S.O.P.: Day One.

State of mind: sore

We sold about RM 1 000 worth of coupons and shite today--and it started off pretty slow, considering! Singing didn't work. Neither did yelling. Finally just dogged anyone who came in and killed them with kindness. Setup hadn't been started at all for some reason, which was weird seeing how they were all HAI EVERYONE PLEEZ TO COME AT NITE TO SETS UP.

The public, however, is patently weird, some examples including

• the tourist who left BOTH his kids—a girl of five and another of indeterminate baby age—alone with me and under my care. Excuse me. Hello. You do not leave young children with strangers. Heck, you don't leave older children with strangers, either! The craft fair is not a babysitting centre. I'm glad you paid for the full RM50 program and all, but would it hurt to sit with your child as she makes her keychain and sand art and window stickie? I don't care if you've done it before. I don't care if the previous batches did it. You don't leave young children alone with strangers, certainly not in these times!
• The poor precocious three-year-old girl, who had her art sense controllllllled by her mombot and...babysitters? Teenage sisters? No clue. We ARE running creative kids' activities. Your daughter won't care if Mr Bean's jacket is a weird colour of sand, or if he has a black face, or if her aeroplane window art is bright, bright pink and ONLY bright, bright pink. Let her have her gaudy pictures and black faces while she still can, hm?
• the tendency to just simper at misbehaving children. Other people's sprogs can be appealing, gloriously appealing—for two hours tops. Seriously, when you smile as Junior spills fluorescent pink sand on the carpet, I'm not thinking about how wonderful and active he is. I'm thinking about how expensive the sand is, and how much of a bitch it's going to be to vacuum out in the morning. The others are very lucky. They actually like children. Me? Suuuure, children aren't bad. Particularly if you add plenty of tomato sauce. (Although yes, some were patently ADORABLE—see bit about precocious child and limited appeal of strange children.)

Well, tomorrow is another new day. My back and feet are slaying me, and I am going to bed before they complete the job. The Dep. Finance Minister is coming to launch the whole shebang proper tomorrow. Kidchan should also be there. Come, already!! @w@