Another catch-up

When I'm President of the World, I shall insist on all days having at least 30 hours. It's the only way I'll ever get everything done.

My back is still not right, but I'm off the meds and it's functioning. I can work - as long as I get on my stepper every so often and keep mobile.

I finally had my haircut last Friday. I was gutted to learn that the beautician who worked there and has given me treatments has died. Pneumonia. She was younger than me and a health freak. Sheesh! You never know when your time's up. My cleaner noticed yesterday that I'd had my hair cut and coloured and complimented me. My beloved P had to to be told because he didn't notice...

The book has finally arrived. Well, some of it anyway. I got three chapters yesterday, the rest will follow. I'll be starting on that this afternoon and I'm dreading it as it's on an Arab country and means I'll be spending ages cross-checking all the Arabic transliterated spellings.

Had a meeting yesterday with my lovely graphic designer. We're preparing the budget to make a flash demo for a mutual client. I've never had to write a script before, so this will be a learning curve. And there needs to be several language versions - English, Japanese, German and Spanish - so I need to find translators too. My LGD also wants me to write the web copy for his new-look site. I've booked him in for the end of this month, once the book is out of the way. That will be a straightforward job, anyway.

I'm fully booked for the whole of March now, and that's not including the planning meeting I need to have with the publisher of the mag I write for (where I am also contributing editor), plus the copy I need to write for another magazine. I'm going to have to change the way I work with some of my clients - I have several for whom I do short-notice, fast-turnaround jobs and I just can't handle these any more. Yesterday, when I got home from my meeting, I had a job from one such client who wanted the work back almost immediately but I had to start cooking as my beloved P was bringing a foreign colleague home for dinner. Somehow, I squeezed in the job, but enough is enough. All these clients are going to get an email from me very soon saying they will have to start giving me notice of forthcoming work. The only exception will be the Russian stock-market advisers for whom I edit their investment briefings, because they pay very well. Which reminds me - it's the end of the month and I need to invoice them and others.

The investment book publisher I edit for has promised to give me a great reference as I'm upgrading my membership of the SfEP to Advanced status. The upgrade should pay off, literally, in more work. The publisher is lovely, and I like her even more now I've discovered we have a shared love of reggae and ska.

But enough wittering... I have work to do.