Those of you independent workers know this... That there's one client... just one client who drives you simply batty. Everything they do is bass-ackwards, last-minute, hopelessly clueless, but charming as all get-out. So you keep them as clients because they give you lots of work and sometimes (just sometimes) you get off on the adrenaline rush they spark.
Well, I don't really have a client like that. But my (one) client (RP) has a client like that (let's just call her 'Devil Client'). Year after year RP's client pulls her one way, pulls her the other way, twirls her around her head... and year after year, RP swears that "next year will be different." And, of course, it isn't. Or RP swears that she's not going to take the contract next year. And, of course, she does.
Problem is, when RP gets pulled one way, I get pulled that way, too. When RP gets pulled the other way? I do, too. When she's flying through the air in circles over Devil Client's head? Yep, I'm right below her, hanging on for dear life.
I'm not in a position to say 'no' to Devil Client. And it's clear that RP will never say 'no' to Devil Client. And it's equally clear that Devil Client has worked this way for so long - and RP has accommodated her for so long - maybe even enabled her - that this is simply The Way Things Work.
Neither am I about to say 'no' to my client. If I don't do this work, Devil Client doesn't say, "Meg, you ignorant slut," she says, "RP, your work is sh*t, and I'm going to tell everyone in my industry and you'll never get a job again." So I get pulled and turned and twisted along with RP.
But I've got a plan... for next year... If RP won't say no to Devil Client, and I won't say no to RP, what I can do is charge up the yin-yang for doing Devil Client work. Yeah, that's the ticket. A 50% premium for any work done for Devil Client. I kinda like that. If I had done that this year, I would be almost $1,000 richer. Just think of how much yarn that would be!!
In the meantime, until I craft next year's contract, here's my Ravelympics progress on Lacey Vee and Ice Queen. You see the cone in the Lacey Vee picture? That weighed over 2 pounds when I first got it. And those 2 pounds are why this project has languished in a bag since 2005 - 2 pounds is HEAVY when you're lugging it around to knit!
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