In addition to client sessions and editing this spring, I’ve had a few other *projects* going on behind the scenes … yes, this is gonna be a long entry … with some annoucements and deadlines towards the end … so, clients, keep reading after the image below!

 – February was “overhaul the workspace/step one in ‘my plan for world domination’” as I dubbed it … the final product:

That’s a PBS Masterpiece Theatre movie (one of the Jane Austen ones) on the tv screen for the curious. It looks slightly different now (this was taken in March) as I’ve shuffled things around and there are stacks of notes, books, atlases, and travel guides currently scatted across the workstation!

Since reorganizing everything to have a completely dedicated workspace for the biz, I’ve not once used the laptop/set up a workstation on the bed or relocated into the kitchen as I previously did since I didn’t have enough desktop space for the two laptops pictured above. This is great for many reasons, including the lack of lower back pain and when I do crawl in bed, I normally pass out a lot quicker since I wasn’t sitting there already all evening long.

(thanks so much to Melody & Scott for their contribution of the file cabinet!)

 – March – this point in May is a ‘secret project’ that’s under wraps until June 1st. Still waiting on the receipt of several items + documents I have to get filed/amended next week to make it truly official.

 – I’ve recently (as in mid April) sat down and wrote out my workflow (finally) from start to finish when it comes to sessions as well as set office/business hours. With working a full time job Monday through Friday, conducting sessions on weekends, and editing/biz stuff the rest of the time, I hardly had any downtime scheduled in. Both health-wise and emotionally, the lack of time off from ‘working’ has taken a toll over the past year and a half — so after drafting up the workflow, I came up with a daily schedule + set days for ordering and time off. See it here.

 – Orders for prints (as of mid-April) are only placed on Wednesday evenings and Sunday late morning/early afternoons. In order for me to submit your order to my printer, I have to have it by 5 pm the evening before in order to prep the files. Also, as I have a very slow internet connection at home, I have to go to one of two local places with wi-fi to upload/place orders, which is another reason for only placing orders twice a week now.

 – Also, until further notice, Thursday evenings and Sunday after 5 pm, we are closed. That’s now my down time — either I’ll veg out and get to bed at a decent hour or catch up on personal business, namely bill paying, letter writing to my penpals around the world that I’m months behind on (sorry!), reading the 30 + books I’ve accumulated, or what not. Also, I’m setting aside one Saturday morning a month for taking care of personal business I can’t do during normal business hours (i.e. oil changes, tires, haircuts, errand running, grocery shopping … and so on). So — once three Saturdays (particularly the AM hours) in a month are scheduled with sessions, the remaining Saturday not scheduled will be automatically closed to sessions. However, PM sessions will be available on those dates.

 – And lastly, but most importantly for those with active galleries: The deadline to get your print order (or wrap up your custom items that are prepaid) is June 1st at 5 pm. I will be placing the LAST print order on the evening of June 2nd (a Tuesday). Reason? I will be traveling out of state/country from June 12-29, therefore, I cannot prep + order + receive/process + ship/deliver any orders submitted after June 1st before I leave before daylight on June 12th. In fact, I will be expediting shipping from the printer to me in hopes of having all the orders delivered by the 9th or 10th at the latest — so I have time when I get home from work on the 11th to wrap up packing and hit the sack super early! So — if I don’t receive your order by then, it will not be processed until I am back in the Lone Star State and knocked out all the laundry I’ll have to do before I return to the day job — aka June 30th or July 1st. Additionally, we will be closed during that time period in terms of telephone access as well — my cell service will be intermittent at best, and while out of the country for a few days, the phone itself will be turned off to avoid roaming charges. So — I will do my best to respond within five (5) days to emails since I will have internet most evenings (there are at least three (3) evenings in a row that I will not only be without internet, but tv as well).

 – Tied into the last annoucement: on the evenings when I do have internet during my travels, I will do my best to blog photos from my travels. I have a ‘promotion’ of sorts that will be linked in with the blog posts that will be announced/emailed out during the week before I leave …

And that is it for right now! Check back this week for some more sneak peeks + a special Memorial Day post!

Sidenote: As of June 1, 2009, Reflections of Life Photography was renamed Christina McCall Photography. We apologize for any confusion this may cause.