I watched "Bringing Up Baby" yesterday. I was gonna follow it up with "The Philadelphia Story", but I fell asleep.

I figure that if only 25% of the students actually bring in Kleenex or sanitizer, I'll be set.

As for the other supplies...well, I'm gonna be a hard-ass on that one. Don't tell me you can afford an iPod or a grill or a quince for you kid, but you can't buy him/her $10 worth of school supplies.

Oh, and a dictionary. Dictionaries are supercheap at garage sales, UBS's and Half-Price Books.

Dear Parents,

Please send Kleenex, as your girls can't seem to stop blowing their noses. I don't *think* it's due to a cocaine habit, but I can't be sure. You might want to search their rooms to be on the safe side.

Lovens,

Erin

Hee! Coke is the 2nd fave drug o' choice at my school, coming in WAAAYYY after weed.

OK. Meeting went very well. BUT. BUT. Job Guy needs to verify my numbers with his other contractor. He's not comfortable with offering me a paid position just yet.

Although I'm fairly confident of his intent to hire me, he only said that he's got to be 100% sure I can produce what he need. He said (and I basically agreed) that I'm at a 7 on a scale of 10 (where I need to be producing). Although I got to 7 with NO help, no training and after a 5 year hiatus. So I'm emailing my spreadsheets to him, he'll verify my numbers with his other guy and we've got a meeting scheduled for next Tuesday (his other actuarial contractor, his in house guy and me).

Of course, I asked him about where this stands as far as my contract goes--he sort of put me off. DH thinks I'm being taken advantage of. Although JG specifically said (again) that I will get paid for all of my work up to now and including next week--he didn't say when he'd pay me. I think he doesn't want to cut me a check until he knows he's not going to hire me as an employee.

This is disappointing and I didn't feel confident enough to demand payment at the meeting this morning--because of the meeting next week which should solidfy my position. Maybe if his guy verifies my numbers, I can flat out ask for a specific date?

At this point, if I'm going to continue doing the work on, I HAVE to have my own laptop with Excel and Access (since I've been bogarting DH's work laptop). I think I could bill him for at least half the cost of a laptop at this point with the rates I quoted him when we started.

Should I have been more insistent on payment? Or should I just go along until I have hard evidence that my numbers match what his other guy does. (The reason he wants ME to start doing this is that his other guy is an independent contractor so he's not 100% sure of his loyalty to the company and his in house guy CAN'T devote enough time to doing the amount of work he wants be to eventually be able to do.)

Am I crazy and getting screwed over?

Gronklies. I've got nothing to add, except that I got to hang with the loverly JZ & Hec last night and eat Chinese food and watch most of S2 of Slings & Arrows. Love.

Our Tivo's filling up between John Garfield yesterday and Rock Hudson tomorrow. So the Kate's limited to two I haven't seen before.

Actually, with TCM this month, that's the rule -- nothing we've seen before.

On another note, lovers of elephants should check out Roots of Heaven, a '50s film about one man's quixotic effort to stop elephant hunting. Lots of lovely African scenery. And yes, that's Errol Flynn playing the alcoholic British ex-military man.

Maybe if his guy verifies my numbers, I can flat out ask for a specific date?

yes, I think so. And you don't have to be a hardass about it. You can just say. "By the way, I'll be sending you an invoice for my work up to now, so that I can keep my time straight" and then do it. Just type something up on the computer (I can send you something from when I was consulting if you want) and send it to him.

I can send you something from when I was consulting if you want

That would be nice! (Profile addy should be good.) Thanks. I did speak to the person I know who was in on the meeting and she gave confided to me that she really thinks he's just planning on hiring me no matter what, because this meeting proved I can handle the work, even if it takes a little bit of training. So that made me feel better.

Once I actually know if what I did was technically correct, I'll feel more confident about submitting an invoice.

Vortex's idea is good. Just keep reminding them, as they trundle through the red tape nonsense that Yes, I Did Work, and Yes, I'ma Get Paid For It.