kebechet

Tomorrow being tonight, it seems. Jeebus, I didn't realize what time it was! I need to get my ass in bed... Please, don't any of you think for a moment that you're harassing me! I'm just so backed up... I'm so sorry.... =( =( =(

Hang on, guys. I think I should be able to get back to everyone by tomorrow night. Brain hurts. =(

Lizzie, I'm going to email you again in the morning when my brain is working properly. I'm all fuzzy and weird right now, and I think I may possibly stop making sense any minute now. Ugh. Ate yellow curry too late, and it's making me a little queasy...

Hey, you know... we should make a 'Jaded' scent. I mean, Ted looooooooooves Aerosmith. >

Ebony, I know this sounds silly, but... so many people I've hired haven't been able to do these simple things! I'm not going to launch into a litany of grief here [no matter how tempting!] but it's taken me over a year to find someone who could affix a label straight, fill out a customs form correctly, cut labels without butchering them, fill orders without screwing them up. No joke! Once the shipping snafu is completely behind me, I need to hire more people.

Orders placed while we were gone [all of which are tagged as 2/29 for some reason -- gotta love CcNow... I have no clue when any of the orders from that time really came in] are going out now along with more reshipments. We're about halfway through all of those orders -- we've barely scratched the new orders because of the USPS issue. So... when can I get myself an assembly line?

Er, I thought I deleted that. F*ckle. Remind me to do that tomorrow. =P

Did you know that the average human cannot handle more than 7 tasks [+/- 2] at once? I found that out the hard way. Many of you may have received USPS notices today [if you're in the US] or emails from me [for international orders]. I just wanted to clarify that those are all reshipments from people that have either notified me that there was a postal glitch or people whose USPS tracking number came up dead when I traced it. On the Good News Front, there will be a small site update soon, including Black Dahlia Blood Lotus The Dormouse Elegy And Hellfire is being reformulated completely. And in other news, the links section is being updated within the next 24 hours, the papow.com email addresses are completely dead, and we're still catching up on emails. I'm doing my best to get everyone taken care of! Time to do some filing before I suffocate under all these piles of paper. I hate filing. Edited to add: All the reshipments aren't complete yet. I won't be able to have everyone's errant order replaced immediately. Please allow 3-4 more business days if your reshipped package hasn't gone out yet. We should have everyone taken care of by the end of the week. I was only able to get out about 35 reshipments today. You all wouldn't f*ckin' BELIEVE how many orders we have to redo. It's making my head spin. Edited AGAIN because I am an IDIOT: I wrote "two" and listed four. What was I saying about not being able to do more than seven things at once? Jeebus...

The links section has been updated. Many more will be added over the next few days! As of tonight, we have finished all but five reshipments. Another batch of reshipped orders are going out tomorrow afternoon, and then one more on Saturday morning and I think we'll finally be done with that. The last of the international reshipments are going out in the Saturday batch. I should feel relieved, but I won't be able to relax until the shipments actually arrive. Starting Monday, we'll be able to get crackin' on the orders that came in while we were on vacation. At this time, I expect a maximum 10 business day day turnaround on them. Back to work!

For the record, Blood Lotus was inspired by Bloodlotus. I've always loved your screen name, darlin'!

My mistake. More missing orders have been brought to my attention. Those will be going out in the next few days.

I need some help with assembling empty sample vials. You don't have to be in the LA area, but it helps. =P The pay is decent, but honestly -- the work itself sucks. If you're interested, please email or PM me.

Nod, I'm shipping from the downtown annex at the moment. It seems to be working out -- at least, I hope it is. As far as I can tell, reshipments are getting to their destination domestically within a few days. Internationals remain to be seen. I still don't know what happened to the initial shipments. I've been so busy repacking that honestly... I haven't had any time at all to investigate. I don't want to assume the worst, you know? My friend hasn't gotten back to me about where she saw our oils [she's out of town on business =P ] so I won't know anything about that til she gets back. It's making me sick just thinking about it. Ugh, it's almost 1am, and I'm too tired to make sense. Thank you again, everyone, for all your love, patience and support. The Lab wouldn't exist without you... Edited to correct typos. Man, I was tired last night when I wrote this.

Well, hell. This certainly cheered us up!!! =) Bummer that the URL is screwed up. Again, more evidence of my bad luck lately... http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/media.html

I just received another request for a list of scents that are suitable for a man to wear. Though I think it's a matter of taste, here's my list of our more masculine and gender-neutral blends for future reference. One of these days, I have to update the FAQ. TRADITIONALLY MASCULINE Antony Arkham Azazel Baron Samedi Bluebeard Czernobog De Sade Faustus Fenris Wolf Golden Priapus Iago Jolly Roger Laudanum Lear Loup Garou Mad Hatter Magus Nero Oberon Othello Titus Andronicus Tombstone Typhon Vicomte de Valmont Villain Whitechapel GENDER-NEUTRAL All 7 Sins All Celestials All Tarot Blends Absinthe Anathema The Apothecary Aureus Bacchanalia Banshee Black Forest Black Phoenix Blood Bloodlust Burial The Caterpillar Cathedral Chimera Chypre Damnation Darkness Debauchery Deimos Depraved Eclipse Eidolon Embalming Fluid Endymion Entropy Hunger Hurricane Imp Inferno Jabberwocky Lightning Malediction Noir Omen Oneiroi Penitence Phobos Pulse Priapus Rakshasa Saturnalia Serpent’s Kiss Shadow Snake Oil Thanatopsis Torment Umbra Undertow Voodoo Zombi

