07/13/2005: "Phonemasters"

Last night I worked on the detail of the face of the woman playing the fiddle in the field. After it dries I'll be able to add the last little highlights and details. Tonight I'll work on finishing her hair, dress, and hand.

In other news, a man interested in purchasing a painting or having me do a commission emailed me last week. It had already sold so I sent him an email with a link to my commissions page so he could see how the process worked etc. but then I never heard back from him. Anyway, he called last night and left a message as though he hadn't heard from me and asked me to call him back; with the 3 hour time difference it was too late by the time I got the message so I *should* call him back today and (for those of you who don't know) I have a hang up about making phone calls (no pun intended). It's not that I can't be bothered, it's just that I get really anxious. Especially calling someone I don't know.

This isn't a good thing at all when you have a business. I've lost quite a few potential customers by not returning their calls....Thinking about it makes me feel really pathetic. I wonder if there are classes like "toastmasters" where you can learn how to call people on the phone without having a panic attack?