Impossible Task List for Monday! :-)

Before I start on today's event's and the impossible task list I have been set, I'll just quickly stick two links I find of interest here. First, from the Japanese Times, and interesting article concerning the US and the wars against Afghanistan and Iraq. Then, (as a bit of a security freak), her eis an interestign article I nabbed from SlashDot concerning the Six dumbest Ideas in Security. Haven't we all had idiot managers in our lives who believed in 'security thrugh obscurity' ... and you try to tell them it doesn't work, but they think they know better because they're managers! (Managers are dumb ... says ME, the next CEO of his own company ... maybe!) Yesterday I broke my allergy diet! My mtoher wanted take away chips for dinner, so my brother Jeff and I went and bought soem fish and chips for my mother. I also bought a bottle of coke for them (as my brother had conveniently ran out of money). When I got home, I thought, gees, I paid for half the fish and chips and coke ... I think I should eat/drink some of them. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Except, because my body REALLY isn't used to caffine, I just couldnt' sleep! (That's why I am known as a 'stayer' at the pub or parties ... always partying ... well, my secret is out. I ain't partying, I just can't friggin' sleep!) I was also breaking out in cold sweats! Wonder why that was? Maybe I'm in love ... with coke! :-) Well, at five in the morning, I was still wide awake. Only I needed to get up at seven! Arrrrgghh! What to do? I heard my brother get up and shower to go to work. I needed sleeeeeeeep! So I did a drastic thing. I took my mouth splint out (which stops my sleep apnea) and decided the only course of action was to allow my sleep apnea to stop me breathing a little. I was asleep in a few minutes. So I got almost two hours sleep. Then, I had to get up and get ready. I went for a long walk to a faraway bus stop. I couldn't get on my normal bus, as it wouldn't arrive at the right time. (Either too early or too late). I didn't want to wait around. So I did a twenty minute walked all the way another bus route. I got into the city on time, and then had to make it all the way to North Perth. I couldn't find the Blue Cat (Free City Bus) stand at the bus terminal. I looked at the map and saw that it had a few stops just outside and down the road a little. So I went for a little walk to find one of the blue cat bus stops. Only, I miss read the map, and was on he wrong road. Eventually, I got to a road I knew the blue cat takes, and found a bus stop for it. I then checked the map! Argh! Bodoh Dabido! That's why I hadn't seen any bus stops on that road ... it was the one parallel to the actual route! I had a four minute wait for the bus. It came, I hopped on caught it to the stop outside the arts centre, and then did the fifteen minute walk to where I needed to go. I got their five minutes early. I was ushered in to discuss my plans for my own business. Mind you, I dont' get any funding or anything for starting this. I just get some mentorship etc. I also am required to do a Certificate IV in Business Management. Easy to pass ... but I was given an impossible task to perform. Today is Monday (You knew that), and I was given to Wednesday Morning to get three business's to give me a 'Letter of Intent' to say they woul dbe using my services! Um ... that gives me tomorrow to get those letters! no tmuch time. The reason the time factor is so short, is the course starts next Monday. So I have to get my enrollment in ASAP. There were some other things I need to do. I have to get Business Insurance, and Local Government Approval too! I left the meeting wondering if I coud do it. A little voice in my head said I could! Hey, I've worked in Network Engineering! Impossible! That's Standard Operating Procedure! Plus, I've worked in System Administration with managers who wouldn't know how to manage a piss up in a brewery! The Impossible?! Huh! That was an everyday responsibility under them! So, today and tomorrows impossible tasks:

• Three business 'Letter's of Intent' to prove someone wants what my business will do.
• Get Business Insurance worked out. (Public Liability, Professional Indemnity and Comprehensive Cover!)
• Get Local Government Approval to operate the business.
• Create a Business Action Plan.
• Do a Risk Analysis of my competitors.
• Prove I can provide something the competition is not providing.
• Provide a 12 month provisional expenditure report. (Of operating costs and personal expenses). Have to prove I won't go bancrupt.
• Perform Market Research of the idea (to prove there ae even more customers out there).
• Sign an Indemnity Statement to release the consultancy company of any liablity if it all goes belly up.
• Fax all the paper work (plus some other things, like qualifications etc) through to the consultancy.

