My back went out while I was cleaning Thunder's litter pan yesterday morning. I was holding the full pan with one hand, bent over a bit, pouring the contents into a plastic bag, and I felt a bone shift, just above the coccyx. I can still move, but I have to be careful or it will bite me.
I visited with a friend yesterday - afternoon, evening, into late night, so this morning I was creeping, bent over slightly, yawning up a storm, and my hair was completely destroyed. Very unattractive, but very contented.
I spent four plus hours with Piper going over my investments, starting at 11 am today. (And one of the first things he said to me was "Your hair is different." Ouch! What else might he have noticed?) I didn't want to make any drastic changes, just wanted to balance things a bit and move some equity into fixed income for safety. Piper has spent many hours on my problem, and the scheme he has come up with is drastic, to say the least, but it makes a lot of sense. For tax purposes, we won't make any changes until after the first few days of 2006, so I've got some time to do some research and get used to the idea.
One of the things Piper said concerned my 401K. He said that he has noticed that for some odd reason, former employees of The Company don't seem to consider that money "real". He's right. He said that if I want to be ultra-aggressive in some area of my investments, since I don't consider that real money, that's where I should fly high and take the risks. He recommended moving the 401K into the foreign funds or whatever looks exciting.
The Angel went over last years' tax returns, and projected the 2005 and 2006 taxes based on the capital gains I'd realize. I was impressed with his speed and acumen. He found an error in my previous tax man's calculation of my estimated tax for this year without more than glancing at the first page. I have to send an additional $1500 with the December payment!
The plan Piper showed me included his management fee, so we are now clear on that.
It had rained very hard all during the meeting, but then the sun broke through and the world dried quickly, so Piper and I walked to the inn for a late (2:00 pm) lunch. That went ok, too. No awkward vibes. If anything, I felt like a pampered client, which was exactly the right tone.
The Inn is open under new management, they've just reopened the kitchen, so this was checking the place out. Right after we sat down, before we even ordered, the waitress brought a complimentary cup of pea soup, "Because it's so chilly out there". I hate peas. I hate pea soup. I took a taste anyway, just to check whether I still hate it, and I finished the whole cup. It was really good. Not "peasy" at all. I ordered the quiche and salad, and it was exceptional, and the price was reasonable, much lower than expected given the fancy setting. All around a very good morning and early afternoon.
When I got home from lunch with Piper, Daughter called and we talked for a long time - nice because she has been so busy with three jobs and school that chatting has been difficult.
Now, if my back would only behave, life would be good.
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