Day 2426

My Friday morning breakfasts are kind of a reality check. I don't spend much time around people anymore, so it's kind of interesting to see what's on their mind. I sit in my corner and mind my own business at the restaurant, but people are loud. I hear everything they say. If you listen to TV a lot, you'd probably think that everyone spends their day talking about politics. I never hear people talking about politics. They talk about real estate a lot. I think everyone in Dallas is either buying a house, selling a house, or remodeling a house. People in this city are obsessed with real estate. The conversations float around me like bird songs. People are planning weddings. The are thinking about upcoming vacations. The are looking for assisted living facilities for their parents. Some are interviewing for a new job. I've learned that most people cannot say five words in a row without using the word "like."

If restaurant conversations are any guide, I think that most people are basically good hearted and that few of them spend much time dwelling on the events of the day. I never hear people talking about terrorism or immigration. I did hear two young guys talking about quantitative easing once, but I don't think they were moguls. After a few minutes their conversation shifted to whether it was better to shop at Kroger or Albertsons. I tend to think that the things I hear at the restaurant are real and the things I see on Facebook aren't. I could be wrong though.

I paid a few bills today and did a little bookkeeping. The bills never end. I always pay my bills on time, but I hate being practical and frugal. It doesn't come naturally. I wonder if I would have done things differently if I'd known thirty years ago that my skill set would eventually become worthless and that the stock market would become volatile and unreliable. I genuinely thought that I wouldn't have a care in the world by now, but life is full of surprises. At least I'm still reasonably healthy. Maybe taking another path wold have been more financially lucrative, but I can't really complain. Until very recently, the company did very well. I just didn't anticipate getting old.

I took my hiking boots to the shoe repair shop today. For some reason I really wear down the heals of my shoes quickly. Why don't they make shoe soles out of the same type of rubber they use to make car tires? The tires on my car will last a minimum of 40,000 miles, but the soles of my shoes are lucky to last six months. When I was younger I had a pair of Italian Vibram soled boots that easily lasted ten years. I don't think they use the same type of rubber anymore. Those boots were indestructible.

My fitness tracker says I was asleep from noon to 2 PM yesterday. Excuse me? I have no memory of this. I thought I was mowing the grass. The troubling thing is that I'm really not sure. Maybe I was taking a nap and completely forgot about it.

Morgan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1128

I spent most of the day doing my bookkeeping and paying a bunch of bills. This took a long time, mostly because I'd been postponing the loathsome task for so long. The older I get, the more depressing dealing with financial matters becomes. When I was younger, it was easy to pay my bills. I didn't have many bills in the first place and I was lucky enough to work in an industry that was obsessed with youth. Bright, young people can do exceptionally well in advertising. It wasn't until much later that I realized in that quintessential race between the tortoise and the hare, I was the hare. All the tortoises eventually caught up with me and now they appear to be in the lead. I can no longer glibly tell people that the answer to all spending problems is simply to get a job that pays better. I must embrace frugality. And I hate being frugal.

The bills still get paid. Some months I make a little more than I spend. Other months I spend a little more than I make. It all seems to even out by the end of the year. I know I should be happy with this. In many ways I have what the working world wants. I don't have a boss. I don't have any debts. I don't have many responsibilities. Life is good. I walk my dogs. I write a little. I enjoy my bacon. Why do I even care that there's not going to be a Lamborghini in my future?

Klout sent me a gift card to Chili's today. I wonder if Chili's serves breakfast? That would be cool if Klout started sending me gift cards to breakfast restaurants. This gift card was certainly a better perk than the package of Zatarain's pasta I got last month. I still haven't figured Klout out. I enjoy getting little surprises in the mail, so the whole perks concept works for me. I just don't know what the companies sending me stuff get out of the deal.

It was too warm to cancel dog training class tonight. But it was too cold to actually enjoy it. I was surprised at how well Dash did this evening, considering how much he hates the cold. He still barked a lot and irritated some of the older people, but he did all his exercises perfectly. I was proud of my boy tonight.

I think I'm going to call that company that does sprayed on foam roofs and have them give me an estimate. It's been a wet Winter and I'm really getting tired of sweeping the water off the roof on an almost daily basis. There was still ice on the roof this morning and I had to break it into little chunks with my broom handle. When I slipped on the ice, I thought it might be a good idea to call the roofing company.

Shelby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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