Bankruptcy
Oct. 19th, 2021 07:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
herveus ...as in, my pants. Totally bankrupt after two weeks out west.
White Wolf and Phoenix set up shop at Great Western War (GWW). I flew out to Tucson to join my wife, who is staying in Tucson for a bit longer to visit.
Other than having to get up at 0400, the trip out was unremarkable. I did not even have to change planes in Houston (Hobby). I did have to check a bag going out because I had extra stuff going out, but I could leave the bag behind coming home.
MJ had Alexx with her. Alexx's last road trip was when she was quite young, while her girl parts were still there. She has been inured to being on a leash from the getgo. Her sisters are not so sure (or worse) about the idea. So, roadie cat. Alexx really liked (preferred) being outside in Tucson. There was tall grass she could hide in and lounge.
After I got back home, Alexx managed to slip out of the RV unleashed and declined to come back. Of course this was in the evening. Thankfully, the next morning saw a cat with more than the usual amount of burrs come trotting right up, apparently none the worse for the wear of being outside all night loose. There was much worry overnight.
We headed off to Bakersfield Sunday afternoon with the aim to get to the Winco on Panama Ln and park there for the night. That had us going around LA after dark on a Sunday evening and traffic was no issue. One dinner stop and two gas stops and twelve hours later, we parked for the night.
Setup at GWW went remarkably smoothly. We did not get in each other's way at all. We got the RV situated in Dry RV parking -- about a third of a mile walk from the booth. Heading back there on Tuesday evening, I heard a familiar voice and found Ryrid, with whom I had a cribbage date. I even had Rorik's cribbage board for memorial purposes. There was cribbage and Scotch and good fellowship along with much smack.
We had modest expectations for sales, hoping to cover expenses. That meant we had a target amount to make each day. The first day surpassed that number. Each succeeding day was better. We even did a useful amount of sales on Sunday morning before packing down. The end result is that we did considerably better than merely covering costs and made a small profit. Yay!
Ottavio invited me to the 3DC whisk[e]y tasting as his guest. That was spectacular. I tried maybe ten different whiskies and managed to not get plastered. Well buzzed, but no more. And met more people who I knew or had met decades ago.
I sent whisky out with MJ in order to be properly equipped to share it as is my wont. There were several impromptu tastings, and more than once, a customer got a bonus tasting of whisky in the shop.
The site rules said "mask up in public spaces". Period. The streets and merchant booths were among the areas defined as "public spaces". Camps could insist on vaccination or relax masking at their discretion. There were camps with signs requesting that visitors be vaccinated. People were pretty good about masking up. That was encouraging, especially in the light of Kern County being more problematic than most counties in the state. Outdoors and not crowded were pluses. There was a report of one attendee who developed symptoms and departed with their party and tested positive. One. One more who showed symptoms a couple of days after the event.
As Янка noted, one of the food vendors was Oscar's Meat Pies. English meat pies. I'd never tried steak and kidney pie, for no particular reason. I've fixed that gap, and they were really good. One more food onto the "get this" list when opportunity knocks.
Sunday was pack down and leave. MJ wanted to be down to maybe just the roof and floor before sunset. We did considerably better than that. As with setup, teardown went particularly smoothly, with each of us working different aspects and not getting in each other's way. We were off site and approaching I-5 before 1700, giving us an hour and a half of daylight to go. We got over Tejon pass and stopped for dinner at the bottom of the other side. The goal was to get to I-10 before stopping; we hit the first rest stop and found a place to park for the night. One good sleep later, we headed the rest of the way to Tucson, getting in in time to greet Wander before she headed off to tend to her father.
Megan's associate (we don't call her "apprentice" since she leveled up; she's a "journeywoman" now) sent us a couple of parcels with pieces she had woven while stuck at home. OMG! She was instructed to include the time spent weaving each band on its tag, and that number informed the price. Several pieces never made it to GWW, being shortstopped in Tucson. Several more went home with other people at GWW. More excellence.
All in all, the entire two weeks were made of win. It seemed like each day was better and more glorious than the previous. When I stepped on the scales at home after all that, I find that they showed new-to-me numbers, as in down seven pounds from when I left, as of this morning. There was plenty of walking, and less snacking, and starting to use a fresh hole in the belt. In the last year, I'm down about 30 pounds, and it's been good for me in diverse ways, and that without any gimmicks. Just eat a bit less and be a bit more active. Go me!
