AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 24, 2005 — It's Monday and I should be getting things done. Well, if I give myself the weekends to goof off, yeah, I should. I don't get a good start on it, though.

When I get up at eight I figure I could make it for a quick workout. Given the marginal temperature (38 degrees on the TV) I figure my dad won't do water aerobics and, anyway, it is perilously close to finish that at 9:30 and make the meeting than I have at ten o'clock.

I'd rather have longer for a workout. I hear from my dad (not going) and decide to shower and get ready for the meeting. I do some checking on the NY trip. Check the flights and call the car service.

I also drag out a full box of New York guide books, brochures, maps and clippings. Must sort through that and see if there is any other stuff I want to schedule or just consider doing.

Our meeting doesn't start on time. The executive director of Ballet Austin is having a phone interview with the local press. Not everyone comes on time. FFP and I comment later that e-mail would be more efficient. I agree to report the results in YAM. (When I was in the corporate world I always talked about 'yet another meeting'.)

It's lunch time when we get home and we eat the leftover burgers. FFP asks if I'm going to Costco and I decide I will...after one since there is usually less traffic. We make a list and check some coupons from them.

Costco. It was one of those times when I got dizzy trying to shop. Not literally. I just felt a little lost. I ended up getting almost everything on the list and getting it home. Let's just say we are well-stocked on cheese now. Always important at the Ball-Preece household.

The shopping really took it out of me. And, after answering some e-mail, I found that it was after four and that I felt great but didn't feel like going to the club and exercising. I knew, though, that I should do something.

I settled in to work on my financial spreadsheets. I sorted through old buy orders and entered the sales expenses and checked the basis prices. I sorted through receipts from charities that we've received during the year and a couple of 1099's already received.

Soon it was time for dinner. Since I'd gotten precious little actual food at Costco (cheese, some frozen salmon), we had salads for dinner. After that I felt like having a drink and Forrest made me a Manhattan and then another. We ate almonds with my drink. (He wasn't having one. Such a good boy. And he worked out today, too, I think.)

I watched TV and the DVR, finished all the day's papers and flipped through a stack of old ones and read a few pages of my book before, too late, sleep.

Well, the day wasn't a total loss. We might of accomplished a tiny bit in the meeting, we are stocked up on things like laundry products, shampoo, deordorant and, of course cheese. (In fact, I bought two cases of V8 juice...I'm determined to improve my diet.) I made a little headway on managing the money and made a few more social and travel plans. I'm conquering the newspapers. (Yeah, right.) Still, I should have exercised or, at least, walked the dog.