I just heard from the first 'Nut who has actually started managing his own campaign. He logged into his account this morning and was faced with the new UI. Freakout! He wrote demanding to know what I'd done to it, why I'd changed everything, and what he was supposed to do now.

He's on everyone's List anyhow--the national Conference is taking place and he's not attending.

And he's dishonest. He's been complaining that he hasn't worked in "weeks" when I can see from the stats on his campaign that he's getting at least half a dozen leads a week and everyone knows he has a couple of accounts he does work for regularly. It's a lie he tells so he doesn't have to pay his royalties. This particular 'Nut owes us, IIRC, several hundred thousand dollars.

Several of the 'Nuts cry poverty every other day. Most of them are telling lies to avoid paying their royalties. Jason was hoping that the news that he'd laid off 75% of the office staff because of cash flow problems would shame these bad 'Nuts into paying up. I can't decide if he's naïve or stupid.

Today I am not at the Conference. Hee. Last night I showed up at 4:15 and stayed for three hours. Lacking any desire to bond with any of the 'Nuts, I volunteered to help out at the registration table, thus freeing a couple of other employees who did want to chat with attendees.*

Tomorrow's fun starts at 7:00 a.m., with breakfast. Shudder. I don't think I have to be there for breakfast, though. I'm pretty sure NewBoss Anais said something about 8:00 or 9:00.

Originally I had a Fabulous Ensemble picked out, but it occurs to me that a 14-hour day is going to require something special in the way of comfortable shoes, so I'm rethinking. (None of my F. E. are compatible with the one pair of shoes I own that can be worn for that many hours.)

I was overdressed yesterday anyhow. I had on my Fabulous Interview Ensemble. Everyone else was wearing khakis or black pants and a 'Nut logo polo or button-down shirt. I need to dress down a bit for tomorrow.

Gidget! Gidget had a meeting in the neighborhood and stopped by. She only had a minute, but I passed along what little Conference gossip I managed to collect last night.

She gave me money. :-( I didn't want her to pay me for the work I do for her until the business is up and running, but she said she couldn't square it with her conscience to keep asking me to do things for free. I did point out that I've done 75% of what I've done for her on Argonut Café time, so technically I'm already being paid, but she insisted. In the end, I gave way graciously. I'm going to save the money for a cash-stash for when I'm unemployed.

She's figured out which one is the madboy (there's one in every crowd) at one of her new clients' locations. When she was working with him a couple of days ago, he suggested that maybe he needed to hire "a professional" for his account. eye*roll* She's a nicer person than I am. She didn't hire anyone to go beat him up, for instance. She just told him that, in fact, she was a professional, which was why she'd been hired, and let it go at that.

I keep being glad when I remember it's Friday, then aggravated when I remember that half my weekend has to be wasted on the Assorted 'Nuts.

Which reminds me that I need to get my month-end stats done. NewBoss Anais wanted me to bring them tomorrow.

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* Fate being what it is, one of the very first 'Nuts I was faced with was--wait for it--MadBoy! He came rolling over (he's a pudgy little thing) with his hand outstretched and a big smile plastered on his face. "I'm the mean guy from (city)," he said happily.

You'd be so proud of me! Hovering there, on the tip of my tongue, were the words, "I'm the asshole you got fired for trying to help your business succeed."

I showed restraint. I said, "hello." I have him a brief, limp handshake. And I smiled. (Just a little one.)

To give him credit, he clearly saw that I was not in an all-is-forgiven-now-let's-get-drunk-and-party kind of mood. He left and did not return.