Ten Days Later

Just a couple of ordinary days has past. I've been working hard on the software contract and put in a hefty invoice yesterday. Some political b.s. got in the way of getting things done, but that too shall pass. My attorney called me with instructions to stay by my cell phone on Monday--some sort of settlement conference with a judge. ROFL. That's not going to happen. Lawsuits are a PITA.

I took my friend Marie to a birthday lunch yesterday, then came home and puked my guts out. We ate at a place called "Cooking from scratch". I should have known. I'm a vegan and a frugivore and all they had on the menu was Southern fried stuff. I got the fried okra, cole slaw, and green beans. The fried okra may have been fried in lard, one sniff told me not to eat it. The green beans had a slice of pork in it--I gave it to Marie. The cole slaw was not delicious and hindsight tells me it was a bit off. I ordered the onion rings because I was hungry and the side dishes weren't up to par, and that was after making sure they fried them in vegetable oil, at least. They were OK. But I'm not used to bad eating nowadays. I popped the whole lunch within a few hours. I woke up today feeling a little better. I'm sipping a cool herbal tea and will baby the tummy for a few more hours.

The usual morning routine sets in, though I plan to read a couple of chapters on C# to get my head wrapped back around delegates, handlers, callbacks, sockets, and threads. When I design something I always have a handle on all that. This weekend I have to remediate a project that was poorly designed by someone who was still new at the job. I'm trying to understand what that last genious did so I can make surgically precise corrections.

Then I do all my personal stuff first, because you should always start your day dressed all the way to your shoes. It prevents obstacles to progress later in the day and you should always put on your own oxygen mask first. For me, personal stuff includes good eating, good grooming, good exercise, and good meditation. Chores are next, so they don't hang over your head...all the animal care, housework, remedial cleaning. With the boring stuff out of the way, I then concentrate on anything to do with immediate money, making jewelry to fill eBay orders, listing new jewelry, wrapping items to mail, then sending invoices or following up on past invoices for the software business. Then I get any errands out of the way. By 10:00 am I'm at work on my projects where I can get 8 hours of work done in about 5 hours. Then the rest of the day is mine.

So there won't be much posting here until I hear something significant about the lawsuit, the work, or the van. The van is being scheduled for basic work next week. I hope they only keep it for a few days. Henry is due for some basic preventative maintenance, mechanicl work that we may identify, new generator and electrical system, roof vents, and a discussion on who might be best qualified to prep the inside for real living. I'm popping $4000-$5000 for the first bit of work, it may be a lot less. I'm expecting engine work and perhaps a new transmission. I've got another $2500 ready for extensive work. The body and chassis is in excellent condition, but it may have had some hard driving in the past. I don't want to be a van dweller who finds out in a remote corner of Georgia that I have to put my house in a shop for a week. The backup plan for that is preventative maintenance and mechanical work now, plus a small trailer which will be used for storing my items if the van is getting repairs. I could camp out in a tent, or spend cash on a motel room. I have to have Henry back within a few weeks because I'm traveling to a few places for work, then I'm heading back to Pennsylvania to get my stuff.

Today, I'm just going to chill out.