November 4, 2003
Another long one. Sales came in short of the runway about 15%. Troublesome. We have almost twice as many salespeople as we had last year and the numbers are still down. I had faith in several people and they let me down. We even extended the deadline and it still didn’t happen. Looking at all our options. Not easy but must be done.

Big design pow wow at noon. Daniel came out and we all went to lunch at Satisfied Frog. Another $90 lunch for eight people, by the time you put in a tip it’s $15 a person. Not my idea of a good lunch value. Dan had a hamburger ($6.99 and water and he had to cough up $14). In spite of being ripped off for lunch, good talk about lack of white space and too many departments and too many logos. Went over options. Everyone had opinions, spirited discussion. Continued when we got back at 1:30. Tweaked cover, Dan took our designs home with him. I’m anxious to see what he comes up with.

Wrote up two editorials, one on “Faking It,” regarding my own fake photographs which I produced for my books. Felt good to purge (it always does: it’s a Lutheran thing).

I was the last one out at 5:30, came home, made salmon and pasta. Had pinto beans which I made for the road meeting on Sunday night. Opened a bottle of cabernet, had two glasses. Good talk with Kathy about our dumb-ass dog (she loves him, typical mother thing).

Read Time magazine, economy looks good on paper (somehow it doesn’t feel real solid though). Also read the New Yorker and the Dow Jones story of the big players in the Wall Street Journal saga. Of course Bob Brink knows them all personally, especially the one who is now at Time, Inc and runs their magazine division. Bob had a couple great stories. It’s so amazing to read about these media moguls, then go in the next day, ask Bob about them and have him give me the real skinny.

Talked to Doreen Daiss and Dave is getting better every day and will probably be coming home soon. We are so thrilled. He looked so gone, it wasn’t funny. I told Doreen we all miss him and look forward to his ornery self returning soon.

I am blessed by the people who work with me. I don’t really deserve any of them (this is the cabernet talking). Ha.

“The people sensible enough to give good advice are usually sensible enough to give none.”
—Eden Phillpotts