White Wolf and Phoenix set up shop at Great Western War (GWW). I flew out to Tucson to join my wife, who is staying in Tucson for a bit longer to visit.
Other than having to get up at 0400, the trip out was unremarkable. I did not even have to change planes in Houston (Hobby). I did have to check a bag going out because I had extra stuff going out, but I could leave the bag behind coming home.
MJ had Alexx with her. Alexx's last road trip was when she was quite young, while her girl parts were still there. She has been inured to being on a leash from the getgo. Her sisters are not so sure (or worse) about the idea. So, roadie cat. Alexx really liked (preferred) being outside in Tucson. There was tall grass she could hide in and lounge.
After I got back home, Alexx managed to slip out of the RV unleashed and declined to come back. Of course this was in the evening. Thankfully, the next morning saw a cat with more than the usual amount of burrs come trotting right up, apparently none the worse for the wear of being outside all night loose. There was much worry overnight.
We headed off to Bakersfield Sunday afternoon with the aim to get to the Winco on Panama Ln and park there for the night. That had us going around LA after dark on a Sunday evening and traffic was no issue. One dinner stop and two gas stops and twelve hours later, we parked for the night.
Setup at GWW went remarkably smoothly. We did not get in each other's way at all. We got the RV situated in Dry RV parking -- about a third of a mile walk from the booth. Heading back there on Tuesday evening, I heard a familiar voice and found Ryrid, with whom I had a cribbage date. I even had Rorik's cribbage board for memorial purposes. There was cribbage and Scotch and good fellowship along with much smack.
We had modest expectations for sales, hoping to cover expenses. That meant we had a target amount to make each day. The first day surpassed that number. Each succeeding day was better. We even did a useful amount of sales on Sunday morning before packing down. The end result is that we did considerably better than merely covering costs and made a small profit. Yay!
Ottavio invited me to the 3DC whisk[e]y tasting as his guest. That was spectacular. I tried maybe ten different whiskies and managed to not get plastered. Well buzzed, but no more. And met more people who I knew or had met decades ago.
I sent whisky out with MJ in order to be properly equipped to share it as is my wont. There were several impromptu tastings, and more than once, a customer got a bonus tasting of whisky in the shop.
The site rules said "mask up in public spaces". Period. The streets and merchant booths were among the areas defined as "public spaces". Camps could insist on vaccination or relax masking at their discretion. There were camps with signs requesting that visitors be vaccinated. People were pretty good about masking up. That was encouraging, especially in the light of Kern County being more problematic than most counties in the state. Outdoors and not crowded were pluses. There was a report of one attendee who developed symptoms and departed with their party and tested positive. One. One more who showed symptoms a couple of days after the event.
As Янка noted, one of the food vendors was Oscar's Meat Pies. English meat pies. I'd never tried steak and kidney pie, for no particular reason. I've fixed that gap, and they were really good. One more food onto the "get this" list when opportunity knocks.
Sunday was pack down and leave. MJ wanted to be down to maybe just the roof and floor before sunset. We did considerably better than that. As with setup, teardown went particularly smoothly, with each of us working different aspects and not getting in each other's way. We were off site and approaching I-5 before 1700, giving us an hour and a half of daylight to go. We got over Tejon pass and stopped for dinner at the bottom of the other side. The goal was to get to I-10 before stopping; we hit the first rest stop and found a place to park for the night. One good sleep later, we headed the rest of the way to Tucson, getting in in time to greet Wander before she headed off to tend to her father.
Megan's associate (we don't call her "apprentice" since she leveled up; she's a "journeywoman" now) sent us a couple of parcels with pieces she had woven while stuck at home. OMG! She was instructed to include the time spent weaving each band on its tag, and that number informed the price. Several pieces never made it to GWW, being shortstopped in Tucson. Several more went home with other people at GWW. More excellence.
All in all, the entire two weeks were made of win. It seemed like each day was better and more glorious than the previous. When I stepped on the scales at home after all that, I find that they showed new-to-me numbers, as in down seven pounds from when I left, as of this morning. There was plenty of walking, and less snacking, and starting to use a fresh hole in the belt. In the last year, I'm down about 30 pounds, and it's been good for me in diverse ways, and that without any gimmicks. Just eat a bit less and be a bit more active. Go me!
