Well, happy Tax Day +1, everybody. Hope you all got your returns in on time.

Carey and I made a big move yesterday. We went ahead and paid a visit to ...sh-shudder... a realtor. Century 21, as it happens. We're sick of renting, I tell you. Sick. We've been flushing money down the crapper for years without building a bit of equity and, frankly, it's time for a change. Carey made the appointment and we showed up.

I won't go into too many details because... well, because it's a bit depressing. As luck would have it, we can't afford our dream home. In fact, we can't even afford a condo equal to what we're renting at the moment. Between my new business start-up, Carey's career ditch last year, and our modest income, the lenders saw fit to frown on our situation. The good news is, we've got great credit. The bad news is our adventurous, seat-of-the-pants lifestyle has kind of screwed us out of a home for the time being. Well, what can you do? I guess we'll keep renting for awhile.

Our realtor agent's name is Susan. She's... ah... nice woman, don't get me wrong. But, dear friends, I cannot be bothered to lie (unless there's a national TV appearance offer somewhere...): the woman's a "smeller". She obviously knew what she was talking about, but the wife and I were bowled over by bad breath and bad B.O. Wouldn't hygene be a standard prerequisite in a realtor? This woman holds the keys to our American Dream! Is it too much to ask for a little perfume or at least some Lady Speed Stick?

Oh, Susan.
...

I've decided that I'll never do my own taxes again. Believe me, it's well worth it to go to a tax preparer. We used H&R Block and we're more than thrilled. I thought we were going to get utterly screwed this year (what with my new biz and all), but we even came out of the deal with a modest return. Yahoo! I'll never hesitate again. True, their bill was steep, but they paid for themselves with aggressive deducting. Bless you, H&R. You're on our side.
...

And, let's see. It's new script time. This one comes from Pete Webb (an actor who happened to bring one of my characters to life on the Indie screen a couple of years ago... not to mention a hell of a nice guy). Pete's been patiently waitng for months to watch his title flesh out on good ol' JB.com. Well, wait no more, Pete, bless ya. It's a slice of life called Corpulent Raiders. I did my best, Pete. I did my very very best.

So, goodnight.