Going Sane in a Crazy World

My journey through life and the lessons I learn to help me grow spiritually.

Sane Friends

Hear Yee, Hear Yee

I'm officially bored out of my gourd. I only had patients at the beginning of my day and at the end of my day today. So that leaves a large empty middle. I've done all the work I need to get done. I even cleaned up the pile of papers on my desk and vacuumed my car. However I still have 90 more minutes before my next patient. If she doesn't show I'll have to track her down and strangle her before I head over to the Planner's place.

We sprung a leak here after the really hard down pour earlier. The men's bathroom is out of order as water was pouring in from the light fixture which if you don't know is a bad thing. Although having a shower here wouldn't be too bad a thing.

The office is squeaky clean. Well as clean as I'm willing to make it. I've watched video of reporters being kissed by random strangers on live TV. Women who think they know how to pole dance and don't realize that the pole is not secured to the floor go flying. I have to admit this was pretty damn funny.

OMG I'm blabbing.

Relaxation 101

I'm really looking forward to my weekend with the Planner. She may need some work though. She's already tried to bring work into it several times and I've put my foot down that it's not happening. The Planner is use to working 7 days a week and has a hard time putting it down. Since she works mostly out of her house she'll keep working into the wee hours sometimes. I've shown how good it feels to stop about 5 or 6 and call it a day and relax. Since she's started this she's feeling better.
However last night she was starting to get anxious thinking of not doing any work for 3 whole days and a panic was setting in. It reminds me of a few weeks ago while she was getting ready for work. We had a great night and a relaxing morning. Talk was light then all of a sudden she switched to work mode and started asking me 5 years goals. My eyeballs nearly flew out of my head from the hitting the breaks so fast. She states that was her way of diffusing my attention on her. I think women are works of art and when I'm with someone I care about like the Planner I get a lot of pleasure watching them. The Planner isn't use to positive attention from her dates so she's having a bumpy time with it. She likes it, but it is a hard pill for her to swallow.

Yin Yang of the South

Since living down here in the South for 4.5 years now. I've come to love and hate some things down here. The top two on the list are sweet tea and mustard. When I first moved down here I had never heard of sweet tea before and I had to ask WTF it was. Then I heard the answer and I was like "and"? But strangely that was it, however over the years I've become like a crack addict with this stuff. I actually use it to offset my soda consumption. I remember a friend told me when she went to NC to college from NJ she made Nestea for her roommate. The girl spit the stuff out all over the room and began to ridicule her for serving her the swill. Until I started drinking the stuff I would have also had a strange look on my face, but after having consumed the nectar of the gods I now know why.

On the other end of the spectrum is mustard. For some bizarre strange reason in the South they put mustard on all their hamburgers with ketchup. Now I'm from the North and I'm a plain ketchup kind of guy. Hey it's how I roll. Even after all these years I still forget a lot to ask for a hamburger without mustard and then I take a bite and get that mustard zing when I'm not looking for it. Yuck. I may die down here, but I'll never get use to it.

Ooo I like This

I found Dad's Cab over on DVice today. What a great concept to get your kids into understanding nothing in life is free.


If you’re the father of a 15-year-old social butterfly like I am, you’ll understand the brilliant concept behind Dad’s Cab ($18). This realistic taxi meter makes you feel like a New York cabbie, counting up the hours you spend carting around that little darling and all her friends, and then lets you present your giggling clients with a bill at the end of the revelry.
Unless you can find yourself a robot cab somewhere, this might just do the trick in the meantime. Simply stick this meter onto your car’s dashboard with the included adhesive strips, and when you’re done with your daily chauffeuring chores, hand over one of the official Dad’s Cab printed cards demanding payments such as cleaning your room, fetching me a beer, and other useful tasks.
You mean these dime store Cleopatras can actually make themselves useful? You bet. Teach them the barter system, and give them a clue about how the real world works.

The Other Me

Since I've been with the Planner I've let my other blog slide. I'm not on dating sites anymore nor am I looking for anyone so it's a bit of work to do. However while finding disturbing profiles is way too much work for me. Finding bizarre profile pics is still pretty easy and I have to admit fun. The laughs I got from when I first started it are still there without me putting all the effort into it.

Shrink Stories

Just reading over at Shrink Talk and Dr. Rob's adventure in his shrink's office. When you're in a shrinks office everyone is very quiet except for the few truly mentally deranged folks out there. I don't know if their very depressed or just think I'm an ax murder working out my mother issues without a hatchet. Anyway I usually go first thing in the morning for two reasons. One it's close to my house and not to my job, but the real reason is by later afternoon he is so far behind schedule that my chances of seeing him within 15 minutes of my appointment are about the same as me getting Angela Jolie into bed.

