Post-Florida Chaos

2000

I came home from hanging out in Florida with my photographer and Troy (over 1200 photos) ($15,000 shoot costs) and went to work (horrors, I still do that) and caught a terrific cold. I stumbled thru that week and then flew, still sick, to Las Vegas for a CES (customer education services) one-week off-site where we discussed chip synthesis (85% + of the chips in all your electronic toys up thru computers in space are made using Synopsys' synthesis software - I teach people how to use it). We are developing the new advanced class - I am a co-lead developer.

No wonder I carry 2-3 romance novels with me! Escape!

I flew home on Friday to deal with the Jettison bookmark (it came out too yellow in the background on the proof so we are re-cutting the film). Troy comes out OK. Just the background was a mess. Troy comes out more than OK. Too hot by far! Goes to booksellers as a promotion item.

The poster got a simple "WOW". This from Banta's printer fulfillment group. They "can't wait to see the calendar". And they do a lot of calendars.

Several people are checking for software for me to use for the calendar part.
The rest is to be set in Quark. One project at a time. I am my only employee and my own venture capitalist. I am a dot com company. I love that!

America Worst lost my luggage - found it 24 hours later. After I had a nervous breakdown! My new bathing suit was in there! From Florida! I love that suit! (The black one.)

I need to flow the text and finish the Jettison book (prepress stuff). I need to figure all that out in 7 days or less. I'm up to "how on Earth do I do page numbers". (QuarkXpress.)

And I need to (finally) plug in the Ethernet to Localtalk bridge so my older HP printer will connect to the G4. Or maybe I should just get a new HP printer with USB and make it simple. (I would, but I have a USB floppy drive - and learned that when the G4 can't see the floppy, I have to unplug it and plug it back into another USB port. I have not figured that out! It works - why?)

I need to do taxes. They are watching me. The pile is deep. My accountant is waiting.

I haven't heard from Big Brothers of LA about the Fabio date - but his mother is in town and I am e-mailing Eric back and forth - something is afoot. I just don't know where they are sticking me in their schedule.

I haven't had time to work on Troy's website (or the commercial page) - that's also high on the list. Troy - where is your "initials" page for the background? My older son is supposed to be helping me. We have an inquiry out. It's a new ISP provider or I stay with Best - now Vario. Their customer service dropped on being sold however. I have someone helping me with Troy's site design.

I miss having an assistant. Filing is not my forte.

I need to loose 30 pounds. Too many nice meals on these trips. I can feel my metal staples. (The other surgery.) (Having four shots of numbing medication from the dentist and two hours being drilled for a replacement cap can help with that. In too much pain to eat!)

I need a personal trainer and aversion therapy for chocolate. The breast-reduction doctor says I am "healing nicely" and I can now exercise - and "how do you like being perky?" - so I went to the front yard for four hours and planted trees and roses. And 180 onions. I now need a different doctor! (My younger son hid in his room.) She will take photos in April. Oh dear! Not for MY website!

I need some sleep.

I need to look at and pick out 13 photos to start the calendar for Troy from the morass I now have. The photographer (Ron Jones) did a first-pass pick. We have more usable photos than that. But I need to be very calm to do this.............. I shouldn't drool. Too much. It could mess up the photos.

I have no idea what to do with the 2" transparencies we took of one of the authors that showed up Friday night at the bar doing bad things with Troy (or was it Troy doing bad things with her???) - they are not negatives - the print I just sent RT with Troy on the bench cost $43.00. I will be able to scan them when I have time to install the UMAX scanner. But not until I have this book to bed! (And people can start ordering it!)

The photo of Troy lighting my fire is also one of these transparencies. And I want that photo on-line! Proves I need to be in a home. Or at least not let out unattended very often!

The Jettison ads break in the May issue Romantic Times and the May issue StarLog.

The Leeza show with Fabio saying he was looking for a wife (Oh right! Sure he is!) reran and I had a rash of e-mail about it. More than last time. Had to tell them to mail such things to the listed office address for Fabio. I don't forward. He is not on-line. (He may be thinking about it - I need to warn him. Hide your address!) I e-mail the office but I don't give it out (unless they tell me to do so.) I try to be very careful about that.

I just can't think who would want the job with 17 dirt bikes in his kitchen and three elephants (100+lb. Great Danes) in the backyard. There are limits. Even if the stereo sounds intriguing (you know I like big systems), I can't stand it loud and I turn down the bass.

Besides, I already have a man in my house who sleeps until noon. He's 18. I'm still trying to get him to drive. So he can leave home. I want his bedroom. For a closet. He'd rather have me drive him around - back and forth to college - so he knows I love him. (Spoiled. The kid is spoiled.)

Eric pleaded with me to tell the fans to stop mailing, calling and e-mailing them (Fabio and Eric) complaints about the new Fabio ICBINB commercial - send comments to Lipton. Or e-mail ICBINB. The fans are upset (that's putting it mildly). He didn't say the line. Their sales may drop. I got e-mail too! They also hate the cookbook cover. (I could have done much better! What were they thinking?)

My younger son, myself and Troy WILL be in Houston in November at the Romantic Times convention. Book, calendar and poster in tow. Perhaps the announcement for a new book as well. I am nothing if not ambitious. I refuse to be deterred.

I am now partially blond (streaked) - the effect of visiting Florida. Actually, it's an annual event. My roots on top are WHITE. Maybe I should be a platinum blonde? After I retire. Engineers need to be brunettes.

I will now go take a nap.