What a day, what a day. Started off waiting for my LSAT student to show up, tried calling him, got his mother .. no word from him yet. Judy and I headed out to breakfast by way of this errand, that errand and the other errand .. and we accomplished quite a bit.

Mostly of me spending money on things I needed.

I worked on balancing the checking account, was off by $52.02, which drove me NUTS until I figured out that it was a date range error in Quicken. Now, it balances to the penny, as per the norm.

Looked through Judy's business plan .. my hair is still standing on end. But, I've only been hired to do the goals and the budgets, so that's what I'm going to focus on. Did CP's tax return (price = two cocktails) and got that handled.

Had two text messages from Jarred last night - he got the poem that I had written him; I mailed it to him last week after things went wonky. He was very appreciative and apologetic.

Still doesn't mean I have any interest in seeing him at all.

Haven't listened to my XM ALL DAY.

Judy and I watched American History X last night - I had rented it before, and turned it off halfway through because I so put off. I didn't see the "good" part. We also got a Rocky & Bullwinkle DVD with a Papa John's pizza .. that was a RIOT. We hooted big-time.

No strange dreams .. well, one was bizarre .. Judy and I were students in a school/college; food was involved in a messy way, and I kept trying to study for and take an exam or write a paper and couldn't get it done. Very unsettling.

I decided it was random.

Have to read through all of these publications that her Judiness has printed, faxed and pulled out relating to the business plan.

Guy's bringing over hamburgers in a while.

FINALLY!!!!! I FINALLY got my XM radio hooked up today! I got my home kit in the mail today (I stole it on eBay for $20 off) and hooked it up in less than an hour. It's FABULOUS!!!



I am about to hook up the speakers here in the den/work room/guest room so that I can listen in here.

HAPPYHAPPYHAPPYHAPPYHAPPYHAPPYHAPPYHAPPY

I can't wait to get it hooked up in Ruby and in the Impy!! WOW!

Got my watch fixed today - $12.50 - they had to put one of the chronometer hands back on it, and then re-set the hour hand. Also bought laundry soap and dishwasher soap at Kroger (on sale! woof!) worked on a BUNCH of stuff, got my BRAKES REPLACED! Whoo!! Bought my ticket to Dallas for the last weekend in August.

Scheduled my trips for the rest of the year to make Silver Elite by Christmas .. WHOO!

Happy happy happy happy happy.

I have to load some software, check out another station on my XM and hang with the Judy.

This morning's early blood sugar = 99. In week three of no medication.

Have to take Ruby over to get her brake pads fixed in a little while .. like about 20 minutes. After the coffee and oatmeal are consumed.

My lovely watch from Dusseldorf has broken, after just six weeks. The second hand fell off after hanging up the hour hand and knocking it out of alignment. I'm sure it's an easy fix. There's a lovely watch that the same guy on eBay is selling - Scott wants it REAL badly, and it's pretty cheap.

I'm just feeling evil enough to buy it to deny it him.

I'm writing Richard a note about the truly weird dream that I had about him last night. I wonder if it carries any meaning ..

And whether he'll GET IT.

Here's the dream ..

Richard and Rick were joining some leather club at a bar that was sort of an amalgam of the Ripcord and Lobo, and there were all of these semi-rough looking guys who were having the "meeting." Richard was all dressed in preppy attire - I went to try to "rescue" him from the whole thing, and they ended up "rushing" me. I answered their questions in a smart-assed way, as I thought the whole thing was ridiculous. Then, the new inductees had to select or be assigned club "names" by which they would be known. I think Richard's name was "poodle." They asked me what I wanted my name to be, and I said "divo" - which they loved. So, divo it was.

THEN, things turned ugly. The leather group was some sort of anarchist group, and they were all armed to the teeth. I was trying to break Richard out of there, and they were all smoking (I assume) dope and greasing their weapons. At that point, Lance was with me, and we were shooting our way out. I was a gay super-hero (my preferred profession) and I was blasting the greasy leather girls like it was a hyper version of the video game "Doom."

I never did figure out what happened to Richard in the melee.

It's very interesting to me that Lance keeps cropping up in my dreams as a co-worker/battle-r of evil and evil-doers.

