180 Degrees In the Opposite Direction

Today was an odd sort of day... totally different than what I had planned.  I was supposed to be at my one clients building a privacy fence but the area got wet over the weekend due to a leaky hose and I couldn't dig the post holes in the mushy ground.  So I ended up meeting with the sprinkler vendor at the Marriott going over the anitquated system to see what we could do to adjust or add to save the plants and trees.  We're putting together another bid to present to the G.M. for approval, with work starting in early Spring.  In the meantime, I was able to ask him if I was going to get the contract for next year at the Marriott and he said most definitely.  Although they already offered me a sizeable increase, I countered with that, for that increase, I would start March 1st instead of April 1st, giving me another whole month in the heavy labor ended part of the season.  This basically equates to me having more time to prepare the grounds and a whole additional month of income.  I'm thrilled... and thrilled that they are thrilled with me.  I can now start to plan my next year around that (i.e. other jobs, my massage business, etc.), which gives me stability.

So after the sprinkler guy, I met up with Julie and her sister and family in the Strip District (the area of town where all the produce comes in) and got to shop at my favorite little Italian stores, etc.  I got some coffee syrups, some Italian cookies... some nuts, etc. and we had breakfast at the local diner dive.  From there, I drove an hour to meet with Scott at the casino, where I proceeded to lose too much money and gain too much weight at the buffet.  From there, I had to stop at Jesse's Mom's to drop off his computer that my friend Matt fixed for him.  12 hours and 150 miles later, I'm home.

I know that I go on these rants about camp and they are 150% all that I say, if not more.  To prove the insanity, here's a few pics... not for the weak stomached...  and yes, that's about 300 naked guys in the pool.  Incidentally, we had a toga party one night, which usually means that the local Wal-mart is over-run by gays trying to find a good deal on some gold lame' fabric and something bejeweled and bedazzled...