in case you've ever wondered, plaster does not taste good.

Well, it's been an interesting week. It feels way longer; there's been so much happening. First I want to thank everyone for your kind words, support, and understanding!

Two days after our building went up in flames, there was a four alarm fire in Grandview that laid waste to a block of businesses. So in the grand scheme of things, I don't really feel I'm entitled to much sympathy. While the rest of my building is in ruins, my little concrete block protected everything inside. We haven't really lost anything; we've just been severely inconvenienced....

So we returned a few days later to survey the fun. It smells. Really bad. Like burned rubber and wet rot. There are angry holes in the walls. The gas company turned off the gas for obvious reasons, the pipes froze and burst, and there's a leak in the gas line. The rest of the building is apparently a candidate for demolition and rebuild. In short...we're not going back. I love wedding season. It makes me giddy and happy and the last thing I want crinkling my brow is dealing with the fiasco that would accompany making the place usable again. Especially since I was going to have to be out in August anyway! (The new owners bought the building so they could have the whole space when my lease expires...) I think the universe has plans for me that don't involve that building.

SO...the plan!

1. move our day-to-day operation home immediately so we can resume our normal workflow
2. monopolize a couple of tables at the local coffee shop to use for meetings (their coffee is better than mine anyway...)
3. look for a new studio...at our leisure so we can find the "right" space and not the "oh, crap, I guess it will have to do" space.

step one: in progress

We are moving. Which requires a bit a construction. We have a three bedroom house which is nearly 100 years old. Since we've had it, we've only had the time to make one of the bedrooms inhabitable. We now have to get to work on the other two so we can have workable offices and storage. So far, we've managed to get the electric work done (this house was stuck in the dark ages...quite literally, with only 25% of the electric working) and as of yesterday, one of the rooms is halfway done. Holes in ceiling, check. Working outlets, check. Still to do: scraping off moldy peeling 70s vinyl wallpaper and fixing the crumbling plaster behind it, resurface and prepare for paint (which we will do later in the year...right now we just need four clean walls and working outlets!) Everything in the house is coated in a fine layer of plaster and saw dust, including me. And while I was denied permission to swing the fire axe (still bitter about that) I was permitted to bust out my own ceiling with a piece of discarded pipe. I did so with utter glee. Anyway, the messy stuff should be done soon and then the computers can come out of their protective plastic cocoons and work can begin again.

Oh, and yesterday was a fine day indeed: our security system was installed. Complete with fire detectors that immediately dispatch the FD. I've never been so pleased to write a check.

Today I woke up a bit panicked and frustrated worried about the move and all the production days lost. But then I realized it's only been a week and we've accomplished quite a bit in the direction of fixing this mess. All we can do is move forward as quickly as possible.

and there I was with no marshmallows....

Last night's fun:

8:21 ~ Chatting with Kate on the phone.

8:24 ~ Why are my lights flickering? Must be the ice on the wires...it is Clintonville after all. Someone sneezes, 600 people are with out power...

8:30 ~ Working at my computer, annoyed at the people behind my house who won't stop yelling at each other. This is a common occurrence.

8:34 ~ Open back door. Those aren't warring neighbors...these are firefighters...yelling at me to get the hell out 'coz the whole building's on fire.

8:36 ~ Fire axe starts hitting my front door. I let them in and tell them the best place to bust through the wall to get to the main building. I stare in envy as they start swinging the axe. (Read my bio on my site...) They yell at me. "GET. OUT!" I say I'm getting my coat & purse...and grab my external back up drive, throw it in my wellie boot. "M'AME, NOW!!!"

8:38 ~ Call Wolfgang at rehearsal. He's on his way, band members in tow.

8:39 - 9:00 ~ Stand outside in sub-zero weather watching the building burn, worry, fret, pray to all that's holy.

9:15 ~ Plead with firefighters to let us in to "get my camera." Bandmates, Wolf, and I all run in and frantically disconnect computers and other drives. Firefighters see we're determined and help us get them out of the building.

9:20 ~ Sigh with relief. Overwhelmed with gratefulness to all involved. Wolf's guitarist sits in my car with me for two hours to keep me company as we watch the firefighters continue to work.

11:20 ~ The fire is out and it's deemed safe for us to re-enter, get whatever else we need, and secure our part of the building. Look around at the mess. Really quite pleased I decided not to mop the floor earlier.

11:40 ~ Get home and thank Wolf's band. We're really quite moved at how they all stepped up to help us.
12:30 ~ Do the only thing left to do: drag ourselves down to the Dube, toss back some Jack Daniels, entertain ourselves with Metalocolypse quotes ("oh nos! Someones lefts da lunchables ins da microvaves agains!") and wonder where William Murderface was when we needed him. (Brownie points to anyone who gets that reference.)

So everyone and everything is fine. However, there will be a necessary delay in production as we regroup and move our day to day operation so we can resume working. We do have a gameplan, however, we have quite a bit to move and reorganize, so this may take some time.

So of our clients, I ask for your understanding and patience. I'll be updating the blog throughout the process so you all can check for updates. And of course, please feel welcome to email or call with any questions or concerns you may have.

And for all the misfortunes we've dealt with this winter, I really feel quite lucky. :)