Oh, hello!  It’s been a while, huh?

Like a really LONG while? I have missed you all and this site SO much while I’ve been away, and focused on the Quirkipreneurs projects. I love it over at there, but there’s just a special feel to this place that speaks to the heart. Now that entrepreneurial topics have their own home over on the Q, I’d love to re-focus this site on more casual, personal writings, stuff that doesn’t belong there.  Sound good? Ok!

But the official transition can wait.

Right now, I want to introduce you to a new member of the team… see that little line drawing of a critter over there?  The one shaped like a pear that grew feet andth a trunk?  That’s a Quirk.    He (she?) is a member of a tribe that will be showing up pretty much all over the place, and there is a curious connection back to the Circus Serene.

See, my imaginary helpers here at the Circus have always been Elephants, because, you know, ELEPHANTS! .  You’ll find jokes and little remarks about them scattered through the site, quips how they read the email, put up new tents for new projects, demanded more peanuts, etc.   When I started the Quirkipreneurs site, I just naturally carried that idea over, substituting “Quirks” for “Elephants”.  Then, gradually, the Quirks began to take form, and have faces and identities (Honestly, they’re a bit like the Minions from Despicable Me…  I think they’re likely related).

Part of the Bring Your Business To The Beach project

So, you love the idea of taking your business to the beach this summer, but you’re landlocked, tied to your desk and you’re worried your budget won’t cover more than a few grains of sand? No worries, we’ve got you covered with a flip-flop….   instead of taking your business to the beach, we’re gonna bring the beach to your business!

Skip to the Gift:
Free! ($0! No Sign Up!) Beachify-Your-Biz-Kit

Please note that this is a beta version, because I over-achieved and ran out of time. But that means there’s even MORE coming soon. What kind of more? I’m glad you asked!

I am an Artist.

By ‘Artist’, I don’t mean that I paint or draw well enough to win a fancy ribbon (although I have) or earn a buck or two (although I do).

I don’t mean that I am a master craftsman or even a participant in any of the other creative arts, like writing or dance or music or film (because I’m not).

Or: “Why I Shouldn’t Be Trusted
With A Glue Gun.”

Do you have any idea how hard it is to make
a swan-sized fez when you have no felt?

My creative-cohort TheNumbersWhisperer (aka Nicole Fende) has been having fun with the idea of Business Villains – personifications of the problems & fears we encounter as biz people & entrepreneurs. She’s got a lovely reader gallery of rogues started up, and at her suggestion, I decided to contribute a portrait of my chief Arch-Nemesis of 2012-2013:

(click on the image for the full impact)

At first glance, the Drama Llama seems innocuous enough…

Amusing, entertaining, maybe even a little charming. But don’t let his sweet face fool you — this woolen miscreant will rob you blind and leave cloven hoof prints all over your quirkipreneur heart!

He’ll  come to you in the guise of a family member, friend, or business partner, or he may present himself as a creative muse of your very own.  But beware, this “muse” comes with baggage, and he intends to make you his SkyCap!   Once he’s tricked you into carrying his full emotional weight, he’ll spit over-dramatic and irrational rhetoric at you, demanding attention and distracting you from more important business at hand — important business like, oh, I don’t know….  running your business, as an example?

How do you defeat this Ugly Ungulate?

Refocus the spotlight of your attention on profitable, practical tasks, side stepping the emotions and drama as much as possible.   If the Llama comes to you in human form, disengage yourself from them if you can, and if not, try to get them focused on small, simple steps forward. If the Llama speaks to you from inside your own head, learn to recognize his voice with its overblown statements and exaggerations.

Me, I find it useful to introduce a little Llama Logic — reminding him that his vision of the world is a wee bit distorted, seen as it is through a veil of llama wool  that’s been pulled over his eyes for so long he can’t remember what the real world looks like.

So here’s hoping for a Llama-free 2nd quarter of 2013, and perhaps, if we’re lucky, another Nemesis portrait, coming soon to a blog post near you!

That’s a question I’ve heard all of my life.

I heard it most recently during an interview with The Word Chef, Tea Silvestre , while we talked about my award-winning branding. Not one, but two of her people asked exactly what I do—and as usual,  I stumbled out a vague answer — “It’s in flux!”

Seriously, I felt a bit embarrassed that my branding (while admittedly beautiful & effective) *still* doesn’t make what I actually do very clear.

That’s because what I do really *isn’t* very clear, much less concrete. Since I launched the Circus, the market has shifted and changed, and my direction has shifted and changed.  Most of the past year has been focused on developing the Quirkipreneurs concept and website – a project that has shifted me into a role of community builder and entrepreneur, and will hopefully lead to a lovely, clear answer to “What does Tori do?” very soon.

But I know a lot of you want to know just how I earn my moolah (Since it’s rather obviously NOT through the products & consulting I’ve never gotten around to offering ‘round the Circus.)

Ready? Ok!

Yes, I’m breaking my long silence to bring you a near random absurdity:  The Squid of Second Guessing.

How’d we end up here? What’s it all mean?

What is it, exactly, that the Squid is second-guessing?

And what are you supposed to do with this?

Good questions.

I’m wondering that myself.

Unfortunately, I have to dash off for a memorial service today, followed by a 91st birthday dinner, so I’m a bit too flustered and see-saw-ish to make sense of it all.

But know what I’d love to come back to, tomorrow? A bunch of squidish speculations in the comment section! In fact, if you’d like to answer those questions yourself, name the squid, or make up your own mini Tales of the Squid, that’d be awesome!

Or you can download the squid, print it out, and color/paint/bead/sequin it to your heart’s content.  And I’d love love love it if you’d link to that in the comments, too! Squid of Second Guessing: The Printable Version

But whatever you decide to do, or not do?

No second guesses allowed!

Squidly said so.

UPDATE: Some folks reported problems downloading the larger image, so here it is again:
Squid of Second Guessing: The Printable Version

(and Squidly still says so!)

Those of you who follow me on Twitter already know I’m a shameless fan of Jenny Lawson, @TheBloggess.  What you don’t know is that it’s not just her absurd humor, Texas-sized heart, or habit of adopting stray taxidermied animals that makes me feel so connected to her.

It’s things like this tweet:

And my twin brother:

You’ll need a bit of backstory to see the connection, so bear with me, k?

(for action steps, see the comments below)

Yes, I know. You hate politics. Especially on a non-political site. And the last thing you want to read from me is a lecture about the importance of your voice, or yet another overblown whine about proposed legislation and how it’s going to kill the Internet.

So instead, I’m going to violate that proposed legislation in a dozen different ways, and embed a video that explains it brilliantly and with much irony:

Hitler Reacts To SOPA

Watched it yet? Awesome.