This is my last blog about what happened over the weekend.  After this, I’m washing my hands of that mistake and moving forward.  Life is too short and time is too precious to waste it pondering the insanity of a desperate soul.

The part that really pisses me off more than anything is twisting things around to be my fault, as if I were out of line for getting upset.  I admit that I messed up when I didn’t toss at least him out as soon as he started to get in bed.  That was weakness on my part.  I don’t like being a jerk, and sometimes I let people push me beyond my limits before I speak up.  I’m working on being more assertive in that area.

I’ve never claimed to be perfect.  I’m far from it.  I have a failed marriage, a sluggish career, a few health issues, and several broken friendships to prove that I make mistakes.  I try to be man enough and adult enough to own up to the issues that are my fault, but when something is not my fault and someone tries to twist circumstances around to cast the blame on me, I get pretty upset about it.

Unless something else happens that is worth mentioning, this will be the last blog about that situation.  I have more important work to take care of.

I wasn’t going to write about the negative thing that happened over the weekend, but the woman decided to piss me off, so I’ll have my say on here.  If she wants to dispute any of these facts, she can start her own blog and write her side of the story.

First, I’ve been looking for a business manager for Third Axe for several years now, and towards the end of last year, I thought I had found someone who fit the profile of what I was looking for.  She claimed to have a wealth of experience dealing with high-end business contacts and claimed to be a professional.  She and I have many mutual friends, and after some of her claims checked out with them, I bit.

My first alarm bell went off when she botched her first task.  I sent her a list of three potential shows to query, and she mixed up the names of each when she sent out the emails.  Responses came back from them basically saying, “We’re not that show.”  I stepped in and cleared up the mess, apologizing for the mix-ups and attempting to smooth the edges, but it made me look incompetent that she couldn’t get three simple names straight.

There were other little alarms, but the final ones came this weekend at ConNooga.  When we first arrived, she drooled over and flirted with every man she saw.  It was ridiculous to watch and very unprofessional, hardly the behavior of someone who has a wealth of experience dealing with high-end business contacts.  That night she went out drinking with some dude from Georgia she had met online or something and stumbled back into the hotel room at 4:00 AM.  She spent most of Saturday grouchy and unpleasant and was anything but an asset to the team.  That’s not just my opinion either.  I have witnesses.

Saturday night was the final straw.  Rene and I went to bed around 8:00 PM, exhausted from the day and ready for sleep.  This woman came into the room with a different man from the previous night and got in the other bed with him.  She had mentioned something about a date for that night, but I thought I had made myself clear that if she wanted to spend the night with a date, he could get a room for her.  Now, I will take the blame for not kicking at least him out right then.  That was my fault.  Then, the two of them kept waking Rene and me up.  All I know for sure is that they were kissing, talking, and giggling, but Rene is certain they were going at it.  I blew up and told them to shut up or get out.

Of course, in her mind, I’m the jerk and have double standards because Rene was with me, but the differences are that the room was in my name, Rene and I stayed fully dressed the entire time she was in the room, and I told her beforehand that Rene would be there.  I can’t believe the audacity of this classless tramp to bring a strange man into my room on a business trip, and then attempt to twist it around and make it my fault.

The weekend in Chattanooga was a pretty awesome experience overall.  Got to hang out with my good friends Rob Brown and Stephen Zimmer and also got to have lively discussions with several talented writers, artists, musicians, and directors.  Having these opportunities to interact with like-minded people and discuss our creative processes gives me a renewed sense of purpose.  I always leave a show feeling re-energized.

Sales were a little sluggish, and not just for me.  Everyone I spoke with had a bad weekend.  Personally, I was down about 50% from last year, but the new poster was very well received.  I also received a lot of outstanding feedback from people who read the first book last year and wanted the second.  That always feels good.

Overall, the weekend was a pretty good success.  Now, it’s time to focus on MidSouthCon.

www.thirdaxe.com