Chasing dollars

Dear Family and Friends,
This is what it has come to, I get in the bug and drive first to Walnut Creek, about a 45 minute drive and park, walk into an office building, find the required office on the second floor and make small talk, get a check. Then back to the car, get a phone call with an address in another small town, punch it into the GPS and 15 minutes later it is still computing as I'm driving down the freeway. After the third time of entering the address while I'm driving 70 mph (probably as illegal as texting) I give up and just put the street in and it finds the address but of course by then I've gone the wrong way so a 10 minute drive becomes a 25 minute drive, meanwhile the fuel light comes on as I've gone 560 miles on the tank and its nearing fumes. Finally I find the address, meet the nice guy, pick up the check and set the GPS for home and I get a beautiful trip through the middle of mountains and hills between El Sobrante and Martinez, narrow, curvy but beautiful but not the place to run out of fuel. At long last I find the freeway and head home but the car swerves off at Antioch to a strange place, Olive Garden. The place is hopping so I end up at the bar between a blond and a couple young girls who are really enjoying their drinks! I wait and watch as the very busy bar tenders work the people until they finally notice that I'm sitting quietly with no food, no drink and I'm just busy texting friends. So I get my very large helping of salad, soup and its really tasty, my only other meal has been breakfast of oatmeal at Perko's at 9 am. I've had snacks in between but I'm still ready to eat and enjoy the conversations and the energy of the people who come and go around me, then I try to choke as I'm nearing the bottom of the salad bowl which sets off coughing and now all I want to do is pay, (will the credit card clear) and get out of there. It clears and I'm back in the car as the coughing winds down. Now the fuel light seems to burn brighter and beep louder as I drive. Can I make it back to Discovery Bay and the Safeway where the price is right? Well yes I can and I do. 46 miles per gallon again and $30 dollars later on a backup credit card and I'm set for the week.
This morning Ken and I walked at 6:30 which seemed really really early. The walk was a challenge and I felt the cold air in my lungs. Then back to shower. Was this the day to head into Brentwood to have blood drawn? Why yes it was, had not eaten anything all night so I was ready. The wait was long to get registered but finally I was facing the grim prospect of someone once again pointing a needle at me. I grasped the little toy ball and stretched my arm out to be butchered but only the smallest of pricks of pain and it was over. So I proudly wore my bandage over the insertion spot and headed for breakfast. I decided Perko's was the place and they had wonderful oatmeal that tasted like the real thing. That along with fresh fruit, wheat toast and scrambled egg and I was set for the day.
Up arriving back at the office / home I waked into creating an appraisal that was needed by the IRS. When that was completed I decided it was time to make contact to collect funds. I knew the bank would want it first thing Tuesday morning to cover checks already written. So that is when I headed out for Walnut Creek using the back roads through Clayton. When one comes home with $750 for the trip it is actually quite worth doing and that along with the fee for the appraisal written and emailed earlier in the day will warm the hearts of the tellers at the bank.
Now I'm heading up to once again tackle the Nordic Ski Machine. The last time I rode it was 2 months ago and the next morning I woke up so sick. I've been somewhat reticent to climb on it again as that morning every muscle in my upper body was screaming at me. Of course that is just what is really needed if I'm to move forward with the life I long for.
So my friends and family, just want to wish all of you a very good productive week. God continues to be very good to us in a very messed up world. Some of the little emails that come in with sage advice on how to live are so beautiful and encouraging. One came today from Donna Want and it was just simply great. Never stop sharing positive messages. How I love to experience the positive ones.

So love to all,

Tim