Anyway one of those rare times I was there late the place was packed. As with any large group of people the chances of getting someone a bit off are pretty high, even higher in your shrink's office. So this time an older lady is there reading this huge book. She has some kind of doily on her lap for it and it's bound in leather. Actually it looks like an original copy of the Necromonicum. So when it's her turn she gets up and leaves this huge tome on the couch. The rest of us just sit around until she comes running out to drag the book back into the office. All of us recognize the bizarre behavior, but keep quiet until one brave soul says, "I guess she didn't want anyone to steal it." Which someone else replies, "she must think we're crazy." We all had a good laugh at that until they came out to give us our Thorazine.

Change in Plans

The Planner was wiped yesterday from all her meetings, training, and her mom in the hospital for cancer surgery. It was nice that she apologized for being out of it on the phone, but like I told her I expected it if not worse. We're both looking forward to the weekend and relaxing although their has been a change in our plans, period. Yep aunt flow arrived early this month probably due to all the stress. Oh well.

Hermie Doesn't Like to Make Toys

And I don't like change. This morning it was announced that my morning show radio people were no longer and that a new show would be starting next week. I've listened to them for years and I have to admit that this bothers me. I don't like when I have changes in relationships that mean they are ending. Movies will do the same thing to me. When I was young relationships were pulled away from me on a frequent basis so this strikes a cord in me that I don't like.

The other thing I'm working on this week is my weekend with the Planner. I'm playing down the sex angle when we're talking even though she is making it known that we haven't seen each other in over 2 weeks. It's an old tape from my ex of me wanting sex is a bad thing. The longer I'm with the Planner the more my scars from my marriage come up. Sex was a major one. So I'm trying to reprogram myself, but I feel like my hand is going to be slapped with a ruler for saying I'm looking forward to sex. Like many things I guess it will take time and work.

Shake and a Haircut

I finally was able to get a haircut last night and it was long overdue. So I got to see the Stylist who I hadn't seen for a few months. We caught up on our dating lives and single's events. She was part of the original group that no longer exists. While I do miss the old faces it's nice to have many new faces at the events which has been my point. Getting more people involved instead of the same 10 people.
Game night last night had a slight monkey wrench in that they had a performer playing there. It was a hassle and we probably distracted him in his playing, but since we were the only ones there I didn't worry about it too much. The barrister there probably won't be working there for long. I ordered my soy chai latte and he made 2 since he said he couldn't just heat up 1 cup. Okay? Everyone else seems to do it, but I wasn't going to complain since I got a second one for free. He did that a few times last night. While I enjoyed my chai it was a little problematic falling asleep last night.
It was a fun crowd of new and old faces. It reminded me of why I enjoy the single's events so much.

Free Time

Free time is a bad thing when you have access to the web. I'm perusing AOL news and I don't even remember how I got over to this, but it was to priceless to pass up. I only put the best up.

In "Make Your Own Sex Toys," Matt Paget explains how the one thing that can make you happy may be in your fridge right now and you don't even realize it. You can turn household toss-offs into your new best friend. In the following pages, we've included a handful of our favorite examples.

Disclaimer: If by any chance you're actually considering making these sex toys, please consult your doctor, a priest and/or a loved one first.We have no idea if these toys really work. Be careful, and buy the book for more specific instructions. (Just in case you decide to try them and love to share, you can send us photos; we may need them for our research.)

For the men:




For the women:

Top Plate

What's on my plate today? Saving money by lowering my expenses. I'm doing some shopping around this week. I know plenty of people in the business now to give me rates that really range far and wide.
First up is life insurance. This is just the easiest to do. If I can drop my premium $15-20 a month I'll be very happy.

I need to look at my policy at home, but I want to change my health insurance policy to an HSA. Again if I can drop my cost down $30 a month I'll be ecstatic. I never go and I have my wellness exams covered before my deductible.

The Planner and I are looking forward to our weekend together. She's funny how she wants to know stuff, but not willing to do it yet. Case in point, living together. She asked if I would do it with her. I told her it would be after the one year mark and I would have to think about it. Living up by her really increases my time on the road, gas usages, and traffic. The pay off would be seeing her more. The funny thing was while I said one year she said two.

So my 5 day plan is in full affect. I mailed a nice romantic card out to her yesterday. 2 sexy text will go out each day to turn up the heat until I see her Friday. This will be our first prolonged time together and we're both a little nervous about it. While I'm use to living with others. It's been some time since the Planner has done it and I don't know how she'll react to me being in her space for 72 hours.

