Day 1631

I spent the day getting unsatisfactory answers to some very reasonable questions. How long has it been since you called someone and found a real person on the line who could actually answer your question? It's a pretty safe bet that the larger the organization, the longer you're going to wait. I will only call a government agency when I have plenty of time on my hands. I just put the phone on speaker and continue working on the computer until someone finally answers. Often the wait time is up to an hour. Today I only had to wait thirty five minutes. There were other calls as well. I was perplexed when I got another bill today for auto insurance that I'd already paid for less than a month ago. I sold a car recently, so I thought it was reasonable that I should be getting some money back. Nope! When I called my agent, he told me that I lost my multi-car discount when I sold the second car, so my rate had actually increased. Go figure. You really can't win these days.

I like repairing things, so I was delighted to pick up my favorite winter jacket from the tailor this afternoon and discover that it was good as new again. Earlier this Winter, the neighbor's dog had ripped the arm of the jacket when it tried to bite me. This is a very weird dog. It likes Janet, but always tries to bite me when I am unlucky enough to encounter it without a leash in the back alley. It should never be off a leash, but occasionally it gets loose. The dog is well trained and if I am quick enough to say "sit" or "stay" before it bites me, it always obeys. Sometimes I'm not quick enough though. To their credit, the neighbors offered to pay for the jacket, but I told them to forget about it and just try to keep the dog inside their fence when I walk Dot and Dash down the alley.

I paid a bunch of bills today and it got me wondering about what I was going to cut back on when I finally did retire. A social security check isn't even going to begin to pay these bills. I'm not sure what I could live without either. On some days, I could toss it all. Other days, I feel like hanging on to everything. I used to think that my IRA account would take care of me pretty well, but that was before the big financial meltdown of 2008. One more big crash like this and all bets are off. I'm pretty frugal, but I'm terrible at predicting the future. Even though I'm a very pessimistic person, I always think the future is going to be better than it actually turns out to be.

If the weather is nice tomorrow, we'll go back to dog training class again. I've moved Dot's acupuncture and water therapy session from Wednesday to Thursday, so the underwater treadmill workout won't make her too tired for class. She was pretty slow when we took her back to class a few weeks ago, but I think she still enjoys going. Dot and Dash are still active and energetic on their early morning walks, but go to sleep again as soon as they return home. I worry that I may have overworked them until I get out their dinner bowls. As soon as they hear food related noises, they both instantly spring to life again.

Maybe I'll go to the gym tomorrow. If today was any indication, there certainly isn't much reason to sit at this computer all day.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1204

Today was full of questions with very few answers. I was on the phone for hours with roofers, insurance agents, equipment suppliers, and clients and ended the day just as confused as I started. Finding the answer to something over the phone is kind of like winning the lottery. Your chances of success are very, very small. Every once in a while you get lucky and end up talking to someone knowledgeable. Most of the time you just get shuffled from one person to another until you eventually give up. I think most of the customer service people I talk with on the phone are just reading from a prepared script they see on their computer screen. They can answer very simple questions, but that's about it. I'd like to tell these people that if my question was that easy, I'd have found the answer already on their company website.

I think I got bitten by a spider last night. That seems like a reasonable explanation for the two swollen lumps I found on my arm and leg this morning. I didn't even bother going to the doctor, since I knew they they would just give me a cortisone shot and send me on my way. I've been bitten by spiders before and the trouble with these type of bites is that unless you actually see the spider biting you, the reaction they produce could be caused by any number of things. So, why do I think I was bitten by a spider? Just a guess, actually. I did see a big spider on the bed a few days ago though. If it actually was a spider, I don't think it was a Brown Recluse, or anything serious. The reaction would have been more immediate and alarming. If the swelling doesn't subside tomorrow, I'll go see a doctor. I just don't like taking steroid shots for any and all types of inflammation. Steroids aren't good.

