Focus

It's amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it. I've had a really busy week - and decided to tackle it by working at home - partly because I wanted peace and quiet and needed to use the phone, and partly because I had a head cold last week and that annoying neuralgia thing where the pain slowly gravitates from one part of your scalp to another over the course of a week was really getting me down.

By some superhuman effort, I have managed to restructure my finances from 'sinking ship' to 'very, very thin ice'. Despite being turned down for a loan by my own rather shitty bank - I get a better deal elsewhere - with very little trouble. I've moved as much as possible around to make life easier for myself and more stable while I build the business back up and get everyone off my back. I sorted out NPower who were being absolute shits by sending a debt collector for a bill I hadn't actually had - I've given them my readings and will be changing supplier - and I'm going to try and reinforce my fragile credit score by taking on a credit card (which I won't be using). It appears I have to do some deep forensic work on my accounts - going through some old papers I found a statement from last year from the Water Company that said I have '- £400 credit'. panicking at the minus sign and assuming that this meant I owed them money - I called them up, only to be told I really was in credit - which made no sense as I am on a water meter and my bills are tiny. It turns out that in the week after my accident when I was on Tramadol, among other things - I repeatedly made random payments online over the space of a week. I have NO MEMORY of this whatsoever.  I can only wonder what else I've done.

Last night I worked behind the bar and on the door at a 'literary salon' run by the Journaist/Writer Paul Burston - it was very good. He has Arts Council funding for 5 more - it's the second season they have run down here and it's becoming very successful. Tonight I'm getting a free restaurant meal in return for doing some advertising artwork  - frankly - I'll work for food.

The small amount of sunshine and a more stable financial landscape has cheered me up a bit - but I still need to get a lot more work in - and get better at spotting the clients who don't pay or just waste obscene amounts of my time.