I DID IT! Hill's Ebay Shop Opens!

I did it! I said I would. I had my doubts, but I did it!

I now have some items for sale on ebay!

I'm sending a special thanks to my dear friends Bud and Trudy who came by to visit this morning and inspired me to actually take the plunge.

Another special Franks to F, Barb, and Alicia who believed in my artistic talents. My self esteem issues had been holding me back a little.

I'm a meticulous perfectionist. This does not mesh well with being an artist.

Art, in it's very nature, is imperfect. That's the beauty of

it. Art is whatever you want it to be. It's all in the eye of the beholder.

I like to "behold" a lot. I just don't know if anyone shares my tastes. This means I have paintings and crafts strewn around my house getting no love.

Someone, please love my art.

I didn't take the full on plunge into creating my own online store. The basic fee for this is $15.95 a month. I didn't know if it would be worth the purchase.

In the interim, how should I label my products? I'd like anyone who goes on ebay to be able to find my things simply.

I'm listed as the seller Acqui3scence (don't ask, I was in college when I created it).

Since you probably are wondering, I know I still do whenever I type it, acquiescence means to give in, to resign.

When I created my ebay account I was resigning to join the ranks of technology and buyers. It was a vocabulary word on a test and I liked it.

There is the story behind that.

The listings I have now can be found under "Three piece brown, yellow, and blue cat tail painting" at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120520220305&ssPageName

=STRK:MESELX:IT#ht_500wt_1182

This is an original painting by me.

I'm wondering how I should label my items so people can easily search them. If anybody has suggestions or experience, I'd love to hear it!

The other two items are listed as "Angel Wall Hanging" and "Handmaid Faceless Girl Garden Decoration."

The Angel Wall Hanging is created by my friend Bud. The cost represents his time and materials. Anything received above and beyond the price goes to my costs.

I looked into shipping prices, but I'm worried they might be inflated.

I have no experience with shipping. To be honest, I've always felt uncomfortable around the post office. It is dark in Claremont. It's an older, gothic looking

building with a variety of cold metals. I always feel like I have a neon sign on me that says "This girl has no idea what she is doing, treat her accordingly."

I just feel like an idiot.

Ideally, the dream I have for this is that it could expand into a store where patients can sell

their goods fulfilling their needs of therapy through art while bringing in additional income,

not only to defray costs, but to alleviate the feeling of uselessness.

I hate feeling useless. Being sick, I all ready feel like a burden. I am dependent for rides. I need help with cleaning and to care for my child. I feel useless. I feel dependent.

It's been devastating to cope with these feelings alongside fighting for my life. I wonder if I'm more of a burden than an asset to those I love.

Cancer comes with a lot of guilt and any little thing I can do to contribute alleviates these negative feelings I just don't need.

I'd love to see this blossom into something that could start an endowment for palliative care or education at Norris Cotton.

My favorite endowment at Dana Farber (which is blessed with a lot of rich survivors who give back) gave me $200 worth of gas cards to defray travel costs.

I could have taken this $200 in cash or it could have been paid directly to the hotel where I stayed. I chose gas cards which went to my mother who did most the carting back and forth from Boston during my trial therapy. I was also able to pay for gas when any of my fabulous friends/caretakers took the time to drive me.

I'd love for a percentage of proceeds to go to an endowment where patients could receive a fixed amount for helpful costs such as gas, house cleaning, lodging, oil changes, car payments, yard work, child care etc.

These are the quality of life issues that are so drastically altered when diagnosed with a disease.

Unfortunately, holistic care is still a relatively new concept and assisting the patient outside the hospital or clinic setting is barely addressed.

There is just too much else for providers to deal with, but patients are only with providers for an hour or so each week if they're in therapy other than that, we're no our own to cope.

Our home is our primary battle ground.

This is just me dreaming though. I'm so excited I've made it to the point where I can take this first step.

I'll let you know in the coming week how it goes.