Okay, time to run Ruby down the street and walk back. She needs new brakes.

I made it home, I thought, with my sanity. The trip home went swimmingly, with a quick stop at the Wal-Mart in Bastrop. Traffic was gentle, and I made it home in three hours on the nose, at 4:10 p.m

Dashed into the apartment having had to pee for the last half hour. Lance was here working on my computer, and the dogs were all jumping for joy. I came out of the bathroom, to have Lance tell me that CP was demanding my immediate presence at JR's.

I thought I had just gotten AWAY from that sort of thing.


just a little bit later...

Okay, Travis has come and gone. What a great time! He's a masseur/chiropractor .. and he's about the best chiro I've EVER met. And such a sweet guy. Dinner was pleasant, and I got him to talk about himself some. I guess I'll see him next week Thursday.

My apartment was a WRECK. The kitchen had food and crusty dishes everywhere .. the place smelled badly .. I spent two hours cleaning up.

PLEH.

About to hop into the shower, go with Scooter to the office, work up some investor packages for him, and then hit Texas 71 on the way home. I'll be home around 6:00.

Been reading the biography of Howard Hughes that Guy loaned me .. hoo boy! I had no idea just how twisted his life was. Wow. I'm only up to 1960 and have 16 more years to read about.

No unusual or bizarre dreams last night - there's a first in a while.

Spent some time last night downloading ring tones to my Sprink phone. I discovered (after 18 months of having this phone) how to attach a picture image to a phone book entry, so I can now add in EVERYONE that I have images for, and have their picture show on my screen when they call in.

And, I assigned ring tones to certainn people. Psycho Judy is "The Flight of the Valkyries," Guy is "Copacobana," Lance is "True," Mikey is .. something I don't recall right now, and E is something disco-y.

Seeing Travis tonight after I get home. I sure like him.

MIKEY IS UPSET THAT I DON'T TALK ABOUT HIM ENOUGH IN MY BLOG. NOW, HE'S ALSO UPSET THAT I DON'T TALK ABOUT HIS BOYFRIEND JAY.

I told him that I only talk about people who tweak me, irritate me, make me think about my life, or otherwise .. that did not assuage him.

So, now, I've talked about him.

Mid-day update...

It's nearly 4:00 - I've re-worked the marketing flyer for these boys. Simplified it, took out a bunch of redundant information, added the logo. Now, I'm working on their HUD approval application. This is SUCH simple work - Scott was insistent that I needed to be here for three days. I'll be done in just a few minutes, and there is no real reason for me to stay much past lunch tomorrow, especially when I'm coming back in another ten days.

Finally at the office. Scott, it seems, doesn't eat breakfast. I, on the other hand, start to get wonky without food early in the day. I wish I had Lance with me.

Scott does have quite the set-up here for interest rates and so on. Clearly, I need to be working through him for any loans that I generate on my own, as he'll pay me a much larger portion than MJV will, and I won't have to wait to get paid as I will with MJV. So, more money and less time waiting, and lower rates/fees.

Works for me.

I have to figure out a way to get some food going here, even if it's just me walking off down the street to the Marriott.

Ah Wednesday in Austin. Scott gets up late and I had a chance to sleep in for once.

He has this dazzling little computer with a tiny keyboard that looks all fashionable, but it hard to work with since it is about the size of a laptop keyboard.

He has a gorgeous apartment and it's impossible to argue that Austin is a huge order of magnitude more lovely than workaday Houston is. However, I'm fully invested in Houston, and this will remain a place to travel to. Scott keeps telling me he wants me to move here, but there is no income foundation for me here.

Last night, I got to thinking about my consulting work, and the effort that I produce for people. I have been billing $75/hour of late, but .... if boy hustlers are worth at least $150 an hour for questionable value, I think that I am undercharging for things that make such a huge difference in people's lives or businesses.

So, last night while at Charlie's where Scott was trying to find us some boy hustlers, I gave myself a raise.

Judy is coming on Friday for three days to "polish" her business plan. I have decided that she's getting eight hours of work, period. She had originally proposed $1000, and now it's $800, half in advance and half on completion. Okay, well, I'm not putting in three weeks' of work like I did for R&R for $800. Their business plan actually took six weeks of working on it about three hours a day of steady work. The amount of time that I spent gestating on it and so on was much greater than that.

