Flu, blech!

Whew, boy! This week was sure memorable. The news reports have been full of Swine Flu, giving tips and tricks for preventing it. The trains were full of people wearing surgical masks. There was local talk of quarantining people traveling from Mexico. People all over the world WERE quarantined: locked in hotels and detention centers for days. Egypt began slaughtering their pigs in a confused panic.

Meanwhile, I was home with an ordinary flu. I was sick as a dog for two days solid - scheduled to be fulltime weaving days. As excited as I am about weaving, you know it takes complete dizziness and dilirium to keep me away from the loom. And, then there was a day on either end of it where I was only able to work my one job and fall straight into bed afterward. Four days without weaving!? It’s a wonder I survived.

On top of that, work got super-dramatic. An ex-employee decided to whip up a frenzy at the store. It didn’t have the full impact on me because I knew I was leaving in a few days, but it was a little enervating nonetheless. Boundaries, people! Life is so much better when you use them!

And, on my final day, drumroll please... The landlord decided to paint the roof and fill the store with noxious fumes. It was the first day I could really smell again after my flu, and we were all light-headed from the vapors. At least it wasn’t a taxing customer service day because the customers couldn’t take the fumes, either. It kind of felt like the stories I hear of people who go to work high on drugs. We were giddy and dizzy and short on focus, even with our frequent “fresh air” breaks to stand outside and breathe.

Now it’s over, the end of an era for me. That was probably the last chance I’ll have to work in occult retail because it just doesn’t pay enough. To quote an artist friend, Katie Gilmartin, “I’ve been forced to resign myself to a life of delight, abundance, and gusto.” She’s a printmaker who does amazing work and makes a decent living from it. She’s also a fantastic teacher. I found myself making prints I could be proud of after just a few hours in her studio.

Starting today, my time is my own. I can do what I like as long as it involves a lot of weaving. In a few days I’ll be back up to speed and know whether I will need to take a special trip north this month to get more weaving supplies.