It started with some solid work, always good, followed by lunch with Susan (toasted cheddar and tomato sandwiches, yum). It was a working lunch; I managed somehow to sneakily convince her to take over dealing with SH finances. Starting shortly, she'll be not only keeping track of the finances for me, but also handling contracts and sending out checks. Very exciting. She's good at it too; she whipped out two spreadsheets in the blink of an eye -- one of money in and out, one broken down by month and department. Doesn't she look cute with her spreadsheets? It's a huge weight off my mind, 'cause I find anything to do with money anxiety-producing. It's silly, too, 'cause there's plenty of money in the SH account (unlike my own personal accounts), and so there's never any actual trouble covering the checks. The numbers line up so beautifully, with never a red one in the batch. But I'm in the habit of being anxious about money, and so. It'll be much better this way. Most of our time was spent actually going over contracts, so I could make sure that Susan understood each clause, including which ones were negotiable and which ones weren't. That went faster than I expected; it helps that she's such a smart cookie, and also that our contracts are very clear and also writer-friendly. There's hardly anything that a writer might even consider wanting to negotiate. Which pleases me, and makes everyone's job easier.
Susan stayed until 2, at which point Zak and Sharon arrived, ready to tromp off to Muir Woods. We took a few minutes for a last e-mail check, which was good, because we were in for a delightful surprise...