Registered to Vote

Last Wednesday I went back to the DMV to register to vote. There is an election office there. The couple next to me was from Thousand Oaks. There was a Middle Eastern guy there who asked questions the entire time I was there. He was asking when I got there and still asking when I left. He wanted to know if he could vote while he was out of the country. He gave me the creeps and I almost told him no, he can't vote while out of the country! I was disappointed to see this in Idaho and I wondered at what point to you consider someone suspicious?

I met with the SCORE councilor yesterday morning and I was so relieved afterward that I did not do much else. Friday is supposed to be errand running day, so I went to the grocery store, but it was raining and cold. Monday was supposed to be lawn mowing day, but it has been raining most of the week and the grass is too wet to mow. It is supposed to be clear for a while, so maybe I can get the lawn mowed this weekend. It is getting really tall again, but it also has a bit of brown and I think lawn mowing season is close to an end.

I went out in the late afternoon and met Mary Kay and I am going to her house to watch the BSU game tonight. BSU is playing at home and Mary Kay has season tickets, but she gave her ticket away for today's game.

This morning I have a couple of hours of volunteer work and then a few things to do that were suggested by the SCORE councilor.

Mr. Squirrel is back and I caught him at work yesterday afternoon,


Notice that around him there are not many acorns left.

The SCORE councilor was half cheerleader and half father. He was pretty excited about my work and we talked for more than my allotted hour. Mostly we talked about how to get commission work and how could I get my price down to something someone might buy for a Christmas present. He lives in Eagle and there are several galleries in Eagle. Eagle is affluent and he thought people there would buy art. (Hey, I was just there, how weird is that?) We also talked about places to network and other avenues to display my work.

He shot down my idea for children's hospitals. It turns out he was a hospital administrator (former CEO) and he explained what he would say if someone brought him the idea. (Why is that better than a photograph? Good thing I was prepared for the question.) He said several times his hospital displayed artwork and not one piece ever sold. He had the same opinion about restaurants.

Funny, he was older, but cannot get a job either, even as a former CEO. He can't even get to see anyone in person. He goes to the hospital and can't get past the secretary. They all say he has to apply on-line. I sure could relate. So, the last 10 or 15 minutes of the more than an hour he told me to get a job. This was the fatherly, practical part. I already knew this, and I'm trying, but it did not hurt to hear it.

So, I left the meeting with some action items and it always helps me to have some action items. There is a gallery in Eagle that is a member of the Eagle Chamber of Commerce and also hosts some Idaho Watercolor Society events that I am going to go to today and try to set up a meeting to show my work. I can't afford to join the Boise Chamber of Commerce, so I can participate at their events, but there is a NAWBO event this Tuesday. NAWBO is National Association of Women Business Owners and I can't afford to join them either, but this Tuesday there is an event I can go to where non-members can pay the same as members. I'm not good at networking, so I figure this is a good avenue for me to go out and do it anyway.