Joe is blind (less).

Though today was as busy or busier than any other recently, I feel like maybe my life is coming back under control. Maybe it's only a temporary feeling, but I hope not. Maybe it was doing some little things around the house to help get it organized that gave me this sense. Maybe it was finally being able to go back to the gym and running my 2 mile run again for the first time in a month. Maybe it was just being able to coordinate: work on my condo, work on the condo building (not for me), consulting work, a trip to the gym and helping some friends.

This latter event took place at the local Starbucks. Interestingly, it's not uncommon for me to be found there discussing personal financial or other issues with friends and acquaintances. Tonight, my friends were contemplating various housing options for them and their new child as well as how to finance a move, nanny, emergency fund and sizable down payment. They were very receptive, which is always helpful, and willing to talk as well as listen not only to me, but to each other. It was a good hour plus meeting.

Manual Labor Mike is on to painting! It appears that the woodwork is done at this point, at least everything that I had planned to have done. Since some of the woodwork involved MLM beating up some of the dry wall, the walls needed to be painted and with painting means the blinds need to come down. I took the opportunity to move away from a basic white in the bedrooms and to add some color to the hallway and front room. MLM has finished the hallway and the guest bedroom and is going to start on the front room followed by the master bedroom. For whatever shortcomings MLM has, the dude can paint. I may not like the amount of time he works in a day or the order in which he does it, but it's tough to argue with the finished product, now that I have at least some finished product to view.

The building needs its main drain line rooted out and a collapsed drain replaced. After calling and trying to get quotes from three different plumbers, I finally called a fourth on Sunday and they came out today to quote the job which they are doing tomorrow morning for a price I wanted. Another success.

This afternoon I had a meeting at, you guessed it, a Starbucks downtown with a bank who will be proposing a financing package for one of my consulting clients. It was a bank at which I didn't have any contacts, so I went through the internet and made the contact that way. This bank may or may not work out, but I feel like it was a nice little business victory.

Wilfred Brimley just showed up on a life insurance commercial. Is he even still alive?? As it turns out, he's only 72, but the dude looks like he's 98.