The end of 2010

So today is the last day of 2010 and for me I can't wait to turn my back on the events of this previous year.  Well actually, I'm only referring to the awful parts of the year, it's just that those bad moments are always the ones that are in the forefront of my mind.  I'm trying to teach myself to hang onto the good times and not let the bad ones cloud my mind. 

There is a lot of symbolism in the beginning of a new year and I'm looking forward to this one and all the opportunities it will bring (Mexico here we come!).  I will regain my confidence, I will find a new job (maybe in teaching), EleBoo Photography will continue to grow and life will go back to normal.  It's still hard to compare my situation now with my situation 12 months ago, but I do believe that everything happens for a reason, maybe the events that started on March 17 2010 happened to teach me something, I just don't know yet fully what that was.

I'm not naive enough to believe that everything in 2011 will be good, I mean that would be boring, but the difference now is that I will take everything in my stride and know that there is always a solution and always a light at the end of the tunnel, however long that tunnel may be.  So, in 2011, I will find a new solicitor and I will begin the process of seeking compensation, I can't say that I'm relishing that process, but it's not right that nothing should happen.  After all, it's not just me that's been through hell, my friends and family have been through the mill too.  It's thanks to them, that I'm still here and still sane.  Most of all, there's my Bushbaby, constant, loving, strength-giving, laugh-making and full of positivity.  Thank you from the bottom of my soppy heart.

Some of the waiting is over!

Well, I finally got the debit card terminal!  However, I should have expected in advance, that it wouldn't work when first switched on!  Two phonecalls to Customer Care, a clean of the SIM card and a bit of swearing later, it works!  Oh and thank you to the terminal company employee who put the paper roll in backwards!  It doesn't take much to confuse me at times.  Now wouldn't it have been lovely to have had the opportunity to use the darn thing today!  Yes, I will remind myself, again, that a business takes a while to become established!  So, with the wait for the terminal terminated, my mind wanders to the other things I'm waiting for.  Letters, letters, solicitors, good fortune, a salary that I can live from, the end of 2010 and more letters.  I will not bore you with the details, but I will just say, "Why does everything have to take so long?"

The emotional rollercoaster of being a market trader

So, tomorrow will mark 12 weeks of trading at Greenwich market and it has to be said that the good days haven't been as numerous as the bad days.  Now, don't get me wrong, I don't expect to become a millionaire from the market (well not yet anyway :-)), it's just that it's so flipping hard on those days when I look like the Michelin man from all the layers of clothes, the cold is so extreme that I've lost all sensation in my extremities and to add to the misery, I haven't sold a single picture.  On the flip side, there is the incredible feeling I get when someone buys one of my photographs.  I'm grateful for every single customer and even some of those who don't buy, have come with interesting tales to tell and the compliments are always flowing, so it's not all bad!  My best mate says it's all about the power of positive thought and she is right.  There will always be bad days and I'm lucky to have a partner who knows how to lift my spirits after a particularly bad one.  The trick is to remember those good days and the fantastic people who pass through the market and stop to chat.  I will persevere, I mean the business isn't even three months old yet, but if I had a pound for every time a person said to me, "I'll be back..." or "I'm just going to the cash machine..." (still waiting for the terminal!)... I would be a millionaire by now!

Welcome to EleBoo's blog

Sometimes, life throws you a rotten egg with a fragile shell, the test is to see whether or not you can wash the mess from your mind as easily as you can from your clothes.