Sick, slick, stick

Sick. I'm sitting here with "a little pneumonia" in my right lung, feeling guilty for not going to work today, even though I spent most of the day working from home and got more done here than I probably would have at the office. I had pneumonia once when I was in college. It was severe. In fact, the doctor called my parents and told them to come get me and bring me home where I could recover. 

I had no idea my current condition was so serious -- I just had a minor cough and fits of wheezing that made it difficult to get a good night's sleep, which was annoying more than anything. A low blood oxygen reading and two chest x-rays later, I'm popping antibiotics and steroids like candy. Not to mention the puffs of albuterol.

But, I will definitely be going to work tomorrow.

Slick. Meanwhile, last week and over the weekend I spent some time updating (or as BC corrected, "overhauling") my website. I switched over to a flash site that I think is pretty darn slick. The other site was ok and served its purpose, but I can't deny that I am overjoyed with the new one. Take a look, www.emilyjcole.com.

Stick.  Updating the website gave me pause. I couldn't help but think of all the other artists and arts employees in Virginia whose livelihoods are in the hands of the General Assembly. The budget for the next biennium is scheduled to come out of conference committee this week. On the chopping block is the Virginia Commission for the Arts, which helps fund hundreds of arts organizations -- large and small -- which employ over 20,000 workers.

Arts advocates across the Commonwealth have been pulling out all the stops, calling, writing and visiting with legislators, using logic and sound economic arguments to pursuade lawmakers that eliminating the VCA is a lose-lose situation for everyone. All in all, I think advocates have demonstrated that artists are not just a bunch of communist pot smoking attic-living bums. We have clearly articulated our cause in a reasonable and diplomatic way...walking softly. But don't forget about that big stick we're carrying.

If the VCA is eliminated, that stick is going to strike a heavy blow on the Virginia economy in ways that will make lawmakers' heads spin and number crunchers' calculators spontaneously combust. I hope with all my heart that our elected officials will receive an epiphany in the next couple days, helping them to recognize the integral role the arts play in our state's economy and leading them to make a rational decision regarding funding the arts.

Otherwise.... we'll all be up [another s-word] creek.