What I Love

I love not noticing that my alarm was set for pm instead of am. It was a great feeling this morning to roll over to check what time it was and it's an hour pass what time I should be getting up. I love getting out of the house in under 10 minutes. At least I made it to my meeting on time.

The Privledged Few

If you read my last entry you would know that the shower was broken at the gym. Anyway I went back this afternoon to workout. Now that had a sign stating that it was broken. Their was no mention of using the women's shower which was working. Bastards! You think they could be a little more attentive with my $55 a year.

So after my workout I'm heading back into the locker room when I spy this guy headed right for the showers. Now their is no way you can miss the sign outside. Even if your blind your going to walk in to the spider web of tape covering the shower entrance. Nope this guy just ducks under and starts showering. WTF! I guess this guy read the sign saying not to use as "everyone else don't use". Someone else walked in and mention to the guy that he shouldn't be in there. Really? You don't think he knows? Since the only way in there is on your hands and knees to get under the tape.

Not quite sure who was the bigger moron.

Happy Monday Everyone

My life is back to normal today. I do miss having Eric around and I'm sad. He did call me to talk while him and his mom are on their way to Amish country. Their vacation is a double edged sword to me. I'm happy that he's going. I'm resentful at my ex since it's a 3 hour drive for her. Whenever I've asked her to drive so that Eric and I can see each other more often I get that it hurts her back too much to drive. She goes any place she wants, but doesn't seem to put Eric first which annoys me.

I was looking to hitting the gym today. Having off last week and eating less than healthy lunches I can feel the difference in my health. I was really bummed when I walked in there and the showers were closed today. So I had to pass on my workout to head all the way back home to shower. I'll go later today since I don't want to miss anymore. The other thing I need this week is a haircut. My hair is long and I can't take it any longer.

The Planner had to drive down to the south side here to get her car fixed today. I was hoping she would stop by for a few so we could see each other. No such luck.

I'm Beat

I tell you I think I'm getting to old for all this driving. The drive back today was a chore. I slept later in the morning than I wanted to. One from waking up from a dream that something was crawling on me and two a patient called very early in the morning to leave me a message. So when I finally got up I just showered and hit the road.

Traffic wasn't too bad, but I do have to complain about NY radio. STOP freakin' talking over the music. There are plenty of awesome songs that have beautiful beginnings and endings. I don't need to hear you jabbering over them. Honestly WTF is up with it?

My butt was sore and I was just tired so I stopped at Walmart on the way home. I just needed to focus my mind on something else. I picked up a few odds and ends that I needed. The Planner had told me that they had snake plants on sale. So I picked up one for the office and a new pot to go with it.

I made good time back, but I just wanted to be home. Surprisingly enough I got a few calls from patients wanting to come in tomorrow so I was able to fill the day up which is nice. Since this was happening I stopped at the office on the way home. One to set it up for the morning and two to transplant my new plant. This didn't go as well as I thought. While the new pot was big enough the opening wasn't and I could hear slight crunching sounds as I slid the plant into it's new home.

To celebrate my return I used one of my free pizza cards from when I was a delivery person. Hey it's good to be the king. The house was slightly better than I thought it would be. Single hadn't left any dirty diapers around the place from her son. While she didn't clean the dryer after her use she did pretty well other wise. Escort (because that's what she does at night) on the other hand had left our shared bathroom a mess. Her shirt was thrown over my sink. All the stuff on the counter was on her side so that didn't bother me. As always it'll be an interesting week without the landlord around.

I Forgot My Camera

I awoke early this morning and Eric who is usually the early bird had a hard time of getting up. I packed everything while he pulled himself together. Breakfast was a bit of a chore to get him to eat enough since I really didn't want to be stopping a lot and since he now gets sick in the car when he eats it was a major thing.

I'm like this gas prices going down. Gas was $3.30 a gallon. Woohoo! I had Eric clean my windows to keep him involved which was my point of the vacation. This time instead of doing a lot I tried to do more interactive events. It worked out well and we had a great time this week.

I was really sad yesterday with it coming to an end. Actually so sad that I didn't really want to deal with it and had to work on not acting out on it and causing problems. This was the first time Eric was pretty good with the end of the vacation. While he felt sad it never got to the extremes that it usually did.
On the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, which is one of the seven engineering wonders of the world, they have a tourist area. I always think about it, but it's $12 to use the bridge so I never continue thinking about it. However we were talking about it and I suggested we stop on the way home to take a look. It was pretty nice. We had great weather for it. I was pretty annoyed that I had forgotten my camera. The thrift shop was very typical, but the view outside 4 miles out in the bay was awesome.

The rest of the ride was okay. There was a lot of traffic in NJ and NY which made the end of the journey seem to drag. This time Eric was bored and asking "how long" and "how many more mile?"

