Crispy Fried

[[Switching to first person]] By my count, I've written 600 or so posts here since the middle or late in Spring Training. By tagging a few posts, I believe my average word count is around 500 words. That comes out to about 300,000 words. I averaged about 20 posts every seven days for four months. I'm not complaining. I've enjoyed every solitary minute of it. There are few things I would rather do than write about baseball. But the Fan...I...feel a little crispy fried.

It doesn't help that business has picked way up. I'm not complaining about that either. The purpose of starting a company is to make it grow, right? Things are falling into place and the company is starting to go. That's a great thing. But I'm at that awkward stage in my business where there is too much for one person to do and not quite enough income yet to hire somebody to help.

I had to laugh the other day. I was sitting at my booth in the mall (yes, it's that time of year) and this wonderful fellow from Mars Hill, Maine, came in to contract with me to print a book about Mars Hill's history. It's a great project. But remember, it was at the time, November 17. So I asked him when he was expecting delivery (he is ordering 200 books). He says that he wants them for Christmas. What!? It's November 17th!

But one thing a new business never does is say no. So yes, I can do that for you. That's on top of the 200 cookbooks a local library wants printed and 1000 books a children's book maven wants and the 600 calendars a local business wants and the 3 calendars some grammy wants for her adorable grandson. Plus, I am fighting like crazy to get three of our own titles out in time for the season. So yeah, I am crispy fried at the moment.

A blogger who is a paid baseball writer has the luxury of just doing this for a living. An average schmo like me is only paid by the good friends my readers become over time. No complaints. I told you. I love doing this. But I'm also half Sicilian, and so I have an immense amount of guilt that I've only written three posts this week. Or was it four? Anyway. You get the idea.

So, this half-baked Sicilian, nearly over-the-hill, new business owner feels the need to apologize if you've come by and haven't seen a new post in a while. I guess in fairness to you, I'll have to express the obvious, that things will slow down here a bit until after Christmas. I'm not giving in totally to the obvious. Maybe I'll surprise you (and me) and after a little blip, continue the torrid pace that you've become accustomed to. Heck, if I get caught up, what else am I going to do at the mall, right?

So anyway, hang in there. I appreciate your patronage, except you don't buy anything. Hey, you know we do (funny how I always say, "we," when referring about the company when it's just an "I") great personalized calendars. Just send me 13 pictures and you too could give the gift sure to produce all the "AHs" this season. But you do invest your time. And time is money so they say. And I'm happy you do. This isn't a curtain call. This isn't even an intermission. This is just a blip in real time. Hang in there.