Laps done. Got most of the workout in before neighbor-who-can’t-swim-in-straight-line showed up and started zig-zaging around. The pool is conveniently close and has great hours, but sometimes I really miss those rope lane markers.

French Freedom toast is cooking on the range, decaf is brewed in the Krups, Buffy reruns are playing on the cable, and work is being scheduled in tiny, ADD-size morsels.

Two years ago we had a President who bickered about the definition of sex and had difficulty recalling if he’d actually participated in such an act. Now California may have a governor who’s admitted to participation in orgies. Read The Smoking Gun and their scans of the original Oui interview. Gotta love progress.

Beating my head against a wall seems to be the new norm. Wheels spinning rapidly, but not in the good sense of riding road bikes really, really fast. Alas, the road bike is long dead and the idiots who drive in the San Diego area make swimming a much safer form of exercise. Haven’t swam since Sunday due to shoulder tenderness and other morning commitments, but hopefully I’m back in the pool tomorrow a.m. Not making much progress on work projects. Pongo’s attention span is longer than mine these days, but I guess if I could lick myself I’d really want to focus too. Not making much progress on health issues either, reportedly due to an approval required, and pending for over two weeks, from BorgHealth. Trying to figure out how to practice law in fifteen minute intervals, and getting better at it, but would really like to (OK, need to) be able to sit down and focus on longer writing projects again. It doesn’t help that I even get reminded of the cancer when I check the site stats: Howling Point is #8 with a bullet for “boxers briefs and prostate.” BTW, don’t forget that sometimes I post more at Beach Law. Some of the serious stuff is more appropriate there.

TGIF. Long week summed up in a few words. Beached twice, had great times both times. A little pink but not really burned. Lunch with the parents for Mom’s birthday. Work, work and more work; some of it even billable. Frustration with Amazon for changing their associate links. Now I have even more work, since I have to update the shop code at the beach site if I want to add more items. Continuing frustration with the economy, and the politicians who keep telling themselves things are improving as gasoline prices go through the roof. Maybe things are improving for them. No news on the medical stuff, but gradually finding more ways to ingest soy. The diet might have to change, but despite my initial fears it looks like I will still be able to eat tasty food.

For those who haven’t experienced my pleasurable morning disposition, coffee used to be essential to having a successful day. I was a hard-core addict in DC and La Paz, and due to my inheritance of a kitchenette with the office suite at Lome, was not only an addict but a dealer during the african years. Law school encourages all forms of substance abuse, and coffee was still part of my life throughout the experience.

The firm I will not publicize in Monterey quickly learned this weakness and maintained my addiction as long as it suited their purposes. Even as a solo practitioner, coffee jolted every morning into being.

I’ve tried to quit a few times, but had almost become convinced that absent a twelve step program I was destined to be a user for life. Even when I switched to decaf the smell and the brewing process still triggered the Pavlov response. A bit of energy and a calming feeling as the warmth of the drink itself entered the system. Mmmmm.

Then June and July happened. Anxiety attacks, and a complete inability to sleep or focus. For the first time, caffeinated coffee wasn’t only not helping, it was hurting. I switched to decaf but this time stayed with it long enough that the Pavlovian response isn’t there anymore. I still enjoy the flavor, but my mornings are much calmer now. Sometimes I even go days without a pot. No cravings, no longings. The occasional stress-related incident when you have to tell the waiter for the fourth time, ‘no I’m drinking decaf’ as the service industry’s best and brightest tries to scald your hand yet again is still there, but not critical.

I can relax now and for now, and probably some time to come, that’s a good thing.

OK, posting has been kind of light. Maybe even very light. There’s just not much going on here. Work, both the billable and the unbillable stuff takes up a lot of time. Some contracts, some discovery and trying to finish some CLE offerings for the beach law site. Also, trying my hardest to be anywhere but this apartment in the afternoons. It’s just too hot to get anything done. Little Pongo, despite his African heritage, isn’t weathering the heat wave much better than I am. He spends his days all sprawled out on the floor, and on top of that, he’s getting soft in his old age. He actually let some friends in without a growl this morning. Some guard dog. pfft.

The week’s at a mid-point and the little law firm is closed for the afternoon due to weather. I’ve given up trying to work in the afternoon during our little heat wave. I try and do as much as possible in the morning, save outside errands for the afternoon, then sleep in the heat until dinner. But what about the firm’s mandatory poolside siesta policy? Revamped to involve the mid-morning coffee break. Lunch is just too hot and I wouldn’t want to subject the business to a worker’s comp claim for heat stroke.

For those following along, yes I making progress in my treatment decisions. Monday’s post was probably a giveaway. Radiation (technically brachytherapy) will be involved and a big part of the decision was confidence in RadDoc. I’ll still have regular contact with BorgHealth and the drones, but am resting much easier knowing that the most sensitive part of my care is out of their hands. More details as they come available, and if you’re good readers and keep leaving cool comments, more pictures. Lots of bloggers show a little skin from time to time, but few go the extra mile and show the innards.

In another sign of the wonderful economy the politicians and newsreaders keep telling us about, I’ve received two cold-call resumes in the mail so far this week. Both were from attorneys with more legal experience than I have. Glad I’m not competing in the job market right now, no matter how tempting a regular paycheck seems on some days.

I feel giddy as a school girl. He took my call. I actually called him on the phone and talked to him. Now get your minds out of the respective gutters. It’s not a crush, it’s RadDoc. We traded messages this morning, then when I called back this afternoon they actually got him on the phone!

This never happens at BorgHealth proper. Doctors there are never available to talk on the phone, and certainly don’t return phone calls on the same day. *sigh* I wonder if I can arrange to have all my health issues treated by radiation bombardment? Fill the cavity with little atomic particles; zap away the occasional flu bug. The possibilities are endless (or meritless, never sure which). But whatever. *swoon* I talked to him on the phone.

California employers in July axed a net 21,800 jobs — half the jobs the entire nation shed last month — sending payrolls plunging to their lowest level since the state’s job market began its long slide more than two years ago, according to government data released Friday.
. . .
Many companies have seen their workers’ comp premiums double, or even triple, in just the last year.

Because premiums are based in part on the size of a company’s payroll, some employers are slamming the brakes on hiring or even cutting their workforces to reduce costs.

Howard Furst, owner of AAA Flag & Banner Manufacturing Co. in Los Angeles, recently laid off six flag installers in an effort to keep his premiums down after his bill doubled to $400,000.

“These rates are killing us,” said Furst, who employs about 200 workers. “I’m even thinking of moving to Las Vegas.”

All psyched here to cast my vote against Davis in October. He can say all he wants, but unless I see a lot of cold hard cash there’s no way he’s getting a vote from this household.

Of course that brings up the question of who to vote for. Options seem to be coming out of the woodwork, and the deadline to file still has a few hours to run, but Arnold is definitely my early favorite.

Chuck spent the day out with friends visiting from Northern California. He got sunburned but seems to have really enjoyed himself. It was nice to see him not working and not dwelling on the cancer thing. I remember these people from when we lived in Salinas, but since their dog didn’t come on vacation with them the big guy said I had to stay at home.

I think we’re going to go hiking in the canyon tomorrow to make up for the slight.