Not living in a metropolitan area anymore I forget certain things. One is how pervasive Hispanics are in our culture. I was scanning through the radio in NY looking for a station. I would have to say I went through at least 10 station before I even got to one speaking English. I know the day will come when they make Spanish the American language. English has been shot down too many times.

Origami is the word of the night at my brother's place. My niece got some origami paper and her book is in Japanese with expert directions. I use to do origami a lot when I was a kid. I still know how to make a gorilla. So I showed her how to do it. I'll have to find a better book for her and send it up.

I'll sleep late in the morning hopefully then head on back home to deal with Single and the Escort while my Landlord is away.

Aquarium Fun

So today we decided to head over to the Aquarium. It's a rarity that I go and it's only when someone is visiting. However this time so did all the tourists. It was weird to stand on a line to get into the place.

The traveling room had to do with building. While Eric thought it might be too young for him it turned out to be a lot of fun, even for me. The people who created it did a great job of building all the different construction equipment for kid use.
The Aquarium is still under construction until next year when they open all the new exhibits. The stingray tank is always a big one. Eric actually tried to pet them this time.
We got to see the turtles and sharks which is always a fun time.
Then we went over to the aviary and marsh pavilion to see all their exhibits.
Eric even got to pet a rat.

All Things Come to an End

Well it's Friday and it's the last full day of Eric's visit. He's feeling it, but better than he has been the last few days. However I know that can change in a moments notice. Right now we're in the office treating my morning patients then we're off to the Aquarium to enjoy. I don't have any more patients till the end of the day. This week started as a slow week and will now tie as my busiest week.

It was a lot of fun to talk to the Planner last night. It had been 2 days and I missed her. She wants to save more money so we'll tone down our spending which is NOT a problem for me. Saving is always good. She was a little worried how I would react, but I reminded her that I don't care what we do as long as we are together I have fun. We're both looking forward to the Labor Day weekend together.

Kid Fun

Here's pictures of Eric rolling down the hill.
I awoke during the night, last night, feeling like crap. This morning the feeling was the same so I called OVDC to get treatment. Eric who always states that he can't fall back to sleep, fell back to sleep very deeply. After my shower it was a problem to wake him back up.

So after my first patient we headed over to the batting range. He did pretty good once I got him to stand in the batters box. I felt a lot better after treatment, but some remnants remain.
We tried roller skating this afternoon. It was Eric's first time, but as many times if its difficult for him to get he wants to quit and gets moody. So I got him to try longer, but after 20 minutes he wanted to go.

It's the downward slide of the week. So Eric gets in moods very easy now a days so its work to keep him positive. Today when I'm not feeling well I have little patience for his antics.

End of the Day

The end of the busy day brought one of my patients dropping a kite off for Eric. So instead of the batting cage we went to the park. Kite flying didn't go to well. Eric got pretty frustrated fast and soon gave up. I tried to turn his thoughts to the fun was us doing things together like he had mentioned during the day. However it didn't work. He got into a mood and I let him sit on the hill to sort it out.

Afterwards he rolled himself down the hill which gave him a mighty headache. So for the night he has been in a bad mood. It all started this morning when he realized that he had 3 days left in his visit. This is a big contention between us. Enjoy the time you have left or be bummed out on what is going to end.

It's the Planner's 2 year anniversary of her father's death today. We texted, but she asked if we could talk tomorrow on the phone. I understood, but I'm missing her.

Tomorrow is a slower day in the office and a trip to the batting cage is in order.

Plannerless Week

The Planner's boss moved up her test to this week so we weren't able to talk for a while. It was weird since we keep in touch very well even though we don't see each other. So this time we weren't talking or texting and it was bizarre. My hopes for getting her and Eric together this week are not going to happen. Oh well. Another time perhaps. As it stands we won't see each other next week either with her training and mother's surgery. The good thing is that she doesn't have to work Labor Day weekend and we planned to hangout then and actually have prolonged time together. What a concept.

This week at work has become a very busy week. Busier than it has been in a while. Eric is handling it well since we're still doing a bunch of things together. Nothing major planned today besides games, McDonalds Playplace, and a trip to the card shop. If we have time we'll hit the batting cage. If not we'll do it tomorrow.

