Mutterings and Mumblings of a Perfume Bent

Well, I take back what I said about Mercury Retrograde NOT bringing the destruction. It has to me. Sort of. Or one could view it as a door closing, and another opening, though I'm still waiting to see what happens when I walk through those newly opened doors . . .

So March 1 I, along with my other co-workers at the jay-oh-bee (y'know, the one that pays the rent?) were called into an office meeting with the company's owner -- never, ever, in the 14 or so years I've been associated with this company, has there been an office meeting. A memo here and there, usually about holiday schedules or pest control issues, but never an actual all-of-us-together office meeting. Just making that clear. This had to be something serious, and it was. The short of it is, I may be getting laid off as soon as the end of March. No fault of my own, nor even my boss', but a manipulation of what now might be an illegal work contract, state budget shenanigans, and a fair bit of cronyism. In a nutshell, we're losing our biggest client, so the business, as well as 200 plus other businesses of the same nature in the State of California, are going out of business. We were told in the meeting to gird our loins, and begin to think about seeking employment elsewhere. So while I was sitting at my desk working away attempting to soak up the ramifications of that bit of news, I received a phone call from my daughter -- the cave dwellers had just been handed an eviction notice by a process server. My daughter and I are not part of the eviction. I guess this is a classic case of being careful of what you wish for. I'm getting my basement back, storage, space, and peace of mind, but I may be losing my job at the same time! Fate, you shifty hearted devil, what are you up to?

Desperate times call for desperate measures, but I don't like how being and behaving desperate (ly?) reflects on me, emotionally and spiritually. And it's definitely not good for the perfume work. One of the character flaws I have a hard time dealing with in myself and others is the wildly desperate 'what am I gonna do' behavior exhibited in times of strife. Optimism is in order. With optimism being the initial reaction, the paralyzing fear of what am I gonna do is bypassed and the action begins. Resources are located, opportunities arise, and doors graciously open. It did not go unnoticed that March 2, the day after I received all this news, was the day of the Roman god Janus, the god of doors. 2013 is going to be my year. Is.

So for my desperate measure, I'm announcing officially that my newest natural perfume making book for beginners is printed and available for purchase here.

I have also reached out to my community, as I instruct my students to do, in an effort to drum up business. I have an interested party for private natural perfume workshops and in-person courses and mini-intensives (accord building, evaluations, etc.). One interested party. One is more than I had before. One gives me hope.

This morning while checking this blog's stats, I ran across a blog post at the blog 'Diary of an Anarchist Soapmaker' and I realized while reading it that whilst editing the new perfume book, I'd left off what may potentially be some vital information. The sterilization processes of the environment, bottles, jars, lids, et cetera, in the creation of other than perfume topical skin care products, such as balms, butters and oils. There is very basic instruction in creating and perfuming these items in the new book, but no instruction in preventing ugly bacteria and mold from growing in the finished product. I will have to remedy that in the next edition.

So I won't lie. I have moments here and there where gripping fear clenches my insides, but I try to brush it away as quickly as possible. Fear destroys hope, and hope keeps our eyes open to opportunity.