January 25, 2003

           Meet Julie K, the only woman I’d met in five years who could keep me in check. She was an utterly fascinating woman, but at a time when I could not possibly have struck up a new relationship. I think this picture was at one of my accounting clients café. We used to amaze people by how we naturally knew out way around each other, especially in the kitchen. She had daughters nearly the age of my last girlfriend so you know she was one incredible lady to keep me interested. We met in a nightclub, but barely as I thought she was after my buddy, Don. Place this picture in 1996.
           I thought she was husband-hunting. What else was I supposed to think about a 42 year old lady out by herself? In the end, we became super friends and then she tells me she was just out for a good time. I misread that one totally, folks. At the same time, when I met her in 1992, I had never dated a woman over 24 and she misread me also, assuming I was a common masher out to poink her, when in fact, I was looking for something long-term when she wasn’t.

           There is a little diner on 125th [Jimmy’s Place, about NE 6th Avenue] to spend the mornings, I guess that replaces IHOP for now. Still no luck finding a place, I’d stay where I am if it wasn’t so damn expensive [Parkside Inn, 116th and Biscayne, $500 for a room, private bath, no kitchen]. It didn’t take long to find the local thrift stores which I raided this AM for thirty dollars in books. So I’m finally reading “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” (Jules Verne).
           Time to take stock of what’s changed since Saturday two weeks ago. For one, that tiny move from 45th to 116th doubles my commute time to 40 minutes, which I dislike. Pallet’s “girlfriend” was kicked out of her unit, so she is likely at his place, explaining why I haven’t seen him.

           [Authors note: Pallet was the nickname of JZ from his habit of stopping whenever he saw a pallet and throwing it into his pickup truck for the $5 refund.]

           The company wants me on a course. It’s a one or two day affair with an outfit called New Horizons. It seems somehow a rip-off at $1,000 a pop, roughly an entire semester’s tuition, and I question what can be learned about computers in 8 hours.
           On my own, after days and weeks of research, and having failed to locate any textbook that spells it out, [I] have concluded that [Microsoft] Access uses two programming languages. One for queries (SQL) and another to automate (Virtual or Visual Basic). None of the texts explain where or how the code is embedded or compiled, or even where it is placed. Nor are there any realistic examples to build on. This is a failure of every Microsoft book I’ve ever seen. In the actual MS primer, normalization is covered in 9 sentences, indexing [is covered] not at all.