Tuesday Fun

Do you know what kid's crack is? Gameboy. For the 7 hour ride back Sunday I had my Gameboy which I keep for Eric. I handed him the Pokemon game and I never heard from him until we got home. Every once in a while he would say he needed a break, but within 2 minutes he would be playing again. Oh what beautiful silence. Not to say we didn't talk, but I didn't hear the constant, "how much longer?"
It's nice to see a mature nine year old. He's a little more autonomous which allows me to do things that my life demands, like work. Eric's helped out in the office and all my patients are happy to see him. Monday we went to see the Star Wars movie. Eric has already seen it, but he wanted me to see it. This is a new thing for me since he doesn't go to the movies. The one thing I don't like about seeing a movie with a child is their bladder that is the size of a grape. I hate missing pieces of a movie.
Today Eric came to my networking movie. He helped me with my duties and enjoyed meeting everyone. I had some rescheduling so after my first patient we went to play some miniature golf and sweated our butts off. After a game of Battleship we went outside to play with snaps. I haven't seen them since I was a kid. I found a box a few months ago and got them for us. We had fun popping them in the back.
Since we have some time before my next patient we're off to McDonald's playplace.

On the Road Again

Jeez what a trip. Traffic was horrendous today, even worse than when I tried to do this trip during Thanksgiving. It took me an extra hour just to get out of Virginia where I've never had traffic before. Then Delaware and Jersey was worse than normal. The good thing was that there was no problems with the car.

It's good to see my brother and family if only for a short time. I'm going to get up at 8 tomorrow so I can get on the road early. Especially if today was any indication of how traffic will be tomorrow. It's a long trip and it's only made worse when you add a child to the mix. I have a game boy and some books for Eric to read. I told him to bring something to keep himself occupied.

Post will probably be erratic over the next week, but I promise there will be picture.

Piece of Mind

Well Eric finally called me. I was in a meeting at the time, but I excused myself to talk with him. I just finalized Sunday's pick up. He told me he was going to see Star Wars today so I told him to call me later so we could talk about it. I'll find out if there was any problem. I'm surprised he's going to the movies since he's never been a movie kid. DVD yes, but not movies.

At least now I'm calm and relaxed. I'll probably sleep like the living dead since I've had problems sleeping for the last few nights. Also now I'm looking forward to driving and picking him up.

Countdown

Still no word from Eric. I'll track my ex's father down tonight if I don't hear anything by the time I finish in the office. It's causing me a lot of anxiety now. Finances and the drive are okay in my mind, but this is the culprit now to rough nights of sleep. The gym felt good this morning to burn of some the extra nervous energy coursing through my veins.

The Planner came down last night. The weather was awesome and we walked around Town Center here. We looked in a few clothes shops, but she wasn't in the mood to try anything on. I was happy to look with her, but it wasn't working for her. I told her I'd be better interactive wise while she is shopping if she was trying stuff on. So we'll have to set a date for that.
Since we were in the area early the Cheesecake Factory was empty. So the Planner finally go to look at all the cheesecakes and decided on a slice of banana cheesecake. She was in heaven with it and had to walk the slice off afterwards. We talked about my situation with Eric since she knew it was bothering me while we sat by the fountain listening to the band play.
Afterwards we went to the FunnyBone since I had free tickets. OMG! I have never seen the place so packed. We were all the way in the back. We were just happy it was a no smoking night. The first 2 guys must live in the area since I've seen them like 4 time already and know their bits by heart. Even the Planner remembered them from last time. However the main act was new and a female which was a nice change.

She wanted me to come back to her place last night, but the long drive would have put a crimp in all that I needed to do although it would have been nice to cuddle with her through the night. However I got a real nice "I love you" from her that made my night.

The Fear Factor

Yesterday was a workout with my fear. While finances play a role in it mt coming trip to NY this weekend was causing more I'm surprised to say. It was such a nightmare last time with my car breaking down, engine replacement, and general helplessness of the situation traumatized me. So I have this fear of this trip. I know it's all insane since out of all the years that was the first time I've had a problem. Also as my friend pointed out my engine is all fixed. So I'm better than I was.

However my fears were felt by the Planner last night. I told her what was bothering me and we chatted about it. However when we went to bed she was a little upset. She was feeling worried about me and didn't know what to do. Also that when I'm like this I talk faster and she has a hard time understanding me. So we talked about how codependency and what we would like the other to try to do. Again I'm still amazed at how well we communicate and how well we get through our problems. The Planner also stated this morning that last night was the best night with me in the bed for her sleeping. I joked that it should be since she fell asleep holding me.

So tonight I have free tickets to the Funny Bone so she's coming down to go with me. A last celebration until Eric goes back home. On that note still no word from him. I left a message last night to call me before Friday so we can talk about the weekend. For all I know he could be dead in a ditch somewhere.

Mo Money is Better than No Money

[I have to give the Planner the kudos for the title]

Since I had some time today and I decided to make a bunch of collection calls. This one person's health insurance company doesn't know their left hand from their right. Each time I call I get a different answer and I have to remind them of what they said previously and go through the whole procedure again. Since this is now a lot of money I'm going to try to go through her car insurance. The problem is they changed the person in charge a few times and no one is ever there. So hopefully I will get a phone call back.

