August 31, 2005
I’m feeling negative and cynical. Not my usual demeanor, but here I sit, grumpy and bitchy. I’ve got competing newsstand consultants fighting over a contentious, shrinking national pie. They’re not happy and I’m not happy. I had a temporary negative cash flow in my personal biz account, which garnered me $90 in overdraft charges. Damn! Sometimes I hate being saddled with an artist’s temperament (read that NO MATH SKILLS!).

I’ve got shooting pains in my right elbow. Christie Wilcox thinks it’s stress and keyboard trauma (too much keyboard time). So I’ve been trying to limit my computer time, but here I sit at three in the afternoon. Been on since nine.

Enough Whine Time. Mark Boardman is going down to Tombstone this weekend to cover the historical renovation seminar the town and state are sponsoring. It’s very nice to have an extra hand in editorial.

Went home for lunch yesterday and bailed into a big, Mexican storm painting. Had great reference of muy malo cloud build-ups north of Elephant Butte several years back. Verdict still out but I love painting problems because, as opposed to life, they seem tangental, and solvable. So many business and personal problems seem insurmountable.

Fortunately I’m married to a therapist and get to grind on most of this stuff for free.

I had a great talk with Bob Brink last night about staying focussed on real management issues and not getting too sidetracked by superficial whining from some of my chronically disgruntled employees (besides me, of course!).

"You shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back."
—Old Miner Leaguers Saying