TODDSON!! HI HI HI!!

I'm just working on taking it one day at a time. The aid from the SBA is starting to get through the system. If things stay on schedule I'll have money from the Paycheck Protection Program tomorrow, so that will allow me to bring my staff back from furlough. The biggest issue is that at the moment there isn't an entertainment industry for us to come back to.

I have a couple of small projects that look like I can get through which will generate some income for the business, but a large portion of the work over the next 8 weeks is going to be working as a team to come up with a plan to explore new markets and hopefully move forward. I certainly don't think the economy will be back to normal in 8 weeks, so I hope that congress is already working on what the next aid package will look like, otherwise I think a lot of small businesses will bring staff back for 8 weeks, and then need to furlough gain when the PPP money runs out. It's also structured that way, for the PPP loan to be forgiven it must be used for payroll, and a business must maintain the same level of FTE staffing as they had before the pandemic, so there is no option to try to manage the loan to cover a longer period of time. It's 8 weeks of full paychecks and then right back over the cliff.

The stress is just off the charts, ND. I do so hope that in 8 weeks the picture is a lot different.

One foot in front of the other. That's the way I approach all of these things. I do worry about a lot of it, but I also get up each day and put in the work. Apply for the grants, work with the SBA, strategize new business opportunities and ways to do the work we already do. I also make sure to talk to fellow artists and try to come up with new ways to still make art. I do think the landscape for live performance based art is going to be altered after all of this. I also think that's okay. Artists adapt, and we find new ways.

We are meeting with the bank tomorrow to discuss SBA options. Serving the healthcare industry ours is more looking for capital for expansion than the PPP stuff. Our doctors right now are slow and of course paying slow, which is painful enough. We have to have working capital to develop some critically needed updating to our software. We're hoping that it might be a better environment to get the SBA loans. This is our 32nd year in business and the bank still usually treats us like scum trying to rip them off. We'll see if they treat us better tomorrow.

ND, it really impresses me how much you've accomplished in spite of the situation at large and all the accompanying anxiety.

Good luck, Laura.

The only way out is through.

AIMEE!!!!!!!!!~!

Hey everybody!

It's good to reconnect.

I need to do the financial paperwork for help with my business but I've been paralyzed. Which means that there is unlikely to be any help left by the time I get there.

Cagney has recovered from a vicious dog attack. I got him to the emergency hospital exactly 1 hour before it locked down. Weirdly lucky. He's going to have scars that don't qualify for 'chicks dig 'em' status, but thankfully, his spirit is not at all dimmed.

As noted in Beep Me, it's my 60th on Saturday and, while my hermit game is strong, quarantine is not how I envisioned spending it. Still, Zoom is affording an opportunity for long-distance connecting.

I wish I could ship lemon cake to everyone!

Beyond that, if you are stressed, or just need a little extra support, I am definitely around. In fact, my office chair is essentially fused to my ever-widening backside!

Hiya, ya'll!

beekaytee, I am so sorry about your losses. And, umm, I may be not seeing it right now because I'm still partly asleep even though it's almost noon, but at what time on Saturday are you planning to start the virtual birthday party?