[Hell Puppy]

I like Shellee. She's very nice, she's intelligent, and she has a lot of general business savvy. However, if you combine that with being female and attractive, it basically makes you the equivalent of a wounded zebra trying to mix with a bunch of hungry lions.

GonZo is dead on about Tampa. I was having myself a much needed nap in the Crown Room as a result of WAY too many Goose Drivers and a WAY too early flight. But I'm one of the world's worst about going to a show and people watching first. Fair chance I will have watched how someone conducts themselves for a while before I'll even consider doing business.

By day two at that show, everyone had asked who Shellee was and word had made it's way thru every money hungry person there that she had money and was looking to expand into the business. The passing of this news was often accompanied by salivation.

Now combine all that with her being pretty generous when it comes to picking up a bar or dinner tab and now a lot of them seek her out at shows. The Anal Hobbit plan for doing a show on the cheap is alive and well.

I've personally become so jaded, that I dont think I will ever hire or source anything from within industry again. Most have no real business skills, do not want to do a solid days work, let alone work 40 hours or more a week. They expect to be paid a premium and will only stick around until they find the next job that'll pay a few bucks more. And they'll typically score that job based on your reputation as much as their own and/or the skills you teach them.