If I were using my regular keyboard, I'd have this already knocked out.

Austin is populated with a seeming throng of young men under 24. They are all 'cute' and 'stylish' and utterly uninteresting. Scott revels in their presence, and frankly, I couldn't be less concerned.

I am so glad to be going home tomorrow to a work space that is totally caught up with everything. I will have Scott's tax returns to synthesize, and a few other projects, but, that's NEW work, not something that has been hanging out around for weeks.

Anyway, that's the story. It was HOT yesterday, and Ruby ran flawlessly, as always. I'm so glad that she's getting new brakes on Friday, as hers are down to the nub. I have obviously adjusted my braking behavior to reduce stress on her, and yesterday when in traffic or following Scott home from the office (he seems to think he's Speed Racer) I could tell that she was laboring with the brakes in their current condition. I just hope that her rotors are still in good shape.

Okay, well, about 30 more hours and then I'm headed home to my world.

Ah, coffee. The nectar of the gods. I was up until 2:00 working on tax returns, and this morning, I'm doing the final clean up work on them and they go out in the UPS today. Waiting on a credit card payment, a wire transfer, and then I'm out the door to get gas, the car washed, and my hair cut and off to Austin for three days.

PJ just called, not only is she "on her way" to wire me the money she promised for Sunday, but she's expecting approval to get me paid to write a business plan for them, and she'll be IN MY FACE from Friday until Tuesday.

Yeep. I need the work, though.

Okay, now it's 9:15, I'm still working my butt off, and I have gotten a call from Judy that a.) she sent me my money, and b.) she thinks that she's got approval to hire me to do the business plan.

Hooray and YELP!

I think I sold another loan this morning, that's awesome - it should also close in August.

Ordering insurance certificates, sending clients information, and then I have to package up these two tax files and put them in UPS. The time is slipping by.

What a day, what a day. Got a lot DONE but not what I intended/needed to. I am staying home from class AGAIN to meet with a tax client and work on tax returns. I have apologized to Jarred THREE times (by text message) and delivered some tax returns to a very happy woman who just moved here from California.

I have the corporate tax returns done except for balancing the cash balances. Pleh. Then, I have to finish the personal return, call them in the morning, arrange for the delivery, and head out to Austin.

I've been doing this, that and the other, mostly because I have no idea how to go about balancing these stupid books. Pleh.

I have to get these dogs outside, now that the thundershower has ceased, make up the bed, then see about getting these statements to balance. Then, in the morning, I can do the personal tax return, call about delivering same, and get out of town.

This morning's pre-breakfast blood sugar = 105. Just fine.

Waiting to call CP about meeting him with the car and for brekkie. Then, I have to crank out the tax returns before lunch, and deliver them this afternoon. Then .. would I actually be CAUGHT UP?

Don't say such things.

I think Lance is coming over later this morning. That will be good.

Travis was here on Thursday - my God, he's the nicest man. He's coming over Friday night, and hopefully, post-massage, he'll be up for going out to dinner.

More bizarre BIZARRE dreams last night. I was in some little hotel suite/thing that was more like a lavishly decorated dorm room than anything else. There was this guy that I was .. pursuing .. who was .. indifferent, but very appealing (sound at ALL familiar?) Anyway, I was locking up the door to my room, and this cute-ish husband/wife couple were reaching for my door handle. She told me that they wanted to use my phone. I made some snappy reply about it wasn't a public phone, and then went down the hall. The whole building was like an amalgam of a very exclusive shopping mall, a convention center, and a stunning hotel - weird. Anyway, they were following me while I was trying to find my "boyfriend" (the one who was indifferent, sometimes, but not always) who seems to have recently been released from prison for drug charges, and was running around trying to sell .. something.

So, the husband/wife and I settle in this upholstered love seat in the hotel lobby watching a TV. The wife stretches out on the love seat, I'm sitting on the floor and the husband is standing RIGHT in front of me watching the TV. The husband starts making those hints .. and wants to go back to my room (which was about six blocks away, but all still in this huge convention building thing) and suddenly, I'm wearing nothing but my undershorts, and my khaki shorts and polo are on the floor. He sees that his wife is asleep, and so he's all hot to trot, and we walk off - and I said 'but my keys are in my shorts, I have to go back and get them.' He says that he'll rent a hotel room.

