My father and I have been avid golfers for as long as I can remember, and we go out twice per month during the summer.  It has not only been a good opportunity for us to bond, but it gets us out of the house so our wives can talk without us around.

But golfing sure isn’t cheap.  To this day, I don’t think that I have paid for a round of golf as my father pretty much pays each time.  That makes me feel a bit like a freeloader, but I thought that I could maybe change that.

I had received an email a couple of days before we were going about a website that offered coupons on just about everything: even golf coupons.  I did a bit of searching on the site and found some coupons that I could use in town and even installed the IE coupon toolbar so that it would be easier to find coupons in the future.

So, I will surprise my father this weekend and pay for our round of golf.  I bet he will be proud that his boy is finally a man.

I love the fact that you can find just about anything online, but the one thing that I hate is when I get frustrated because I can’t find what I am looking for.  Though this doesn’t happen very often, it happens nonetheless, and I get a little rattled because of it.

This is exactly what happened to me when I woke up this morning.  You see, I was looking for a roofing company that could fix the leak in my roof that I just noticed because it rained.  Now, you would think that it would be an easy thing to find, but I had problems.

My search turned up many roofing Rhode Island companies, but they covered everything from commercial roofing Rhode Island, to flat roofing Rhode Island.  In fact, no matter what I did, I couldn’t find one to fix my residential roof, so I turned to the phone book.

In the end, I was able to find a company to come out and they should be out here in an hour or two.

When my iPod wore out, I was more than a little bit upset. I went to try and replace it and the store I went to was out of stock. They suggested that I buy a Zune with a Zune dock cable if I did not want to wait. I decided that I could not live without it, so I would give it a shot.

I was very impressed. It was as good, if not better than my iPod and my friends all wanted to get one as well. We went back to the store so they could get some and I bought a Zune travel charger, so that I would be able to charge it anywhere, as I did not spend a whole lot of time at home.

My friend, Cherie, bought a Zune car charger and I have used it several times as well. I don’t think, at this point, that I will ever go back to the iPod. I am more than happy with the Zune and I think it was a great decision to buy it.

Sometimes I feel very much like a big geek.  It isn’t the glasses that make me look the part but it is more due to the fact that I work at a software development company.  Though that may not seem to geeky, the truth of the matter comes to light when you ask me what I do.

I design voice encryption software for cell phones.

There I said it.  That usually stops most people from asking any more questions.

But some people continue to ask and I then find myself talking about how to code gsm security software and mention some of the gsm encryption algorithms we use to streamline our software.  Once in awhile, you end up having someone to talk to, but usually once you mention this, the room goes quiet.

So, I try to explain my job as simple as possible - I am a programmer.  I don’t want to have the label of geek assigned to me anymore.

Most of my days at work are rather slow.  I work at a home improvement store, and I spend my time selling toilets and showers in the plumbing department.  I have been doing this for a few years now, and it may not be the most exciting job on the planet, but it is the slow pace that makes the job worthwhile.

But, starting today, our company is selling shower cubicles and electric showers for a deep discount.  Okay, it is the first sale that we have had in my department since I started here, and I never realized that people would go so crazy for a sale.

Though it has been a great day for commissions, I have a feeling that my feet will really hurt when I get home.  Hopefully, this isn’t an indication of how the rest of the week is going to go - I don’t know if I can handle the pace for that long.

I am not the most conventional person you could ever hope to meet. My husband found this out shortly after we started dating, when he sent me a dozen red roses. They were beautiful and I loved the thought, but I knew I had to tell him that I would much rather receive a potted plant.

I do not really like flowers, as they always die. I prefer something that I can keep alive and have the reminder of his love for me every day, not just for a week. He was not offended and has given me many beautiful plants since then.

I have many little quirks like this one, but I think that they all have good reasons behind them. For instance, rather than getting a gift certificate for me to go to the spa, he took a massage class. He knew I would appreciate this more as the gift was truly lasting. I am so glad that I have found someone that understands me and loves me for the way that I am.

I like the word “blogosphere.” It reminds me of the term logosphere, which is the world of words. In a sense, that’s what the blogosphere is, a world of words, but with a difference. These words appear exclusively on blogs throughout the world.

What I like best about the term blogosphere is that it implies an inter-connectivity, much like brain cells are connected by synapses. Begin with a neuron in an obscure part of the brain and you’ll eventually reach pathways to all parts of the brain. Whether your blog is a means of personal expression or if you are blogging for profit, the inter-connectivity is what separates them from traditional websites.

You might use a website for, say, MLM lead generation. But if you want real MLM success, you need a way for your downline to interact with you and with each other. In my opinion, a blog is the best venue for that. Combine it with a forum and you’ve got a winning combination.

Since I’m considering setting up what is considered to be a high risk business on line, I’m researching my options for payment processors. Many US merchant account providers for credit card processing won’t work with high risk businesses such as entertainment and some travel businesses.

So, this leads me to look at offshore merchant accounts which often will work with high risk businesses without any hassles. However, the problem I’m finding is being able to determine which provider is legitimate. I’ve read about account providers who hold your money, don’t pay out or close business without sending the funds that are due.

Many of the high risk off shore merchant accounts are probably very reliable and professional, but I’d rather  not lose any money to a crooked account processor if I don’t have to. It is one thing to lose money to customers who aren’t honest, but not to be able to trust your business partners is a really worrisome thing.

As I am just about to leave home for work, I thought that I should talk about the big walk that the head honchos of our company are doing today.  They come about four times per year, and today will be one of those times (provided that they show up).

I find it so funny that our management at the store gets into a panic whenever one of these days come.  You see, we have been cleaning everything from top to bottom, so that the store is in pristine condition.  Forget that normally you might find some dust on the shelf - no, we need to show complete perfection.

Even worse, we need to know the sales figures for the best selling products in our department.  So I have made sure to know what the best selling GPS is that we sell as well as how many we have sold this period.

So, as I head off to work, I know today will be an off day - thankfully, we don’t have to be perfect every day of the year.

I’m a dreamer by nature. My book collection is heavily on the fantasy side, although I also love science fiction as well as mysteries. I suppose I must also confess to being a children’s literature buff — especially young adult fiction.

It probably won’t come as much of a surprise that I appreciate a good love story. See, I told you I’m not only a dreamer, I’m also into fantasy. Sorry. My disillusionment with the possibility of falling in love again goes through cycles. Right now it’s in the “It will never happen in a million years” phase.

So anyway, back to being a dreamer. One of my dreams is to go to New York to see a Broadway show. Barring that, I’d like to be able to afford a Broadway touring company production locally. I’ve been hoping to use my new-found knowledge of presale passwords to get discounted tickets before they go on sale to the general public. Right now my hopes are pinned on seeing “Wicked.”  Please, don’t tell me it’s “so last year.” I don’t care. I’m a dreamer.