Citizen Arthen

I’ve finally gotten to the end of an absurdly hectic stretch of days, and I thought I’d post an update. It’s getting ridiculous: I’m self-employed, and I’m so busy that I have to beg out of one obligation to make another! I’ve been off my normal routine, such as I even have one, since the last weekend in April. I barely managed to squeak in my Beltane observance at all!

Last week started off, along with all my usual errands and chores, with getting my niece’s 12th birthday gift. I think I stopped at about eight different places looking for the gift (a softball bat and ball, if you’re curious), a mailer and wrapping paper. Then I had to wrap, pack and mail the gift, and I made my niece a custom birthday card to go with it. Along with that, I voted in the town election, installed two new hardware updates on my computer, got end of the month/beginning of the month business done, and took my car to the shop to have a non-essential part installed, for which I waited an hour.

By Wednesday, I was feeling like crap due to my poison ivy and the cumulative lack of sleep it was causing. On Thursday the 1st, I just about knocked myself out for several hours in the afternoon because I tried taking Benadryl for the poison ivy. It didn’t seem to do much for the poison ivy, and it doesn’t do much to help me sleep if I take it at night, but gods…it’s a great way to render myself non-functional in the daytime! I participated in the IPNE Member Call-in for one hour, and I got started on the church service planning for the 4th. I selected hymns and sent them off to the musician. This involves playing and singing them to make sure they’re singable, so it takes a little time. (And after all that, sometimes even though I can sing a hymn, the congregation can’t. 🙁 )

On Friday the 2nd, although by now I was feeling even crappier from poison ivy/sleep deprivation, I went to the library and found a perfect children’s story, and got almost all the other components of the church service assembled. I wrote about 600 words of the sermon and got the Order of Service sent off to the person who formats and prints it. I called the repair shop to see if my lawn mower can be repaired. Apparently it can, but would take another week. I got my “economic stimulus” tax rebate by direct deposit. I already spent it all, actually, on the bed and exercycle in February. I started posting notices in various places online about the book signing on May 10th.

On Saturday, I spent almost the entire day finishing the sermon. That’s how long it takes me to do a good one; the sermons are just under 3000 words. I nailed down two more small components of the service, and then I was rehearsing the sermon aloud, and the children’s story, and printing things out, and making sure everything was ready, until I went to bed.

Then we get to Sunday! I rolled out of bed ninety minutes early and headed up to the church. The service went fine, and attendance was quite good. But before it started, the minister told me that the church’s Annual Meeting was that day. I’d wanted to attend this, but the date had somehow slipped my attention. I’ve been a member of the church for about 12 years, and I’ve wanted to increase my participation there. The meeting was at 5:00 p.m.

Trouble is, May 4th was also sidereal Beltane–that is, the day when the Sun crossed the actual midpoint between Equinox and Solstice (15 degrees Taurus). That’s when I do my cross-quarter observances. The nodal point was at 11:07 p.m. local time. So, I ran home from church service, stuffed down food, did my workout early, got the ritual space prepped, ran back to church for Annual Meeting…and managed to get myself elected to the church Parish Committee.

The little snag with that was that the next Parish Committee meeting was the very next night, Monday the 5th. Monday, May 5th was the date for Pepperell’s Annual Town Meeting. (If you’re not familiar with the open town meeting system of local government, here is a quick explanation). I always attend Town Meeting, and this one promised to be a doozy. There were two articles on the warrant that would require a tax override (that means citizens vote to increase their own property taxes to pay for something–there has to be an election for it later), both highly controversial. The town has been in an uproar anyway. The town election had an unusually high turnout and elected a candidate for Selectman by the biggest landslide victory in town history. His opponent was on the Planning Board and had voted in favor of a cell phone tower that residents are outraged about.

So, I was going to miss my very first meeting as a member of the Parish Committee. 🙁

But I went home from the church’s Annual Meeting and did my Beltane observances (Tarot reading and ritual). I felt like I’d spent the whole day at a dead run–so much for a relaxing Sunday, or for taking the day off to observe the Sabbat!

On Monday the 5th, I did the usual chores and errands, and went over to Town Meeting a little bit early. That proved a wise move as the auditorium was packed. Out of a 28-article warrant, we got through Article…5! That was the school budget that required the $1M tax override. We heard all about how dire the town’s fiscal state is, in detail. We had at least three Power Point presentations. We had fervent appeals from the Finance Committee and the school superintendent. We finally did a ballot vote, which means everyone has to get up, file out of the hall, be verified as a voter by the checkers (again–you do this when you come in), take a little paper ballot, drop it into a box, and wait for the tally. I live five minutes away from the middle school where Town Meeting is held, and I got home at 11:46 p.m.

The school budget passed, but now there was lots more, so Town Meeting adjourned to the following night. (It doesn’t always do that. We’ve gotten through longer warrants in one night. But tough times, tight money…*sigh*) But now I had another snag. I’m on the IPNE Board of Directors. The IPNE Board was meeting last night! I had to beg out of another meeting!

Yesterday, Tuesday the 6th, was a transfer station day, which means I have to change the litter boxes and bunny cage, get all the trash and recyclables put together and get to the transfer station (i.e. the former dump) before 3:30 p.m. I was done by noon. I needed to get my hair cut before the book signing, and I squeezed that in. I stopped to get a newspaper and ended up helping a woman who needed a jump start for her SUV at the convenience store. The second night of Town Meeting had lower attendance but was no less contentious. The second tax override article, to hire full time firefighters (we have a volunteer fire department) was defeated. In fact, I voted for a couple of articles on which most people voted “Nay.” In a very minor victory, however, the library was approved to get its own book fine money back, which the Financial Committee recommended against.

Last night I got home by 10:45 p.m. Seven solid hours of Town Meeting with 28 articles on the warrant is…words fail me. I am definitely maxed out on Robert’s Rules of Order at the moment. 🙁

So, now I need to catch up on a dozen things that got set aside while I prepared the church service and took care of all those other one-time, but clustered, obligations, and I’m getting ready for the book signing at Pandemonium Books on Saturday. I volunteered to design, and have printed, a poster-sized sign or banner for New England Horror Writers, and IPNE is still waiting for the downloadable logo buttons I blithely promised to make for them! I haven’t done any more yard work for a while, either…but the yards can stand the break. The trees are leafing out now, and by the time I get the lawn mower back, I’m going to need it! It’s a gorgeous spring day today, but they’re forecasting lots more rain by next week. My poison ivy is better, but it’s still uncomfortable. I wonder what sleeping an entire, unbroken eight hours actually feels like?