Mercifully, I woke up right about then.

SUSAN! WHERE ARE YOU????

Well, holy SHIT!

Back from dinner ..

I just read a very pretty and thoroughly CRAPPY business plan. It was .. to be as discrete as possible, half-assed, ill conceived, and unsupported. I am writing a .. gentle .. email that says the thing is a piece of shit.

Hopefully, he'll want to hire me at a steep fee to re-write the whole thing. 'Cause I ain't doing ANYTHING risk based anymore, unless I'm the owner of it.

One hour, sixteen minutes.

Just where in the world IS Floweree, Montana? Perhaps I should ask Mapquest.

Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. The bed in the guest room is starting to look more like a bed, and less like someone upended a filing cabinet on it. There are file folders, neat stacks, and most everything has actually been put away.

Two hours until dinner with Nancy and Nicole. They chose the Stables, which I have a negative impression of because of R&R.

I'm cruising through the antihistamines today like Sherman went through Atlanta.

Some recent fortunes garnered through various chinese food visits:

"You understand how to have fun with others and to enjoy your solitude."
"An Admirer is concealing his affection for you."
"Your professional experience is worth a huge fortune."

I have the mail processed and ready to go out tomorrow, I have my work for tomorrow all organized and lined out, I have things really coming along in here. Lance is going to cover me while I'm in Austin.

And an hour to go!!! Should I actually start doing some work?

Well, at long last, a text message from Jarred. He says that clearly text messaging isn't the best for us, and that he thought I wanted to reschedule, since I had written to him that time was against me.

Of course, I did call, and never heard from him. So, I sent him a quick reply to that effect, and, as far as I am concerned, it's just concluded.

Ah, well. I only went to that stupid bar to see him, and I sure have more than enough to keep myself busy.

This morning's blood sugar was 118 - still normal, near the high side of the scale, but I drank a lot of wine last night AND had bananas foster for dessert. So, that's all well and good, I guess.

I'm thinking that my friendship with Richard is clearly going into cold storage. It will remain there until things break down with Rick, and Richard is either in desperate financial straights or Rick leaves him, or both. Then, I'll get to be the "on deck best friend" again.

Should I accept that, is the question?

Going to church this morning; not responsible for anything, just have to sit and enjoy. That's so cool. Had a note from Chuck this morning; he's a great guy.

When I get home from church today, I MUST tackle this home office/guest room. I think I can get everything cleaned up in less than 30 minutes, it just needs DOING. After that, I can work on the tax returns that I have to deliver tomorrow, and then go to Nancy's birthday party around 7:00.

Tomorrow, meeting CP at his mechanic at 9:00 so that I can have Ruby's spark plugs, wires and filters changed out (which have been riding around in the trunk now for THREE months, waiting for Trevor to change them.) Then, I am working on loans and getting the decks cleared to leave for Austin first thing Tuesday morning. Work with Scotticia all week, and back Thursday afternoon late.

So far, the auction on the '73 Impy isn't bringing many bids, and I'm the current high bidder. The auction doesn't close until tonight, and will do so while I'm at dinner with Nancy and Nicole. Right now, the bid is at $1525.00. No bids yesterday at all.

Next weekend, I have to complete my loan officer re-certification and get my LO reinstatement application in to Austin. Bleh.

Just had some guy on Manhunt send me a message .. "nice pic, you want to get together?" I replied with "are you partnered?" He said yes, so I replied "I don't get together with partnered men, whether 'straight' or gay. Too messy. Also, very little room for respect for me/my needs/my schedule."

He replied with a quick "understand." End of story.

My new strategem for dealing with these guys.

Mitch is supposed to come over today to work on his "legal stuff." He has a strong tendency to not actually show up, so .. it's likely that I won't hear from him.

I won't be able to do hardly ANY Fabulairing this week. I'm going to be Mr. Mortgage man, I guess. Have to move that ball forward by sending some detailed emails and requests out to the Fabulair 'team' later today that they can work on while I'm gone.

Okay, it's almost time to hop into the shower and head off to church. Adios!