So much for that experiment.

I figured if I drove by the chiropractors office and I woke up with a back ache I would try something else. When I was on my way home yesterday I drove by a bank. I didn't wake up in a room filled with cash. Oh well, it was worth a try.

Yesterday was a really good day. It was really the first day we have been home that I finally felt like Krl and I were getting on top of things and getting adjusted. Due to some other changes Krl didn't go west so we made plans to get together for lunch and we invited Trc. There were several things we needed to talk about. It was a fun lunch.

I spent a large portion of my afternoon trying to order a battery for the old lap top. I guess I am set in my ways because I still like working on it. In fact the new lap top the company bought has not been turned on since we returned home. When I went to the manufacturer's website I immediately went to parts and service, there I found a link to batteries and brought it up, found the model, and discovered that the lap top I was shopping for was not even listed! It hit all around, but skipped the numerical reference for the one I needed. I decided to back up and enter the service tag number and do a search that way. Finally I received a message saying the battery I was shopping for was not available on-line. A telephone number was listed, so I called it. My call was answered by someone who could barely speak English. I felt bad that I had to ask him to repeat himself. I would give him a number and it would take three tries to get it correct. Give him credit though, he knew what I needed, but don't get carried away. I gave him credit card information for Krl's company card and I thought everything was good to go, however just before we finished our call he told me the card was denied. Krl was furious because she had been on the phone with these people earlier in the day. I took an order reference number from the sales tech for the battery and told him we would get it straightened out and call him back. Almost immediately afterward, I received an e-mail from the sales tech and it was atrocious. Krl's card is very sensitive to matching information and this man's spelling was horrible. I swear Maple Syrple could walk across my keyboard and come closer to the correct address! Anyhow, once you make an attempt on the card and it is denied, it is locked down until you call in. Of course they were already closed. I hope I get a sales tech from the U.S. today.

Just as I was about to throw my hands up on Krl's swimming pool, it turned the corner. It's almost there. I had turned the vacuum loose for a couple of days. I felt it had skimmed enough from the top. Yesterday I took the vacuum out and let it begin to skim again. I did pick up some clarifier yesterday because the water is cloudy. More than likely I over did the chlorine. A couple of days of bright sunshine should burn off any excess.

Trc was telling me how busy their business is. They are weeks behind and of course everyone wanted it done yesterday. Brently is in Brownwood for the second straight week. Unfortunately he is only at half crew. The lead of his second crew is sick and that has shut down that entire group. Hopefully their roofer is coming by our house this week. We haven't done anything on our back porch because everyone seemed to think we could avoid duplicating some work if we would let the roofer do his thing first. I know if he gets here they can do their thing and be gone if a couple of days. Patience is a virtue.

I am getting a little miffed. I have had a call in for Robert St.C in Lubbock since yesterday. He was on a conference call when I first called him and the receptionist told me she would give him the message. It almost appears that when they've got your money they lose interest. Actually what I need from him is simple. Just a phone number. But since I have thought about it, in December I had received a bill from his office. We had pre-paid his fee but elected to continue to put money in a client retainer trust just in case there were additional service needed. When we received the bill, I had discarded it only to receive one with a red "past due". I called Robert's secretary and inquired because we knew there were no additional services that would have depleted the retainer at that point. She had forgotten we had paid the retainer and was supposed to check on it and send me an accounting of it. To date I have not heard from her. Luckily for us, the events we were trying to pre-pay didn't materialize and now they can reimburse the balance of the retainer. Looks like a trip to Lubbock would put some money in my pocket! Heh! Heh!

Just when I think I am through with office stuff for a while something else come in. Accident policy. I will admit I am interested in this one though. Insurance is a racket. When we put this policy in place we had to project what the payroll would be for the first month and pay on the projection. Basically we had to pre-pay a month just to put the policy in effect and it was adjusted after final numbers came in for the actual payroll. April 1 I had to send the employee roster with the March payroll information and April's premium. Krl and I talked about it because the March payroll was the largest of the six months and yet all but three office personnel had been terminated. I really expected a huge credit or refund from the premium because it only made sense that we had pre-paid in the beginning we should be able to coast on premium the last month of maximum employees. Didn't happen. At least not yet. I'm like a hound on the scent!

I think I recently mentioned Krl had purchased for the company a scanner software package she had seen on Martha Stewart. It is called Neat Receipts. It looks like a three hole paper punch. It has proprietary software that analyzes and groups receipts and prints statements. All of this is acceptable by the IRS. Once you scan it in you can discard the paper copy because you can always re-print it if you need it. We are actually looking at trying to go totally paperless. Driver records, equipment records, billing, receivables, payables. Everything. I have been looking for a new computer that would be dedicated totally to this. Nothing else. Basically all we need in it is large memory capacity, a pdf file writer and the basic Microsoft office package. This should be a real improvement, no more receipts that have faded beyond the point of reading. A major undertaking in the beginning but once caught up it should be much more simple.

Well, let's do it.

Be the real deal.

FATHER, use me in this day.