On the plus side I finally going to get paid on those two MIA patients. I've been informed that the check will go out by Friday. Jeez it's been since last Thanksgiving. I really wish my bill collectors were this lenient about collecting as people are on sending.
I'm starting to see a insecurity streak with the Planner. She slips it in with a joke so it's slight. Let it be known that I have a female practice. While I do have some guys and they are my best patients. At least 90% of my daily visits are female. I think it's my personality for one since I have always gotten along better with women than men. Plus women take better care of their health than men do. It's why they live longer. So with me wanting to hire a massage therapist she made a joke about not knowing if she could handle many more women in my life. I'll see where this goes and do what I can to alleviate any fears she may have. Although I know the real work will need to be done on her end.

Sweet Childhood Memories

This was a great article from DVice. I mean what was someone thinking? Also the price? Can we say you're on drugs!



Feel like warping your kid for life? Of course you do! What could be more fun? Not much, that's what. So it's time to instill a healthy fear of things that should normally be innocuous in him, such as stuffed animals. What's scary about stuffed animals, you ask? Nothing, until you rip off a teddy bear's head and replace it with a lamp.
While you could probably make one of these for yourself without too much effort (and with extra emotional scarring power if you use an already-beloved stuffed animal), if you're the lazy type you can just buy one. Unfortunately, it's insanely expensive at $114. But hey, can you really put a price on fun like this?

You Know

You know I really hate when I get an insufficient charge from my bank on .45 cents. You know throw me a bone here. I hate when they start at the biggest and work down to the smallest. Bastards! On other news I can always tell how the economy is doing by how many sales calls I get a day. My prediction is the economy is doing crappy with all the sales calls I'm getting. Now I'm getting detail guys calling to tell me they're in the area. Oye.

It's been about 10 days since I talked to Eric last. I've left two messages and still nothing. I would think since I'm seeing him Sunday I would hear something back. I'll keep trying. The Planner had suggested the Botanical garden for her meet with Eric. While it is beautiful I know Eric has a thing about bees so I suggested the zoo would be better. Something for everyone. Animals, plants, and all the outdoors to run around.

The Planner and I talked about our money woes last night. I think after Labor day I'll grab a part time weekend job again. I might try the southside's branch of the Dump. The Planner does very well with it up on Peninsula and any extra money coming in would be a great help.

What a Workout

I set up so my stimulus check would go straight to child support so I wouldn't have to worry about it for 2 months and I could focus on other bills. Anyway I got an letter wondering were my payments are. WTF? So I called the IRS today and boy what a freakin' wait. I would say about 30 minutes of bad music. Could have been longer but I think I lost consciousness somewhere along the line. Then I got Mr. Low talker. I know things are bad for the government, but get this guy a volume switch or something. Anyway besides that he was very friendly and helpful. I figured since I owed they would send the check after I finished paying up, but he corrected me and stated that what ever I owed would be taken out of the stimulus and the rest sent to me. Well at least I can stop making payments since they now owe me money.

So I asked my brother if I could start paying him back the money he laid out for my engine next month so I could use the money to pay back child support what I owed them. Jeez I thought I was getting ahead here.

I'm still working on the whole Eric meeting the Planner thing. The Planner sees that it's a sensitive subject. She'll be the first woman I've dated to meet him. I want to do it since she does mean a lot to me and I haven't been this happy in my life with a woman before. I've read a few articles on the subject which I usually do. Who knows how Eric will take it.

The Speed of Lint

Yes the fastest thing in the universe is not light, but lint. I have no idea if light is the fastest thing in the universe, but it's pretty damn fast. Not counting warp drive, hyperspeed, or ludicrous speed. Being a chiropractor makes lint your enemy. I swear I could just delint my pants all day long with one of those tape brushes. I mean my patients are pretty clean. I understand getting all dirty from my contractors and construction guys. That just goes with the territory. However the lint thing bother me. I feel like a bum with all this lint on me. I may have to for parachute pants to come back into style.

That Leads to the Dark Side

I find myself working/struggling with two things today. The first is that aspect of my perfectionism that deals with my finances. If I was only better I wouldn't have financial problems. While I have learned a lot about taking better care of my finances over the years, something I wasn't really taught as a child. Most of what I struggle with is feeling less than instead of feeling the part of the human race which is having the same troubles.

