Gracie sunning her soles…

It’s damn near impossible to get anything done around here, it seems.  Between having to keep a watchful eye on Gracie and our puppy, Mitsu, working on anything else is impractical.  Things like repairing the back patio screens, patching the hole in one of Gracie’s bedroom walls, fixing the backyard fence gate, blowing the patio off, fastening loose boards to the fence rails, etc.  Kristine and Gabby are out for a Girl Scouts meeting, and I thought I could try to use my time effectively to get some chores done.  I bring Mitsu outside with me, and she immediately commences with puppy mischief while I try to accomplish something.  Digging holes to the center of the Earth, eating what’s left of my grass, and attempting to kill the Big Orange Snake on our patio (the extension cord connected to my blower).  Gracie has to be put in her room, lest she try to stir up trouble too.  Earlier, before Kristine left, I check on Gracie and find her with her feet up on her window.  She’s done this only because Kristine raised Gracie’s blinds.  “No!  Don’t close them!  I want to let some light into Gracie’s room,” Kristine says.  Sorry, OSHA rules say the blinds have to come down.  Safety hazard, you know?  I remove Gracie’s feet from the glass and lower the blinds.

Anyways, I gave up on my home projects for now.  They’ll just have to wait until Kristine and Gabby return home.  So I thought I’d put a post up.  Easy for me to do, since I can’t really do anything else but sit in my family room and watch Gracie and Mitsu out of the corner of my eye.

Mitsu, or Shine

Mitsu is finally learning Gracie is different, and mostly leaves Gracie alone now.  It was kind of sad in the beginning, after we brought Mitsu home to us.  Mitsu tried many times to get Gracie’s attention, all to no avail of course.  The most poignant moment was when Kristine was giving Gracie a bath, and Mitsu went into the bathroom, stood up on her hind legs, and placed her front legs over the edge of the tub to look in on Gracie.  Mitsu stood there and watched Gracie for a long while.

And now the reason for today’s post title:  Ain’t no fun waitin’ ’round to be a millionaire.

For those of you who know me well, I love rock ‘n roll.  Especially AC/DC.  Every time I hear the aforementioned song, I think about all the ludicrous things I’ve done in my life, my attempts to get ahead.  Some have paid off, most have not.  In the end, at least nobody can say I didn’t at least try.

I look back and I’m frankly embarrassed at some of the things I’ve done.  Fell sucker to MLM’s, believing I’ll be different from the thousands who’ve gone before me.  Herbalife, anyone?  Ask me how, I’ll show you!  Went to the rah-rah sessions and all.  Wow… kind of weird witnessing those scenes.

Who want’s to be a millionaire?!  A flash of hands in the air, the speaker throwing out 100 Grand bite-size candies to people desperate to make a change in their lives (myself included amongst them).  This scene harks back to my Primerica days.  “Write down all the names of all the friends and family members whose telephone numbers you know!  Done?  Done yet?  Yes?  Now call them!  You can help them!  If you really want to succeed, call them!”  Sickening, recalling those moments.  Some of you might not believe I was a victim to such silliness, but I was.  Not so proud that I feel that I have to hide it, though.

The MLM huckster picks me up at my home in his Mercedes.  He believes in me, tells me I’m what he needs, together we’ll rule the insurance and finance industries.  I’m on top of the world, riding in a Mercedes, visions of grandeur in my mind.  I ace my insurance exam in order to sell insurance products.  Meanwhile, a part of me remains objective, not liking many of the things I’m seeing.  The business I was in was cutthroat, people poaching other people’s potential clients, anything to make a buck.

At the top of the pyramid was the Mercedes guy’s boss.  A group of us ‘special’ people get an invite to boss-man’s home.  Crazy, filthy rich this guy is.  A basketball court in his house?!  And a pool?  Then an invite to Mercedes guy’s house.  I’m expecting a cookout, bring my wife and mother-in-law with me, telling them what a great guy he is.  We get there and all there is to eat is sheet cake and punch.  Empty calories, just like all the promises that were made to us.

Like a house of cards, the pyramid collapses.  Mercedes man disappears, and I quit the biz.

Then I learn more about the world of finance, i.e., equities, option contracts, etc.  Even more sharks in those waters.  It’s a zero sum game, for every winner, there’s a loser on the other end.  You can trade on margin, lose everything, and end up owing your broker thousands of dollars.  I still trade, but my enthusiasm for the markets has waned.

Why do I tell all of you this?  Just another story or collection of stories about the lengths that some parents will go to provide a better life for their child.  When I was going through all that I described, I had one person in particular in mind, and that was Gracie.

Mitsu is looking at the door.  I’m thinking Kristine and Gabby are home now, and I can return to my chores.  Cheers!