Judith's thought-provoking soul-searching journal

The brochure design is done! I feel good about it. I am still stressing over the right paper, though. I may take the file to Kinko's to ask questions. But they charge a lot more than other places I've checked so we'll see. I need paper that is no heavier than 32 lb, so it will fold by machine, and yet is opaque enough to print two sides well without bleed-through, and that provides good quality printing of photographs. I found something that surely does the printing well and is thick enough but I am not sure about bleeding through. Printing on an ink jet is different from a laserjet.

Problem is also that I designed it using Publisher and I don't have a way to convert to pdf on this computer. I may have to wait until tomorrow, when I am at work. I would love to have this done today but that wouldn't be the worst thing. It's a small run, so there shouldn't be an issue with getting it printed.

As for my dear Mary sim. She has been promoted to cat burglar. She needs to improve her mechanical and body skills. It is hard to keep her in the pool long enough to earn body points. But she's getting better at diving and she does swim longer each time. She also invited Benjamin over and let him bring a friend, and the friend was a young woman who was too friendly with Benjamin. Mary was jealous. I don't know where this will go. Maybe I should create another sim next door to her and try to get them better acquainted. Give up on Benj.

I am the Queen of Losing Things.

Friday I went to Washington Mutual to do two things: deposit money into Mary's account and open a new joint account with my sister. I used the WM ATM to withdraw money from my own account, then brought that money with a deposit slip to the teller. AFter that, I went to a New Accounts desk to open the new account.

Yesterday I discovered that I had lost that debit card. I seem to lose it regularly, every month almost. And this time, of course, it is just before the trip to New York. Not only that, but I kept delaying ordering new checks and discovered that I have no more for that same account. Which is my main account, my lifeblood, the place where my checks are deposited automatically.

The question then became: how do I deposit the refund checks I received in the mail the other day? And worse - how do I pay the rent? Which is due by 5:00 p.m. today? I thought of the other accounts I have and had to eliminate each one for different reasons. Finally I hit on the solution for the rent: I have a little program that prints checks. I had not thought it necessary to install it (it was a freebie that came with something else) but I kept it, thinking I might want it some day. Today was that day. I installed it and set it up so it would print the checks for that account, printed out three blank ones, and filled one in for the rent.

The other part is actually easy. I can deposit the checks at the bank tomorrow and get money back, enough money for the trip, actually. Considering the plane and hotel are paid already I shouldn't need a ton of money. Food and museums, really. I'll feel better tomorrow, though, when I have done this, when I have the money in my hot little hands.

My dear daughter Mary has been dealing with trials lately. Being sick (bronchitis for weeks), having her shift at the restaurant changed (not much money coming in), struggling with classes, trying to find common ground with Marty. Her lack of money sent her into a frantic search for another job, once again.

And no, she didn't go into the criminal career.

Instead, she has taken a leave of absence from school and is going to attend a real estate school. Four weeks, which can be separated if necessary, with a guarantee that she will pass the license test. She has thoughts of using the license not only to sell homes but also to buy them. To buy fixer-uppers, work on them, then sell them. I do think she would like doing that if she can swing the first one. I feel hopeful about this. I think she has thought it through and knows the downsides of real estate well enough.