3.9.99

    I've been a bit preoccupied lately with work, being sick and planning a move. Work has had its ups and downs. I'm a bit weary of the dog-walking gig. The novelty has worn off. My left knee is persistently hurting and I'm persistently ignoring it. The bridge of my right foot also has a strange pain that aches when I flex but otherwise doesn't bother me. I had a massive blister on my heel last week that has yet to return to normal. My second pair of expensive sneakers seems on the verge of wearing out.

    Frankly, I don't want to do any of this much longer. As much fun as it can be to work from home I yearn for a stable income. Living contract to contract is starting to wear me down. Although, it would be a different thing if the ones that I had I was actually charging at market value. I'm the only web designer who is not gouging anyone but isn't working for free either. Feh.

    I may have my most current contract, the one I was jumping up and down about for weeks, pulled out from under me. I had just received the artwork last Thursday and on Friday I attempted to open the disks. They were Mac formatted so I took them to T.'s work and had then transferred to PC zips. Well, either they all didn't transfer or they transferred but I can't find them or they were never on the disk in the first place because there just isn't the right amount or type of images here. Today, I get a note that the sponsors (the money) behind the site want it up in a week. This urgency comes out of nowhere and I just have too many obligations at the moment to promise it. If I can't do it then the sponsor takes it over and does it in-house.

    How much does that suck? It was going to be a fun job, I thought, and it was going to mean some money. A pox on me.

    As for being sick, well, that's par for the course. I've been sick a lot in the past year. I think a part of it was an adjustment to Los Angeles air quality. The other part of it is probably due to the lack of a balanced diet. T. and I are trying valiantly to remedy the latter by forcing vegetables into our diet and trying to cook more food at home. We think we cook a lot of meals but we really don't. This last little cold is almost due directly, however, from drinking, smoking and talking into the late hours of the night. Which is a pretty good reason to have a cold, I think.

    It's one of those phlegmy, sinus things that just nags and nags and makes you choke on something nasty right when you say "hello" to your client on the phone. "Excuse me, that was just a minor hairball you heard right there -- pay no mind."

    Saturday night was fun, though. T. and I met up with Shelley of Shelleyness and her very significant other, M., for the second time. We went down to Long Beach and rendezvoused at the Yard House for beer. It has 250 beers on tap. T. and I were hoping for some of our favorites from up North but there were only a few. I was really hoping for some Black Butte Porter but there was none. Instead I had a pint of something called the Hollywood Blonde (how could I resist) and a Black Dog Ale which is a Bozeman, Montana, brew and is the one we had at our wedding. The Blonde was somewhat boring but not distasteful and the Black Dog Ale was just a smooth as I remembered it.

    We sat outside at the Yard House which overlooks the Long Beach Marina. It was pretty darn cold outside so we asked this busboy to move another of the heat lamps to our table. He was so put-out by the whole thing that we couldn't help laughing at him. He didn't smile or say a word but gave withering looks towards the middle distance. No matter -- we got our heat lamps.

    Afterwards, we went to the Belmont Brewing Company and had free beer. Nothing like the taste of free beer to get you really drunk, you know. Don't think that you can just show up to the BBC and get free suds either. You have to know someone.

    T. talked with M. and I talked with Shelley. I don't know how we kept getting paired off between the sexes but we did. The few times that we switched talking partners meant that we had cross-conversations going on and you know how long that can last. We sat outside again but right next to a fire. There were three tables of quiet diners among us and I'm sure we just ruined their night. None of us could shut up. I think that's a good thing.

    To cap off the evening we went back to their place and marveled at their crazy decor and played with the sweetest little animals. Two cats, a dog and a hairless guinea pig who liked T. but wouldn't squeak for him. We listened to music and talked and nosed around like nosey people and had a good time. I think we got home at 2 a.m. and dropped to bed like the death. A good time was had by all.

    In the last year, I've quickly racked up a list of people that I'm going to miss when I leave. Yes, we always hoped that we'd be leaving. This stop was never supposed to be a permanent one. So, we're trying to make plans to get out of Dodge. Where to? Somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. We both miss it so much and I think (I hope I hope I hope I hope) that I'll have more opportunities up there. So, if I'm not around in this space... well, I'm just sort of occupied these days and there's too much that I'm just not in the mood to write about. But, as soon as something changes, you'll know.

    Go read Shelley's description of our wild adventures in Long Beach.