Things have not been going so well for me on the financial front. If I wanted to be hard on myself, I might suggest that putting one’s head in the sand isn’t the best way for one to get out of financial trouble. Online bill paying is causing all sorts of crazy bank charges, and, well, I don’t want to get into it. Let’s just say that various collection agencies have taken an interest in my goings-on, and we’ll leave it at that.

Yes, I drink Maalox straight from the bottle.

There is no way I’m going to ask my sister for money. And I’ve re-learned my lesson about having any contact with my shithead brother. You know how you can picture exactly what a person is going to say about something and what he’s going to look like while saying it? Well, I know exactly what my brother would look like when he says, “compounded daily.” No. Thank. You.

I called Richard the other day to see if he wouldn’t mind lending me some money. He seemed strangely distant even before I asked him about the loan. He acted as if we were old friends from high school who hadn’t spoken to each other in ten years. Yeah, Harlan, sure. How are . . . things?

So far, B. is the only person who’s willing to help me in a time of need. She loaned me enough money last week to get me out of trouble with the bank. Since $500 wasn’t enough to help me for more than a week or two, I played online poker. I doubled my money a couple of times and then lost big in a bad beat. Fortunately, I didn’t lose it all like the time I cashed out of my 401(k). This time, I ended up breaking even, or maybe losing a few dollars. Still, that money is almost all gone now.

I’m tempted to ask B. to borrow some more money, but I don’t want to strain our relationship. Besides, I’ve got a couple other irons in the fire, including the Mac. I’ll ask B. for money again only if I’m desperate.