If I fail to do ONE of those things, then I don't get to start the business! Hmmm, time is ticking away. I then had a twenty minute walk back to the state library (I didn't catch a free cat anywhere this time). Main reason I wanted to drop into the library, was to check on the sort of books there have there. Especially the computer books. I can't borrow directly from the state library, I ahve to return to my local library and place an order for a book to be sent there. Then when my local library gets it, I can go and pick it up and borrow it! I also had a good look at the Philosophy and Psychology books they had on offer, as well as the MUSIC! WOW! So many classical guitar books! I was in heaven! I also had a look around the other stuff (like the other sorts of guitar books and the scores and the oboe/clarinet/recorder/piano music ... yeah, I can play them!) Funny, I didn't look at the cello music ... my hea must have been spinning too much from all the works of art sitting there! I must order a LOT of those books! So many I've never seen before! (Okay, it is a long time since I played anything new on the old classical guitar!) I must get back into it one day. Then I can release that Classical guitar album I always wanted to release. The library had an exhibition of Russian stuff on display (just outside the enclosed library area, but still inside in an area specific for displays and stuff). Interesting stuff. (nah, it wasn't, I just said that so the KGB wouldn't kick me in da nuts!) :-) Okay, it did have a copy of Mark Chagall's "Me and my Village", painted in 1911. A picture I admit I like. (I admt, I didnt' know it was painted in 1911 till I looked it up!) :-) It also had a handwritten copy (not original) of Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" complete with him complaining of a tooth ache on it (in Russian. I read the translation. I don't speak Russian ... not yet!) :-) I walked past the stateart gallery and contemplated going in. They also had an exhibition on Russian Art from 1900. It didn't interest me! (Though it might have contained the original "Me and My Villiage") I then walked the rest of the way into the city. I was looking for a specific baroque album (that's in the classical department, but is of a style which pre-dates classical). I went to the 'Classical Music' shop in the Wesley arcade! I'd previously looked for this album all over the place, and I figured the classical music shop was probably the only place in Perth which would have it. (I still can't find a copy of Bach 2000 anywhere). I was lucky! They had ONE (yes, that number again 'ONE!') copy! On the internet it was $7.99 (with $2 postage). Here it was $10. One cent more, but right there! In my grubby little hands! (Note, my hands weren't actually grubby! I am vey clean!) :-) So, I bought it, and I've been listening to it since I got home! Well, after that find, I went to the bus terminal, and I'd missed my bus by five minutes! DARN! Why do I alays do that!!!!? I then had almost anhour to wait for the next one. So i decided to have lunch. Off I went, and found a nice Italian place in a food hall. I had a vegetarian cannollini with a side salad. The guy behind the counter was very good at serving. (Like, so helpful I was wondering what I'd done to deserve such fine treatment). Maybe he mistook me for beingItalian! (It's happened before ... and mistaken for being Greek ... and every other caucasian genus on earth). I must be such a mix! Everyone can see their own nationality in me! Anyway, I was eating and heard him talking to some girl from Melbourne. He was also from Melbourne. I have no idea why I remember that! Or why it even matters! I wasn't even trying to eaves drop! Anyway, the police were targeting Jay Walkers today. I saw a few people cross at the lights against the red, and they were getting on the spot fines! $150. I was glad I wasn't in a hurry or anything. Actually, I seldom cross at the lights against the signal. I wonder if the police were bored, or if they were targeting it for a reason. Trying to make us more like Singapore maybe? Or just raising revenue? (most likely) Caught the bus home. Explained to my mother my impossible task. Sent off two quick e-mails. One to the PCYC, where they want me to do computer training (part fo my business plan). I was basically asking them for a 'Letter of Intent' to say they want to use my servies. The other was to my old boss, who now has his own Network/IT company. I wanted to find out what he charged etc and get anyideas off him that might be of help. Tonight, I plan to ... well, plan! Get a good idea where I want to target, find out insurance costs etc, get that business plan writen etc. Easily done (I hope). Who knew it was going tobe such a rush? And me with no sleep! Arrrggghh!