I realized this morning that Bodybuilder Hubby’s contest starts one month from today.
I’ll admit that thought made me panic more than just a little bit.
Really, we’re in pretty good shape as far as being ready. I did as much as I could think to do ahead of time, like the competitor buttons, but there are always tasks that can’t really be done until the last minute.
Tickets have been on sale for a few weeks now. I have no idea how many have sold, though I know Bodybuilder Hubby has been keeping track. I’ll be selling the remaining tickets at the door the days of the contest, so the more that sell in advance, the better. But for now, I don’t have to worry about it.
The on-line registration has been open for several weeks also. That has turned out to be the best thing ever. We’ve gotten lots of compliments on how easy it is to use and how professional it looks. I haven’t heard a single complaint. But the best part is that it is SO much easier for Bodybuilder Hubby and me too! Win-win for everybody! Yeah! I don’t have the foggiest clue how many applicants we currently have because I don’t have to know right now! Yeah! In a couple weeks, I’ll have to get the list to put the names in the contest program and make stickers for the goodie bags, etc., but for now I’m just going to relish knowing that the registration program (which I totally take credit for finding and setting up) is working beautifully. Yeah.
The contest program is the thing most freaking me out at this point. Our contest programs are a sight to behold, if I do say so myself. It’s seven pieces of paper, folded in half and stapled to make a 28-page booklet. Most of the pages have ads from our sponsors; sponsors can choose between a half-page or full-page ad. In last year’s program, about 2/3 of the sponsors’ ads required some graphic design work on my part. Either the ad they sent us didn’t fit the space, or, in several cases, they didn’t send us an ad at all, just a logo and some information they wanted included, so I could put it together in a whatever way I thought would work.
I think I’ve said before that I enjoy that kind of design work; it’s fun to create different things, to try out ideas. But it’s not so much fun under a time crunch. And so far, we’ve only received ads from a handful of sponsors, so I’m a little nervous about how much work I’ll be doing on the others because there’s no way for me to know right now what to expect.
The other thing that’s freaking me out a bit is the contest t-shirts. I’ve designed the shirts for the last two years, and I’ve started a couple different designs for this year. My first idea didn’t go over well with Bodybuilder Hubby, and the other ideas I’ve tried didn’t go over so well with me, so I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I’d be very content to just play around with ideas if I had the time…
But time is in short supply right now. Last week I started a new job of my own (completely unrelated to all things bodybuilding) and our preschool-aged kids started spending full days in school for the first time. (They’ve been home with me for the last three years.) So we’ve had our fair share of trauma and tears getting used to the new schedule, and I’m more than a bit overwhelmed getting my head around the responsibilities of my new job.
It feels really strange that the contest is the one thing that we’ve got mostly well under control. I’ll mentally keep my fingers crossed that the tickets keep selling and that the registrations keep coming in, while being very grateful that I don’t have to pay much attention to either.
And, just for the record, any potential competitors who read this: Please, please, please don’t wait until two days before the contest to start your registration! Start it now, even if you have to finish it later. I will like you a whole lot better than way. J