The option was always there and I always activated it, but it didn't seem to work until recently. =P Well, I think its working at least. =/

I feel guilty asking them to correct the info. =/ I mean, they were so kind to write the article to begin with, and the blurb is so sweet -- but I'm stressed that people are going to ask for the samples at the magazine's published rate. We're losing money like crazy as it is, and I can't afford to discount the sample sets because of the typo. Stressing.

Ok, I spoke too soon. I found out that about 25 more orders haven't gotten to their destination, and I've been fraying these bloody samples like a madwoman all day. Well, except for the hour I took to go to hockey practise, but hell -- I have to get out of the house once in a while. Heh. I'm going to try to have the internationals opened up tomorrow. I need to see where we're at in the order queue before I do ANYTHING else. For those that are still waiting on emails, please bear with me. I feel like I'm drowning in missing shipments and it's taking all I've got to get them repacked.

Good afternoon, guys! Thank you all so much for the happy birthday wishes! Honestly, I feel like you all are extended family... I had to come home early. I can't take the strain of knowing that so much shit is messed up right now. I found out from the people that were housesitting for us that several packages came back --- on top of the ones that disappeared, I... well, I just couldn't stay on holiday in good conscience. I still don't know what's going on with the mystery oils that showed up at some swap meet. I may be prematurely furious, but... well, I'm an emotional woman. I'm not coping all that well. From what I've read today, more than half of the shipments I sent out before leaving have vanished. I am so stunned and so upset, I can barely type. Whatever is going on... a better job couldn't have been done to fuck me, and kudos to whoever is pulling this little stunt. Good job. I'm trying to get centered, trying to get an idea of what all has gone awry, and I think that the store may have to remain closed until I get everything sorted out. It's just irresponsible for me to reopen til all the bunged orders get reshipped. For the time being, I will continue to use USPS. I'm going to drive downtown to send out the packages until further notice. International customers that want a tracking number will have the opportunity to use Global Express or Global Express Guaranteed if they want, but unfortunately that will be a bit more expensive. I personally have had too many packages smashed by UPS to work with them at this point, but if I have no choice – if switching to another USPS branch doesn’t help matters – then I will have to opt to use them. I need to make myself a cup of coffee, pet the dogs for a moment, and then I’ll get back to work.

Good afternoon, all! I'm still catching up on emails [as usual, the papow.com addresses are on the fritz, and AOL won't let any of their customers email us for some reason on any address -- wotta surprise] so if you haven't heard from me, you will by the end of the weekend. I've been hammering to get orders repacked -- I know I should probably give it more time, but it's my responsibility to see to it that the orders get to everyone in a timely manner, so I've decided to go ahead and redo the errant shipments now. I estimate that it'll take us 3-5 business days to get everyone redone, so please be patient with me. More about that when I have a moment to catch my breath. I wanted to shoot a hullo to Brian, my partner and the Lab's Blonde Adonis. He's finally had a moment to log in to the BPAL boards; his screen name is Corinthian. Ok, I need to get back to work. I'll be on later tonight to finish up my PM's, chat, and get more emails out! I love you guys! [edited because of a massive typo attack]

I'm having trouble keeping all of the info by hand now. :? I used to make 3x5 cards with everyone's info on it... likes, dislikes, what they've ordered, nicknames, astro info, etc... but I just can't keep up. Can anyone help me with creating a dbase? I'm an idjit when it comes to things like this. I'm NOT a naturally organized and orderly person. Pisces with a Libra rising and an Aries moon, you know. 8)

Hi all! I found a cyber café that wasn’t too crowded so I could say hello to one of our February birthday girls [lurve you, la biscuit!], and I see that many of my shipments have disappeared. Maybe I shouldn’t have checked the forums and my email. It hasn’t been the most relaxing trip, and this is giving me a tic. The only news that I have from the storefront is that a friend went to a swap meet or farmer’s market or some such thing over the weekend and saw some BPAL oils for sale. I don’t know the whole story – to be honest, it’s the last thing I wanted to hear while I was away – but I’ll get the details when I get back. Suffice to say, this is something I never sanctioned, and may answer some questions. Fucking SWAP MEET. Bad news about Ted’s tournament, too. The LA Riot lost all their games, came in second to last, and Ted received a gnarly slapshot to the left shoulder that somehow got under his chest protector. He has a fist-sized bruise there and it scraped off a nice chunk of skin. What’s worse is that he sustained a very weird injury to his elbow in the first game – either a cut from the ice or a cut from something in his equipment – that became infected within the day. I’ll spare you the gory details, suffice to say he spent all of yesterday and this morning in bed with a very high fever brought on by the infection. The good news is that I think he sweated it all out in the middle of the night. He seems fine now. I witnessed my first lap dance this weekend. Didn’t get one myself, heh. Made friends with all the waitresses in a strip bar across the street from the Hard Rock, too. Nice people. More stories about LV later. I think the guy behind me wants me to get the hell off the computer so he can play Diablo. Har. Anyway, it looks like I’ll have to do a hell of a lot of reshipping, sleuth work, and screaming once I get back. At the moment I’m considering postponing reopening the store until all this is taken care of. It would be irresponsible for me to do otherwise. All I can say is that I’ll make restitution for anything that has disappeared in transit. Eventually the USPS will reimburse me. I hope. I’ve yet to see a single insurance claim go through. I hope everyone is having a gloriously beautiful week. I miss you guys! I’ll see you all online in two days.