Dash almost got the wrong shot today. There was a new nurse who didn't know Dash's records well. Luckily, when he mentioned the medication he would be injecting, I noticed that it didn't sound right. He ended up getting the right shot, but it's another lesson that you always have to be on your guard. I wish this wasn't the case, but it is. I would like to just put my brain on automatic pilot for a while and coast. I don't think there would be a happy ending it I did this though. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a paranoid person and certainly don't think anyone is out to get me. I do think a lot of people are incompetent however. Incompetance is everywhere.

It rained today, but the weather radar app on my iPad allowed me to successfully navigate the storms and walk the dogs without any of us getting soaked. Since there isn't much to do on rainy days, I got some more articles written. By the time my client gets back from vacation, I'll probably be all caught up again.

Miracle is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1150

I spent most of my day answering questions. There were e-mail questions. There were telephone questions. And then there were lots of questions around a conference table at a meeting during the afternoon. I don't really like answering questions. The questions themselves aren't so bad. It's the fact that nobody listens to my answers that gets old. Everyone acts like they're listening, but two or three days later I usually notice that the final outcome has nothing to do with anything I may have said. Usually, when people ask you questions, they just want you to agree with them.

If I was smart, I would agree with everything my client's say. It's easier that way. I usually feel compelled to tell my side of the story though, which seldom accomplishes anything. Maybe I just want to be able to say "I told you so," when things begin to go wrong later.

My little tracker wristlet said I only slept 4 hours and 34 minutes last night. I woke up three times and lay awake in bed a total of 2 hours and 18 minutes. That's not good. Only 1 hour and 58 minutes of my total sleep was the deep sleep that restores you for the next day. As depressing as all this sounds, I wasn't really surprised. I know the dogs keep me awake a lot. They're light sleepers and so am I. Janet, on the other hand, can sleep through anything. It's not all bad news though. Even though I'm only getting 57% of the sleep I need, I am apparently getting over 125% of the exercise I need.

When faced with a choice of doing a bunch of mindless website revisions or getting my February invoices out, I opted to do my monthly billing today and get the invoices in the mail. I should have plenty of time to get all the website stuff done tomorrow, since a long morning meeting I'd been dreading got postponed until next Friday. There's plenty to do tomorrow, but I think my most important decision will be what to have for breakfast. This will be my first restaurant Friday since I've adopted my new healthy diet. Pancakes aren't on the list. Neither are waffles. Biscuits and gravy are out. Bacon is definitely a no-no. I guess I could have an omelet, but I couldn't stuff it full of bacon, ham, chorizo, and cream cheese like I usually do. There's always oatmeal, but where's the fun in that? I've been eating oatmeal all week.

Stortz is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 455

Many of yesterday's questions found answers today. I discovered that it actually is possible for a dog to develop a skin discoloration literally overnight. My vet said it was rare, but that certain types of bacteria infections could cause Dash's bronzing to reoccur exactly the way I observed. Dash now has an antibiotic spray that should clear up the problem in a week or so.

I also discovered that my client's web forms quit working because the hosting company had moved their account to a new server. The server upgrade was supposed to be 100% backwards compatible. Oops. Maybe the upgrade was 99% backwards compatible, but I know of one site that slipped through the cracks. After a couple of conversations with the hosting company's technical support folks, I learned how to patch the code and get everything working again. I can't really give the hosting company high marks for failing to warn my client about the server switch, but they were certainly helpful today. All my questions were answered quickly and most importantly, the fix worked.

The disaster in Japan really makes you realize how interconnected the world has become. When something of this magnitude occurs, literally everyone is touched by it in one way or another. I got a call from one of my suppliers today saying that shipments of a video camera I was ordering would be significantly delayed because there was expected to be a shortage of component parts that had been manufactured in a plant demolished by the tsunami. Several stocks I own were pummeled today by panic selling in the wake of all the nuclear meltdown news we've been hearing. I have a feeling that we won't know for months just how much this disaster will affect all of us.

For several weeks now I've had a photo shoot penciled in on my calendar for tomorrow morning. Just got a call from my client asking if I'd still be attending the marketing meeting tomorrow morning. Oops. What's embarrassing is that I think I initially scheduled this meeting in the first place. I can't seem to remember anything anymore.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day