin board (or scrapbook) by the twelve year old daughter of the protagonist.  I’m pretty happy with it, and I think it will serve nicely as a bit of inspiration.  I would literally LOVE your comments.

Posted in collage on 06/23/2011 03:59 am | 10 Comments

Machu Picchu…Who Knew?

Up until quite recently, my only exposure to Machu Picchu was the typical National Geographic style photo in ‘Places to See Before You Die’ sort of articles.  Suddenly I feel vaguely like an expert.  I say vaguely for two reasons:  one, because I’ve never been, and two because while I have read an entire book on the subject, I probably couldn’t speak on the subject of Machu Picchu without correcting myself thirty times.  Some of the spelling are a little surreal, and I can only imagine the pronunciations…

I was approached by Dutton Books with the offer of a copy of TURN RIGHT AT MACHU PICCHU by Mark Adams with the suggestion that I consider it for review.  I took that offer and am glad I did.  Rarely do I read nonfiction, and generally when I do, it’s a history book that I end up enjoying despite the textbook nature of the writing.  But I could tell this book was different from the beginning. 

1.  Love the cover–love it.  If you know me at all, you know I’m very big on covers.  This cover has a little bit of everything…it’s a smorgasboard of images layered with pops of color that draws your eye to every corner of the intricate detailing.  It seems to encompass the vastness and variety that is (at least by Adams’ account) Peru. 

2.  It’s part history book, part travelogue (and very funny).  With talk in the news of the approach of the 100 year anniversary of Hiram Bingham’s ‘discovery’ of Machu Picchu (July 24, 1911), Adams’ curiosity and sense of adventure sparked, and suddenly he was anxious to see the Natural Wonder for himself.  This book is Adams’ whirlwind tour on the subject, and I think it beautifully balances the history of the Incans and Peru with Hiram’s century-old search for Machu Picchu and Adams’ own, modern day trek through the mountains, canyons, and Amazon jungles of Peru.

3.  I am a tourist (defined in the book as someone who likes to see things but who is, ultimately, a slave to his own comfort), but I like the *idea* of being a traveler.  As I read this book, my thoughts were yo-yo-esque.  “Oh, that must be beautiful…I’d love to do that!…Yikes, that sounds painful…I don’t want to do that…”  I very much enjoyed living vicariously through Mark Adams’ hardcore trek.

Having avidly read this book, I feel like I know 100% more about Peru and the Incans and Machu Picchu than I did before I cracked the cover.  But at the same time, I also feel like so much is shrouded in mystery.  How on earth did the Incans manage, without steel tools (or GPS), to create such  precison walls and buildings that aligned with other buildings on other mountaintops miles away??   I’m confounded.  I want to go to Peru and see it all for myself…and yet…maybe I don’t.  One thing is for sure though: next time I see a National Geographic picture of Machu Picchu, I will examine it more closely and feel a certain sense of being “in on” the secrets.  And that, my friends, is priceless.

Definitely recommended!!

Posted in books, reviews on 06/17/2011 10:14 pm | Comments Off on Machu Picchu…Who Knew?

The Nice Girl & the Perp

This website has some drama surrounding it, and I’d like to tell the tale in hopes that I can get a little cathartic relief…

Once upon a time there was a nice girl who wanted a nice website.  She did a little research, checking out other websites, making notes of the things she liked, deciding on her own personal style.  Then she approached a website designer whose work she admired, and asked about pricing.

Right about this time, a close personal relative of hers decided that he wanted to pursue a career in website design and asked if she might consider letting him do her site.  After some careful consideration, she decided it was best if she stepped back from the website designer she’d approached and give her relative a chance.

Things started out great–he was very responsive and quick to make changes, offer up new suggestions, and generally get the job done.  The banner design above (which I love) is his work.  But then, life threw him an opportunity and he took a job that left him no time to work on my project.  So he asked me if I’d like him to liaise with a guy he’d worked with before to finish out the web page. 

* * SPOILER ALERT * * This ‘guy’ is the ‘Perp,’ but I didn’t know it yet…

His price seemed reasonable, and as my relative had worked with him before, I agreed, and he created the template in WordPress in a timely manner.

Well, I still needed the rest of the website done: all the pages besides the blog, so my relative (knowing what I needed better than I did, in the correct terminology) went back to liaise and make a deal.   I agreed to pay him $200 to finish the site, and I did so up front and was told it was a relatively quick wrap-up.  I paid via PayPal on Feb 27th.

After that I waited about three weeks without hearing from him.  I assumed he was working on other projects and even wondering if he might be working on mine, even though he hadn’t asked me any questions about what I wanted.  Nevertheless, I forwarded him all my photos, blurbs, summaries, etc. so he wasn’t waiting on me.  After three weeks, I sent him an email.  He confirmed he’d been swamped and would get back to me that day.  He didn’t. 

He promised to have something for me by Friday.  (Literally promised).  He didn’t.

I checked with him again.  Same promises.  Not delivered. 

Finally I asked if he even had time to work on my site, because I really wanted to get it done and if he didn’t have the time, I’d like to find someone else who could do it.

He promised me (literally promised) that he’d have something by the end of the day.  As you can probably guess, he didn’t.

So I sent an email outlining our history and asking for my money back.  He agreed to pay it back, and told me that I should ‘hit the Refund button.’  I tried explaining that I didn’t have a refund button showing up because I hadn’t been paid, but he ignored me.  So I tried billing him for $200.

About a week went by and I hadn’t seen anything, so I emailed again.  No response.  And again.  No response.

I asked my liaison if he could step in, thinking that maybe THE PERP might be more responsive to someone who could send him future work. Another email was sent, and this one got a response.  He would pay the money back just as soon as possible.

No money was refunded.

Well now I couldn’t decide what to do.  Butters decided that I call the local sheriff in his area (I’d easily found both his address and phone number on the web) and report it as a theft.  I didn’t have a lot of confidence in this working, but I decided to give it a shot.

Last Friday I called and reported him to the local police.  The cop that I talked to was THE BEST.  He warned me that this sort of thing typically goes through small claims court, but that if he could get a business address on this guy, he’d go talk to him.  Friday afternoon he called me back, with THE PERP standing right next to him!  THE PERP tried to tell him that he was ready to pay the money back, but that I hadn’t ‘requested a refund,’ and that he didn’t want to just pay me back the money because then that would screw up his taxes.  ?!?!?  Really????

So while the cop was standing there, he paid me back $150, with the promise that he was going to ‘calculate the fees before paying me the rest back.’  [Insert eyeroll]  I think everyone knows that PayPal fees are not in the 30% neighborhood.  His reply to a reminder from me?  He’d already refunded the majority of the payment, and ‘he’d look into it.’  You can guess how much confidence I have in him.  So I researched the fees myself and sent him an email back with some simple math equations indicating that he still owed me $43.90.  No response yet.

I’m thinking to give him till Friday and call the cops again, just to file a second formal complaint.  If I’m lucky, they’ll swing by his place of business again, but I’m not holding my breath. 

Deep breath…and release.

While all this was going on, I went back to the original website designer I’d approached months ago and asked if she’d take my project on.  She did, and I LOVE it.  She is everything the PERP is not, in all the best possible ways.  Super responsive, flexible, creative, friendly…  I think she did stunning job and would recommend her highly.  She is Jenny Medford of Websy Daisy.

I feel better now.  Slightly.

*****UPDATED AS OF 1:45 CST******

He’s paid me the final $43.90!!  Huzzah!  This hard-hitting blog post must have done the trick.  Now I’m just out the fees and my trust.

Posted in life on 06/14/2011 02:38 pm | 6 Comments
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