Cross-posted to the LJ Community and the BPAL Forum: Good evening, all! Lord, I wish I had more time to be social lately… it’s been more difficult getting things back in order than I’d hoped it would be, and because of all the USPS stupidity lately, it’s been even slower, due to all the orders I’ve had to repack. MAN, I hope those bastards at the post office come across with all the insurance claims I’ve had to file, or I am assed out of a lot of money. The email problems continue, and I cannot get the goddamn autoresponder to work. Not like anyone can actually get an email through, but… I thought I’d try nonetheless. I just hope that anyone that tries to contact me while we’re out sees this. Upward and onward… We’ve worked pretty much nonstop since we recovered from the flu – which amounted to an average 16 hour day for each of us. I want to thank Lynn and Michelle for all their help in the last-minute crunch. We couldn’t have gotten all the orders out without you. Every single order placed through February 15th has been shipped. There is something amiss with the bozo that does our USPS Priority Mail pickup; I’ve received quite a few emails regarding delayed orders and other postal shenanigans. I’m not at the Lab at the moment, so I don’t have access to any of the tracking numbers. As you guys know, the Lab is closed from February 18th – February 25th so I won’t be able to check on anything until then. For those of you that are curious as to where we’re going… our landlord will be refurbishing two of the Lab walls during that time because of severe internal water damage. We chose this time to let him fix it all for two reasons: one, the damage became bad enough after the last rains to risk damaging the product, and two…. because Ted is participating in a hockey tournament in Las Vegas! It was lucky that the two could coordinate, since I wouldn’t be able to get anything done in the Lab or the office til the work was done anyway. I’m not a laptop kinda girl, which is why I won’t have any email access while I’m away. And fuck… I’ll be honest: it’s been a long, crappy winter for us. Really, really crappy. I’ve never had to deal with so much bullshit that was so out of my control in my entire freakin’ life. Certainly not where my own shop was concerned. I console myself by insisting that everything happens for a reason, and that there’s some divine plan behind all this, but the truth is I need a fucking break. I’m hoping that the time I spend away from all this will ‘reset’ my environment, and when I get back, everything will be right as rain. Here’s hopin’! Brian – being a diligent Virgo and work-masochist – is insisting that we bring the sample tying stuff with us to Vegas, so… technically I’m still working while we’re there. So much for leaving it all behind, but what can ya expect from a Virgo partner? I am going to trust that everything reaches you guys intact, but please let me know if you have any problems with your order, and if the USPS has bunged it up, I will certainly make restitution. Any emails I haven’t been able to get to will be gotten to when I get back. I’ve done my best to answer everyone, but since this fucking fucking fucking SMTP server is still wacky, I assume some of you didn’t receive my replies. I haven’t been able to get to all my PM’s either, due to my attempt to see to it that all the orders went out before we left. I’m truly sorry, and will do my best to get the last ones responded to before I crash tonight. I’m going to finish up packing now, watch Jay & Silent Bob, and take a long, long bath. I love you all very, very much, and… I’m just so damned sorry that things got so screwy here after Thanksgiving. When I get back, everything will be fine… When I get back, everything will be fine… When I get back, everything will be fine… When I get back, everything will be fine… When I get back, everything will be fine… *chant / chant / chant!*

I've been thinking about setting up a full altar to Hermes. Since it's been our communications and shipments that have been the biggest problem, it seems fitting. Also, commerce falls under his jurisdiction. Being the devout Fish that I am, I know it doesn't hurt to do a little deific grovelling when your back is against a wall. I'd be curious as to whether you're right about Gabriel. I agree with Shriekingviolet: it does seem that it would be his area of governance. Thanks everyone for your happy thoughts! I've been procrastinating leaving all morning because I keep thinking there's something else I need to do. I've never been away from the Lab for this many days, and it's making me nervous. It's not like I'm leaving everything in pristine shape here, you know? I'm also sketchy about leaving the dogs and kitty and fish with the sitter. And I'm nervous about what is going to happen when the Lab's walls are fixed. I don't trust my landlord, and we packed everything as well as can be, but it isn't like my luck is sterling right now. And I'm worried about Ted's game. And I'm worried about the incoming shipments I've got. And I'm worried about the USPS's bad service. And I have a zit. And and and and.... I didn't get much sleep last night. I hope everyone's weekend is bouncy and bright! Thanks again, guys. You all are better than family to me!

I use the 'f' word a lot.