The other is with the Planner. It's 2 months today since we started dating and this is where I need to make sure I don't start letting unhealthy behaviors creep in. While I'm not giving up any of my stuff for her I have to make sure I still enjoy the things I like to do. Last night at comedy improv I enjoyed the show, but I missed having her with me. I seem to go through withdrawal after being with her. The years I was married to my ex I was very addicted to her and I don't want that for this relationship. I want to stay a whole person to keep it nice and healthy. We're are going along quite nicely and that's the way I want to keep it. I know that anything worth having is worth working on.

Business & Dating Part 2

Sandwiched between 2 poorly attended Singles events I ran around to try and find sheets for when I hire a massage therapist. I was pleasantly surprised to find a pedestal for the office that I'd been looking for. The Planner said metal and that's what I found. I was thinking wood, but they were all big and sharp angles. I dropped a wanted ad off at one massage school and I'll do another one tomorrow or Tuesday. Since Wednesday night is a standing date night for the Planner and myself I think I'm going to start closing the office on Thursday mornings since it's dead already and open for a few hours on Saturday. One to hopefully get a few extra patients in and two when I get a massage therapist people will want a massage more on the weekends than during the week.

I finally found some curtain holders/pull backs or whatever you call them. So I put them up yesterday to give my waiting room window a nicer look. I'll have to wait till I finish with Eric to find a plant or two for the office with the Planner.

The Planner and I were both hungry when we got together last night so we went to the Silver Diner for some food. She needed a drink since I was all hyped up. Plus when I'm with her I'm more relaxed and myself, so I bebop along a lot. She gets a big kick out of it, but after a long day at work she has a hard time taking it all in. Although when she was falling asleep she got a good laugh out of it. It was funny to hear her in a half dozing laugh to remember it all.

Boy do we relax together. Trying to get up in the morning and pull ourselves apart is a colossal event. It was hilarious when we were having breakfast relaxing on the couch and I laid my head on her shoulder and she was like "Oh gawd no!" She physically got herself off the couch so she wouldn't get all relaxed and comfy with me. The Planner stated that I spoiled her for all other men.

We're going try to get her over to meet Eric while he is here. We are both bummed that we'll miss 3 dates while he is here. Tomorrow is 2 months for us and it'll be the longest we've been apart since then. It's nice to be just cruising along together.

Paradox

I have to admit I enjoy the disagreements the Planner and I have. It's a joy to talk them out. Like last night I really wasn't thinking when wrote a message to the singles. Back before I was dating the Planner many people had commented that when I went to NY to see Eric for a weekend that they would love to share the ride and expenses since they had family and friends there too. Pretty good arrangement. Anyway I commented on that when I was asking for guest hosts while Eric is here. The Planner was a little disturbed about it. However she stated what I had did and how she felt. I immediately realized what I had done and apologized. Their was none of the nastiness that I'm use to.

The Massage Therapist offer was ludicrous. I would get $7.50/hour for use of my room. What am I working for McDonalds here. However as I'm very good at I take a good idea and run with it. I'll stop at both massage schools Monday to look to hire someone. I'll charge $40 for massages which is cheaper than most in the area. I'll split it 50-50 with the therapist. Although I'm still working on the numbers since then I'll be cleaning all the sheets and taking on all credit card charges. I'm looking to make at least $200 from the room a month.

I want to do 3 things with my office. The Planner has agreed to help me with the first 2. I want a plant or two in the office to bring a little more life to the office. Since she did horticulture for years she's the expert for me. Also I want to repaint the office and since I'm partially color blind I need her good fashion sense. The last thing is to get a counter built for my office. While I like the desk a counter would hide more of my stuff as I get busier.

Business & Dating

Yesterday was such a weird day in the office. All my appointments rescheduled. I'm use to 1 maybe 2, but all. It was really weird, although I have to admit I usually become even Steven with this stuff. So I got a call and had 2 new patients which was cool.

Today is almost all business meetings. First up is a massage therapist owner. I know she would like to use my office, but with her cheap prices I don't know how she is going to pay me. I'm wondering if she is even considering that since I'm not giving my space away for free.

As most people close to me know I usually move into positions of leadership in any organization I join. My vice president role in my networking group is coming to an end. So I'm taking that experience on the road and becoming an assistant director to get more exposure and hopefully more referrals. I'm going to try to shoot for 3-4 more meetings a month to maximize my marketing. And since I'm being paid for it I'm going to get the most out of it.

The Planner and I had a great night last night. It's like a mini vacation for both of us. A nice little oasis where we can relax together. I have to admit she is a lot better sleeping in bed now. She's come along pretty far in a short period of time. I really expected her to take longer to get use to sharing her bed with me.

