Wow, my blog finally hit the 10,000+ mark the other day. You guys have been tuning in a lot. That's great! You've journeyed with me from the very beginning nearly 2 years ago to the present. A lot has changed since then eh? I started the blog to work through some issues I was having with our former director of Forever Dead "Patrick". It quickly became a lot more than just an outlet. It became a production diary. Something we can all look back on when we forget. Something to remind ourselves of all we've overcome, accomplished and those frustrating times when we just couldn't get it to work.

You guys have been there through all of that, offering suggestions and laughing with us along the way. We wouldn't be doing this if it weren't for all of you. Your support and your positive responses to our productions are what kept us going through it all. And there were times when finances were scarce and I wondered if I was just crazy trying to make it happen. What we do doesn't pay in cold hard cash. Doing something that gives other people pleasure and gives us an unending, no-holds-barred creative outlet makes us richer than any amount of $$$ in our bank account. Of course we wouldn't turn down a few $$$ if they came our way.

I was thinking about that Monday when the power company shut my lights off. Maybe I shouldn't have made that trip to Erie, maybe I shouldn't have brought that plane ticket for our actor out in LA. Maybe I shouldn't be buying more costumes and paying for hotel rooms, buying more equipment etc. Maybe I shouldn't have taken out those 3 loans to cover all our production expenses. But then I thought, candle light is under rated. It's nice to have a night or two without the noise of the T.V. Time to think about things, catch up on some reading and stuff. Right!

Now about the power thing. Funny story. Really. I always live paycheck to paycheck. This time that bit me in the ass. Did you know that when you purchase gas if you use a credit card they can hold up to $100 on your card to cover your gas purchase? This doesn't happen if you use it as a debit card and enter in a pin. Then they can only hold $1. And no one will claim responsibility for it. If you call the credit card company they will say it's the gas station holding it. If you call the gas station they say it's the credit card company. You could go all day like this and get nowhere!

So I purchased $30 in gas Friday on my way home from work. I knew I would have just enough money to pay my power bill which had to be paid no later than Sunday. No problem, I'd just go home hop on the computer and take care of it. Uh, uh. Thanks to the gas station, or credit card company or the gas pump troll, my account was short about $45. They held $75 on my card. And the $75 hold would not be released 'til Monday.

So there I was Monday with no power and a new appreciation for everything electrical. My water wouldn't even work without power! Even though I paid the bill Monday morning as soon as the money was back in my account, it was too late. "Too bad so sad" the Power company said. You have to pay a $700 deposit to get it turned back on. I think I made some distressed gagging sound over the phone that alarmed them appropriately. They lowered it to $171.95. Thanks to a generous co-worker I was able to get it turned back on Tuesday afternoon. Of course now I'll be $171.95 in the hole on Friday. So some other creditor that I can't pay will be pissed off. Thank god for Caller ID!

Lesson learned, don't put off 'til tomorrow what you should do right now! And use your "debit" card not your "credit" card at the pump!

One day when we reach 20,000 I'll be able to look back on this and laugh. Actually, I'm laughing right now. You really have to! ;-) In the end it's all worth it. I could have money in my bank account and nothing to do on the weekends, no friends, no one to share my ideas with and be absolutely miserable. I have been there. Or I can have no money in my account and look forward to every weekend, have lots of friends who share my ideas and help me realize my dreams. Crazy as it sounds I prefer the empty bank account. The money is well spent, the work week goes a lot faster, and I'm happy!