Sunday, October 3, 2010

Tangible Tidbits 2010 #38: Feeling Frustrated

Hope everyone is having a better day than I am! :)

I've been having a lot of "technical issues" lately...and Mercury isn't even in retrograde anymore! That cycle ended in the middle of September. Regardless, I've been having trouble setting up a new application I bought for the website since the middle of this past week -- the technical support people have been taking up to two or three days to get back to me at each step. We also seem to have a problem with the Something Tangible Facebook application, as I am receiving a 502 error when I try to access the application itself (this is outside of my control, according to a Bing search. It seems to be a "bad gateway" error.). The set-up and home pages both appear to be working fine. :\

I also looked at the quarterly figures for the third quarter, and noted that we did not surpass last quarter's numbers. We came close to matching them, but fell about $11 short. I realize this is to be expected from time to time, but it's still disappointing to see it in (red) ink. :(

I've also decided that I should include photos of my inventory materials in the database, since there are a few with vague names or items that have similar names and descriptions, so I can't figure out which one was used in a given piece. The photos from the vendor websites will facilitate that, but it's adding a lot of time to the data entry process. :\

In last week's class at MSU, I invested the wax cast I had created the week before. My teacher is away for a few weeks, but the substitute professor (from the same department, so our paths will undoubtedly cross again) seemed to like my piece, as did my own professor. Investing is basically encasing the wax figure in a plaster-like substance. The hardened cast is then burned out so that the wax melts, leaving space for the molten metal to take that form. The professors do the burning out for us, so I will be attempting to create my piece in metal tomorrow night. We only get one shot, as the process destroys the cast. Wish me luck! ;)

As for my personal life, I've been keeping busy with the after care job and my Virtual Garage Sale...the auctions are taking up a lot more time than I'd anticipated. The results have been mediocre, but at least I am getting rid of stuff in each round. ;)

I spent all day yesterday in Piscataway at Rutgers University's Homecoming. I haven't attended since 2001 for personal reasons, but I'm glad I went...except for the sunburn on my face! :o Today, I saw the "Hairspray" matinee at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn -- I purchased a 4-show subscription, as Mom is taking my sister and me to the fifth show for our birthdays. :) The show was very good, but it would have been more fun if I could have found someone to go with me. I didn't realize the date of the tickets until the middle of the week because it didn't show up on my Palm calendar, although I do remember entering it. Anyway, I had seen the movie version of "Hairspray" starring John Travolta and Michelle Pfeiffer a few years ago with my sister and two nieces. I don't remember it too well, so I can't say how close this production was to the film. :p

It's definitely feeling like October here in New Jersey! It's gotten a bit chilly in the past week, which is a refreshing change from the heat of the summer months. :)

Take care, everybody! :D
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