This morning after stating a bunch of things she loved about me she said, "I think I love you." It was very cute and a big step for her. The Planner still jokes about marrying me in different context. I'm always like sure which I think throws her. I think she expects me to get flustered. I'm no where near to truly wanting to marry her, but everything I have experienced so far has been good. At least all this positive stuff is no where after sex when she's agreeing to anything. LOL.

Well That's a First

I see now that porn sites have invaded the blog realm. Today I had to delete a person's comment that really didn't say anything. As always I go back to see if they have a blog. What do I find, but a porn site. I guess they weren't happy with just MySpace.

Action Tuesday

Doing a lot today and taking a lot of actions about my business. So I'm flying high today and the worries of unpaid bills is forgotten. It was nice to get some very positive compliments on my work as vice president for my networking group. I think it's like drawing. If you can't do it your impressed even more by people who can. Since that was the follow up sentence that they couldn't do what I do. Hey I have an iron fist what can I say. Michael Corleone is my hero.

Looking at what I want to focus on getting in the office: children or seniors. I'm going with children. The pay is the same cash wise since I give them a discount. However kids usually gets more of the family in and its a investment in the future. While seniors are pretty single in coming in and die off at some point, sorry to say.

A little bummed that my lecture tonight is down to 1 person since I had some cancellations. I'll still have it since it's important to educate everyone. I was thinking about having the event again later in the month and this solidified it for me.

After my last patient I'm off to training. I'm taking on a new position in networking. One of being an assistant director. This will allow me to travel to 3-4 other groups like mine and it should increase my business 2-3 times. So some extra work with good payoffs.

Then it'll be back here for my lecture. Hopefully I'll get a walk in or two.

I think I finally got it into the Planner's head last night that she is more important to me than the singles. I enjoy them, but she is an investment in my future. With that we set up our weekly dates of Wednesday and Saturday nights with whatever else we can fit in. This helps me set up my calender of events. It was nice to hear her say how much she misses me.

Zen and the Art of Watch Repair

I'm really enjoying my office today. I mentally figured the lecture would work in the office, but I finally physically set it up today and went through a dry run. It worked out very well and I was happy with my office. It's not a big place less than 500 sq. ft. I believe, but it works out just nice.
Having managed a electronic store a long time ago and in a galaxy far, far away. (Yes I know it's an old joke, but I like it.) I forget most people don't know how to change watch batteries and pay exorbitant fees for jewelers to do it for them. The Planner loves watches and she had a box full of them. All dead. She looked at me with uncertainty about being an easy job to open and pop the batteries out. So you know all backings have a little lip along one part that you just pop open. I use my pocket knife, but you can get a fancy tool if you'd like. Anyway 2 minutes later and a bunch of watches later we had a nice row of dead batteries for her to pick up. She did have 2 watches which needed a wrench to open, that I had to order off of Ebay. Batteries are usually less than $5 instead of the $15 a jeweler is going to charge you. When you put the backing back on just push in the center so it burps when you close it and your good to go.

Happy Monday to All

Mondays are rough now a days. I'm usually still really relaxed from my Saturday sleepover at the Planner's. She joked that I would take a nap yesterday after I left which I did. She worries that I'm not sleeping well enough at her place, but I explained that I'm just relaxing. If it was a work day I would be okay, but it's Sunday and hey I can nap so I do.

The Planner finally did something new. She fell asleep in my arms and I got to tell her something all women love to hear. "You snore." We had a good laugh at that and the point that 5 weeks ago she was adamant about not having someone sleep in her bed.

This morning at work has been a lot of phone work. Making appointments, tracking down money, and just plain old business. I'll start practicing and getting everything ready for my lecture tomorrow night after lunch.

Going through a little regret today about not taking care of my finances when I was married instead of taking care of my ex. Happy to say I'm not that type of person anymore, but in not taking care of myself I've set myself up for a lot more hurt than I needed.

Friday Fun

I always love opening my doors to someone wanting to give me money. Hey what can I say I'm easy to please. Anyway my collection letters are working so I'm happy.

The Planner came down with her mom today so she could get some preliminary test done before her surgery later this month. So it was great to see her during the day. We grabbed lunch in the cafeteria. My next patient cancelled so I was able to hang with her longer. We talked and played games on her computer. She knows I won't just let her win since I kick her butt when we play games. We make a nice couple.

Not much happening this weekend which is weird. The singles have a dinner event tomorrow night. I'm passing on it. It's a great Peruvian restaurant, but if I had to go back I would want to do it with the Planner. I looked for other activities, but most everything is outdoors and it's suppose to be in the 90's and humid. Not my idea of fun. So I think I'll go see Wanted tomorrow before my Mom. Then tomorrow night I'll head over to the Planner's for my Saturday night sleep over.
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