Hell Week Cometh

Welcome to the middle of HELL WEEK. I am soooooo friggin' exhausted. Not sleepy. EXHAUSTED.

I just finished working a 6 day stretch at Wally World (did I mention I HATE my day job and want to quit very much badly?). I'm finishing up prep for my tax appointment in the early AM (just realized I'll be fighting rush hour to get to it *droop*). Lots and lots of data entry so I can have my numbers for the tax preparer (I'm still looking for receipts that got misplaced in the move). I have another little project that is coming to an end tonight (THANK GOD!) but needs tons of work before it does. And, I'm tweaking approx 3k of a 16k story so I can get it submitted. I've been sitting on it for a while but it needs to get out there. AND THEN I get to clean the friggin' kitchen since some people are incapable of cleaning up after themselves (clean when I go to bed, a mess when I wake up). Fun fun.

Writing News: Eris Contracted

You read the title right. Eris is contracted through Siren-Bookstrand, Inc. They made the offer back in the beginning of February but I didn't want to say anything to anyone until all the paperwork was finalized.

Well, that's done and now it's time to shout it from the rooftops... or the internet-tops... or whatever. I'm not going to be able to hit all of my promo venues today but I at least wanted to hit the major ones.

You should see Eris in ebook this summer 2010. Yup, just that quick. I'm really happy about that.

I hope to have more news in the coming weeks about other contracts and finished books. I'm working hard and hoping everyone is looking forward to what I bring to the table.

Movie: Avatar -- I'll Wait

By now, you've probably heard that Avatar, James Cameron's blockbuster masterpiece, is coming out on DVD April 22. Yup, on Earth Day. Isn't that sweet?

What you may not have heard is that this release (both Blu-Ray and DVD) is bare bones. It's ONLY the movie. Absolutely nothing else, not even trailers or commentary. There are no extras. The "Ultimate Edition" which will possibly include extended/deleted scenes and all the other fun extras we know and love, isn't due out until November.

Now I absolutely loved Avatar with my whole heart and being. I saw it twice in IMAX. After spending that kind of money, I refuse to buy it twice (or even three times). Avatar will be releasing three times. The third version will be the blu-ray 3D version everyone is clamoring for but will have to wait until 2011 to get.

Will the April 22nd bare bones version cost less since it has less? That would be a huge NO. Still the same over-inflated prices for a new release DVD that you'll probably find in the $5 bin if you wait long enough.

At first, I had planned to just get the April 22nd version as well as the November version just because I want to see it again. I would have just traded the April 22nd version towards the November version or given it to my mom or something. Now that I know what's up, I'll just wait until November.

I have no doubt that Fox will make a mint off the April 22nd release since there will be people who don't know about the November release or just want the movie even if it is missing all the things that make a DVD fun.

TV Review: Undercover Boss

Undercover Boss

Premise:
Corporate meet peons. The owners of some of America's most visible and largest corporations are trading in suits for the standard uniform of their company at an entry level position. They are telling everyone that they are being filmed for a documentary when in fact they are documenting changes to be made (as well as entertaining viewers at home). Each head honcho is about to have an eye opener about how his/her company works.


Review:
I've seen all the episodes thus far -- Waste Management, Hooters, 7-Eleven, and White Castle. And while I said "his/her" company in the show description, there have been no female company heads thus far. I know they exist and hopefully their episodes are around the corner. I'd hate to think they wouldn't participate in something like this. Or, maybe they don't screw up the entry level positions nearly as badly as the men, which doesn't make for entertaining television so those eps got scrapped. Who knows.

I love the idea. Love, love, love it. This is a premise that could only happen now, in this economy. I'm sure if it had been pitched even three years ago, it would have never seen the light of day. The idea that the owner/top exec is trading his normal lifestyle to see how the other half lives is wonderful.

The episodes thus far have been both funny and tear-jerking and enlightening as to how out of touch corporate really is with the ground level of their companies. What looks good on paper may not always work in practice. As a retail wage-slave, I know that better than anyone (day job). Corporate suits always come up with new, "better" ideas that will make production better when all they are doing is making their employees lives harder (I could tell you horror stories). Putting the bosses in a position to see that is a wondrous thing.

Now that I've said all of that, I have some negatives about this show. Don't get me wrong, I love watching it and I love to see what comes next but I have serious issues with certain aspects:

1 - The boss only spends one week doing one position a day. Count it. ONE. While I'm sure running the company is an involved business and takes a lot of time and concentration and only a handful of people have the training and know-how to pull it off. Taking a week off probably isn't easy and I'll acknowledge that so long as everyone else will acknowledge that it takes longer than one day to learn any job and do it properly or to get a feel for the people who work in that particular location.

What happens if the boss gets there on a good day? What happens if it's a bad day? I can say from experience that any boss would run screaming into the night if confronted with a bad day at my day job. On the flip side, if they came on a good day, they would think it's a tight ship and go on to the next locale not realizing that the good day is simply an anomaly.

Ideally, I'd like to see the highlights from the boss doing two, possibly three, days at one location doing one job and THEN switch to a new location and a new job for another two to three days. Sure that leaves him (or her) open to discovery but they would get a better picture of the job since they may actually run across a "bad" day.

2 - I am very happy for the people who worked with the boss and I'm sure most of them (not the ones that got chewed out, obviously) are extremely happy to have worked with the boss since it got them vacations and scholarships and job opportunities they would have NEVER gotten if left to do their normal job day in and day out.

I wish the head of my day job would come work with me. Maybe he could help me get book sales after learning I'm a writer. I don't begrudge the people who got what they got because they deserved to get it, BUT there are just as many people all over the US in those businesses who need/want it as well. If I was an employee of 7-Eleven or White Castle or Hooters (lord help me, I hope to never need to work with food... I'd probably stop eating and I love food), I'd be all types of pissed that employee A through D on the show got something I need just as badly. There are many people who need help with finances or a nice vacation with their family or a chance to work with the ad department/culinary department.

It's a toss up who the boss will end up working with but it's guaranteed (unless they are one of the ones who need to be "reprimanded") that they will get something out of it.

3 - I'm convinced the entire first season has already been filmed. I'm also convinced that this show only has one season in it. There is no future. It's like trying to find an impartial jury for the OJ Simpson trial (yes, I went there). You can bet that if someone sees an entry level employee walk through the door with a camera crew, that someone will be on the web doing a search for a picture of the boss-over-all. And that same someone would blab. No doubt in my mind.

The only way to do a season two would have to be with an FBI/CIA/NSA (pick one) hidden camera with sound type of thing. Sure the picture wouldn't be as great and the camera might get knocked but that's the only the way I can see it happening.

It'll be interesting to see what companies will come next and I'll be pleasantly surprised if this show actually does get a second season.

Associated Content Review: Adrienne

Adrienne just got a new review from Associated Content. :D

"Comedy, romance, danger, conflict between hero and heroine runs throughout the book. This is fantasy fiction at it's best. This was very well written. I loved it!"
~ Writegrrl, Read Full Review