Love to all. Even you.

Ran my first race in months, and did better than I thought I would!

I came in the top 25% of men, running a 7:18/mile pace for 5 miles.

This means that I can add 1:15/mile, and that should be a nice, comfortable pace for the NYC Marathon this Sunday.

I hope.

I REALLY hope.

Love to all. Even you, the supermarket employee with the bad and completely unobstructed cough.

I’m heading downtown to run the Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff five mile race, but before I do it seems I’ve got time for a little self-pity and panic: I forgot we were setting the clocks back last night.

I’ve been running the numbers:

• What I get paid at work on a W4 basis.
• What the business pays for that I would have to pay for if I merged my firm.
• Loans from/to the business that have to be evened up.

And, silly as it makes me feel to report, it turns out I’ve been doing a hell of a lot better than I thought I’ve been doing. Which means there needs to be a huge upside in order for me to go through with this whole process.

Which means I’m panicking. Although for really positive reasons.

I want to do the right thing by my family. And myself. If I can get my kids’ college paid for BEFORE they go to college, then rock on. But I’m also afraid of fucking things up.

This is one of those times I wish my Dad and I spoke. As it stands, I don’t have anyone in my life who I feel I can talk to about business things… whose opinion I would value nearly as much as I would my father’s.

In fact, one of the reasons I’m interested in merging my company is because I want to share the responsibility for generative thought. For the last 10 years, it’s been all me, with very little input.

Anyway: my daughter just got up, so I’ve got to jet.

Love to all. Even you, the post-surgical dude who won’t take his pain medication.

Anyway, this post

Michael J. Fox, who has pretty severe Parkinsons, campaigns for both Democrats and Republicans who support stem-cell research. Recently, he did a commercial for a Democrat, in which he had highly visible tremors. Rush Limbaugh, caterer-to-the-easily-convinced, accuses Fox of faking his condition (or purposefully going off medication). Lots of people apparently point out to Mr. Limbaugh that he’s a misguided pretard.

So he pseudo-apologizes:

So I will bigly, hugely admit that I was wrong, and I will apologize to Michael J. Fox, if I am wrong in characterizing his behavior on this commercial as an act, especially since people are telling me they have seen him this way on other interviews and in other television appearances.

What a fuckhead. “Bigly, hugely?” Talk about ego. That removes any semblance of sincerity right there. And the whole “if I am wrong” thing means, of course, that there’s no apology here.

HEY, CONSERVATIVES!! HOW CAN YOU LET THIS GUY REPRESENT YOU?

My God.

Love to all. Even you, the Prius driver who took that turn WAY too fast.

Unlike Miss Britt, who’s massage experience was, well, less than optimal. I decided to do something novel, and post a Craigslist ad in the Therapeutic section basically saying: “Oh shit, I have a marathon in two weeks, I’m sleeping on the floor because of a bad back, and I need help NOW.”

I got two responses back. One from an accupuncture/massage person who seemed very competent, and one from a lady who basically said: “This is precisely what I fix. She went on to explain what she does, which is much more along the lines of re-alignment and release of muscle-memory, vs. tissue-based massage, although she does some of that two.” Not rolfing, though, nothing painful. Just figuring out how everything is out of balance, and putting it back.

So I went to see her last night.

Holy SHIT. I left there pain-free for the first time in weeks. And I feel about 85% better this morning, too. I can feel some pain in my back, but I feel like it’s muscular, not structural. Really interesting.

The crazy thing was: I almost walked out. Her office was professional, and she was normal enough… but she spent the first twenty minutes talking… and impatient me was thining… “Um… can we put some of this chatter into action, please?” But then she kept me there for another hour and a half, and did an amazing, unbelievable, and for me, unprecedented job.

Going to see her next Thursday, too.

Love to all. Even you, the guy with the wet cough who keeps spitting into his handkerchief.

I had a call with one of the partners who wants me to merge my firm with theirs. The partner basically asked me how much of my pre-merger receivables I would be giving them, to help pay for the startup of the company.

The answer, of course, is: “none.”

The thing is, it was “none” before, too. And they knew this.

See, I’m one of those peopel who rarely tries to negotiate from anything other than a position of exactly my position. So when people try to change things, it makes me angry. I have to remember that people try to get the best deals for themselves that they can possibly get, even if they want you to do well.

Negotiation is not war. It’s a grey area. I must remember this.

Love to all. Even you, you sneaky bastard.