Finally...

I feel better.  And got more done on LD.  Up to Chapter 6.  Fewer corrections this go-around, but I'm still finding typos I missed and the occasional inconsistency.  I suddenly discovered I'd reversed the order of two of Daniel's books and that could prove to be confusing when being read.  So I straightened them out and cleaned up Tad's grammar a bit more.

I also cleaned up my computer and started transferring my links from Firefox to Safari.  Firefox has behaved weirdly ever since I tried to upgrade to 4, only to discover the OS on my Mac Mini won't support it.  I may need to get a new desktop in a few months.  My Mini's 4 years old and is being overwhelmed by all the crap that comes with the sites I visit -- like commercials that start without my asking them to and ads that get all gif-y and require more attention to process.  Graphics have also become more intense.

Thing is, all my programs are old, too, so I'd need to upgrade them, as well -- Photoshop and Word, specifically, since those are the ones I use the most.  Big cost on top of big cost.  But all my writing files are in Word, and what I have right now is Office 2003.  Hope I can wait till the end of the year, buy everything on Christmas sale and take the tax write-off for 2011.  I'll need it.

My mother seems to be doing better.  When I get to San Antonio, I'll see how things are.  I'm torn between driving and flying, which are equally expensive.  Plane fare would be about $400 round trip, as would gas for my car to make the 1600 miles, each way...not to mention motels and meals.  So I may fly, after all, and borrow one of my sister's cars while I'm there.

Man, August is not going to be easy.  I will have no income for 6 weeks.  The office is shutting down all of August through Labor Day, and when I do get a payment for services, it'll be mid-September for one week's consulting.  So I worked up how much I'll need between August and October and hopefully will be able to last through it all.  I can live on very little...but not nothing.

Of course, by then the GOP may have destroyed the economy and I won't have a consulting job to come back to.  Won't that be fun?