3 Strikes...

On the Jukebox: "Viva!" by Bond
Mood: Amused
Quote: "Ain't nobody watching you, Rockwell!" ~ I Love the 80's
Flair: Normal Brain

Strikes are usually a bad thing. Think about it... lightening strikes are bad - especially when they fry your hardware, getting a strike in baseball is a bad thing if you are the batter, having your employees go on strike is bad, upsetting the empire so that they strike back is also gotta be pretty bad. I'm not a fan of the writer's strike as it was responsible for the cancellation of several promising shows. In general, I'm not a fan of strikes or striking.

So why is it that I am waiting for inspiration to strike? Isn't that sort of a contradiction in terms? Inspiration shouldn't beat you over the head with a club, rather is should be a lovely muse that whispers enlightening ideas into your ears. The only thing I've had an earful of today is the ticking of my procrastination clock. It's set to implode on next Thursday. This will give me all day Friday to freak out about my interior design presentation.

Here's the deal. I have to give this presentation 3 times next Saturday. It's 30 minutes long - which is rather short to even scratch the depth of my knowledge and yet too long to just give a few ideas. It's for a small group of 500 ladies - not a big deal. I was asked to do this way back before Halloween so I've had 3 months to prepare or procrastinate depending on how you look at it. I turned in my presentation handout the first week of December when it was due. Thinking about what I would actually say wasn't to be considered until at least mid-January so the handout is basic and full of generic but useful information.
I'll admit I've been thinking a lot about it, but I've thought about it so much that now I'm bored with it. I'd rather be writing my book's sequel (which the test readers are digging so much that they're begging for the next section...) and so thinking about furniture and accessory advice is sort of 'meh' right now. I'm not afraid of presenting to large groups. I've taught at national conventions for Stampin' Up! and have done my share of professional presentations in corporate and educational settings. I have mad decorating skills. I know my material. I know my audience. I should have this in the bag and yet...

...I am sure that I'm about to make a huge fool of myself in front of my friends which is worse than doing it in front of 10,000 strangers. The thing is if someone else were presenting I'd be sitting in the crowd silently critiquing them and thinking how much better I could do it. No matter what I decide to say or show there's bound to be someone sitting in the crowd thinking they know more than me. I had thought about talking for 10-15 minutes and then opening the floor up to decorating questions but that poses a problem. I could be blindsided by "the hard to handle without a lengthy explanation and lots of visual charts" type of questions. I've got to come up with a plan someday soon.

Normally a stroke of brilliance comes along at the last minute, so I'll be banking on that. Unlike strikes, strokes are good. Think about it... stroke of luck, stroke of genius, skillful golf strokes, and if you stroke a genie's lamp 3 times and you get 3 wishes! My first wish would be to fast forward to the week after my presentation and discover that everyone thought my presentation was insightful, useful, and that I'm still as smart as I think I am. My second wish would be for a magic box of quality chocolates that replenishes itself every time I close the lid - said chocolates would also melt excess fat off as they melt in my mouth. My final wish would be to have a publisher hounding me with deadlines because that sounds like more fun than giving interior design advice for free at the moment. Hmmm, maybe I should just recycle some of the decorating articles I've written for magazines and websites...