Continuing to Scream Into the Void in Book Four: Ichi-no-Tani 2017

This morning I woke up at 6 am so I could be on the road to work early. Because of the G.D. Solheim Cup. Got on the road at a decent time… got into work at 8. I know that an event like this is supposed to be great for the city, great for the community, great for vendors, etc. But… color me cynical… I see this event as three things.
(1) A way for the “little people” (that can pay for a ticket) to see “Near-Celebrities.” I mean, don’t get me wrong. Michelle Wie is putting less than a mile away from where I sleep. That IS kind of exciting. But it isn’t like she’s going to be eating at Barntown Brewing or grabbing a beer at the nearby watering hole.
(2) A giant headache and drain on resources for the individuals and officials in and around the area. I kid you not… every crosswalk and intersection had 1 Police Officer directing traffic and 4 police vehicles (one on each corner). Just… insane. If you want to commit a serious crime in West Des Moines? This weekend is the weekend to do it!
(3) Here’s where I get super cynical. This is yet one more way to increase Income Disparity. Do you think the East Des Moines businesses are going to be helped out by this? In fact, they’ll be hurt by it. The biggest weekend of the State Fair (on the East Side) is supposed to be this weekend. Now… maybe… hopefully some of the 200,000 expected Golf attendees will decide to check out the Fair and (maybe) shop at some of the local stores. But mostly? The golf people will spend their money at the golf course, buying from Golf Course Vendors (who are the companies with enough cash to sponsor a cross-continent Golf Tournament). Yes, thankfully some of those businesses are “local.” But in that sense it is NOT “mom and pop” local. It is Kum & Go (nee Krause Gentle)… it is Casey’s General Store… it is Hy-Vee. The companies that have home offices in and around the Des Moines Metro area … but who are multi-state, regional giants. Trust me. I went to Mr. Krause’s “family farm” when I interned at Krause Gentle. It… well… it makes my In-Law’s Family Farm seem like something out of the Grapes of Wraith.
Not the Farm, But an Acceptable Picture

Today? Shit, today I may go back and forth on PB. I have a significant amount of work to do but… I think I can do it. We’ll wait until Bosses arrive, of course. Soon as they get here, I may discover that a Hellmouth has opened, and I’m required to represent the Demons in court (how it feels sometimes)… or that the last twenty documents I signed, I accidentally spelled my first name wrong (how it feels sometimes)… or that they are so swamped with things, they want me to take on 16 more projects that need to be finished by the end of the day. This is my life now.

See, this is still something I don’t freaking understand about Private Practice. From 8 to 9, I watched an evidence video. Then I made phone calls to police. Then I took care of a billing problem. I’ve been working for a solid 150 minutes but I’ve only been able to bill for 66 minutes. I don’t. Fucking. Get it.

So… it is now 3:00 p.m. We had an hour long photo shoot for the firm (Friends Only Entry when that comes out… and seriously holy CHRIST do I look like my Grandmother on my father’s side! So from Noon to 3, no work. Then 3 to 5 solid work. Total billable hours, 4.4. Yeah, I need to figure out how to get billing to reflect actual time.