I Changed Saki's Oil

     I just got done making a video that will go up on Wednesday evening. Since I'm waiting for it to load up, so that I can put the end screen annotations on it, I figured I'd write this. I have a plan for three or four other videos that I'd like to get done this week. I'll just have to see how that goes.

     I got all my finances figured out, well, it's not solidified completely yet, but it should be in a week or a week and a half. I figured out that I should have 7-8 months before I absolutely have to get another job. That is, if nothing that I'm doing now, pays off. I'll get to some of that in a bit. I got some rants coming.

     This isn't a rant, but a mess up on my part. I found out that chapter 9 of The Patchwork Knight went up without being part of the partner program, so it was free for a day. It was completely my fault. I forgot to click the little button at the top that make it eligible to earn money. The reason I found out, was that I couldn't find the friend's link so that I could share it with those that asked me for it. That's when I saw it. This post is ineligible to make money from the Medium Partner Program. I fixed that problem and then went through all the rest of them to make sure that I had everything in order. Turns out I missed three of the chapters, but everything is on track now. Oh, by the way, if anyone has some good pictures of mountains or caves, I would be interested in using them for The Patchwork Knight. I will give you photo credit and link it to anything you want. If you have anything like that, let me know so we can work something out.

     I went riding yesterday with a friend of mine and friends of hers. She kind of goofed and told me to meet them at one place, not realizing that the place she names was 5 miles away from where she actually was. I was going crazy. She was telling me she was there, but she wasn't. I sent her a picture of where I was and she finally told me the right place. She just goofed up on the location. They were both diners, but with different names, and she named the place I was at. It was kind of a short ride, but we ended up at this great little German Beer Garden. Since I don't drink anymore, it was a bit of a bummer for me, but it was a nice place, that looked like they had some great food. I might have to go back and try the food sometime. I was still full from the breakfast at the diner, so I only had iced tea. The total drink of choice in a beer garden. Maybe I'll do a video for the place and get some footage of the food. That could be something I do this week.

     I also changed the oil in Saki. It is such a great feeling riding right after an oil change. The bike never runs as smooth as it does right after an oil change. That fresh oil working its way through the engine, is just pure joy. I never mentioned this before, but the oil I use adds a banana scent to it, so it's real fun when you put it in. I have to stop after every pour and smell the bottle. It slows me down a little, but it's totally worth it. I was thinking about making a how to video for it, but that would have definitely slowed me down. I would have to set up the cameras, move them around, check the shots, and footage after each take. It was too much work for the few views I would get. I don't mind putting a lot of work into a video that I think is artistic, but one that is a simple how to, not worth the effort. Plus, it is more of a zen thing when I'm working on Saki. I just relax when I'm wrenching on the bike.

     Tuesday is the big day. We are finally having a true meeting with the brand manager for the PR. At least that's what I'm being told. Did you think the rant was coming? You were right. The latest video and blog post went up this week. I put a ton of work into, and have been promoting it selfishly for the past three days. I boosted the video on Facebook to see if it could get more views and possible subscribers. I have posted the the video on my own page, on this blog, on my Instagram, and on the PR Instagram. What has my partner done to promote the latest video and blog? Seriously, what has my partner done to promote it, because I don't know. I haven't seen anything on his page, I haven't heard if he notified the restaurant about the blog and video to see if they would post it on their Facebook page. I even checked the restaurant page and there is nothing there. So it is more likely he he didn't let them know rather then they didn't post it. These are the things that drive me crazy. I put a lot of work into all of this and he only has a few things that he has to do, but he just doesn't do them. He even told me that he was going to post the video on his Facebook page on Friday. Guess what isn't on his timeline?

     The last time we met with the brand manager, it was only dinner and no real business was discussed. I'm real appreciative of this guys time, since he isn't charging us anything for it, but I don't feel like I'm gettin anything out of it so far. I did go back to Facebook on his recommendation of how it helps to promote the brand, but that is really it. It really truly feels like I am doing all the work with little help. My partner texted me the other night saying he was having dinner with the brand manager and he wanted to know what I wanted out of the meeting. I have no idea. I have no direction or experience with these types of things. I texted my partner back the I wanted a blueprint on how to proceed. I only know what I'm doing right now, and I'm terrible at networking. That is what I need, I need to learn how to network properly, but it would be real helpful if maybe someone else would learn how to network so that I could just focus on the writing and the video creation. Do I really need to add one more plate to my balancing act?

     Let's count the plates. Writing this blog, writing The Patchwork Knight for Medium, creating videos for my own channel, creating videos for the PR, writing the blog for the PR, creating a new logo for the PR, painting said logo for the PR. There is also the , me wanting to get back into my photography, and I have thought about once I get my finances finalized, I will buy a new camera, that will double for photography and video creation. I could do more life-vlog type of videos with a new camera. I could also use that for different types of shot with the PR. That's a lot of stuff. Am I being a dirtbag to ask someone else to learn how to do something for the thing that both of us are supposed to do? I'm really asking that question, because it feels like when I ask him to do something, that I'm asking him to do something that I should be doing myself.

     The video is uploaded and almost ready to go for Wednesday. I just have to add the end screen annotations. Those are the little things that pop up that allow people to click on the logo and subscribe, or another video link for something that might be along the lines of what they want to watch. I'm going to go finish that up so that you can see it Wednesday evening. Peace in and goodnight.