I’m not as big of a fan of cliches as is a certain blogger who shall remain nameless, but idioms that survive through the ages do so because there is always a bit of wisdom in them. Not that I would ever be accused of listening to the sage advice of others. At least not until it’s too late. If it ain’t broken don’t fix it is an oldie but a goodie that I routinely ignore. And, ooops, I just did it again.

Sometimes that’s a good thing. I recently discovered I can ready a post for publishing and then schedule the date and time it appears on my blog. Sweet. So for the last few weekends I’ve been publishing posts even though my computer and I were thousands of miles apart. Nice that I’ve been able to continue to post daily while not having to haul my laptop along with me on trips that really don’t provide time for blogging anyway. I could have just as easily skipped posting for a few days, but when I started this blog I made a commitment to post daily, and as a daily visitor to other blogs and websites I hate when I click over expecting something new to enjoy only to find someone took the day off.

So, I’ve been spending weekends in Hawaii, getting a retail operation ready to launch. It’s been nice that I’ve been able to reunite with old friends too while in the islands, especially old fuck buddies who, while having gotten older, are still little hotties. Which has made the ability to schedule posts an even nicer bonus ‘cuz if it came down to posting to my blog vs. an orgasm, ya’ll would still be reading posts I published weeks ago. Not that any of that has anything to do with fixing things that aren’t broken. Though there is this one guy who like to ‘play’ doctor . . . but I digress.

A little more than a year ago I revamped my business, turning over large chunks of it to what are now ex-employees. It was a wise move. Moving people from employee status to being the owner of their own small business is a great motivator. Business has increased, even in these bad economic times. And problems and headaches have all but disappeared (for me, though I can’t say the same for them). After ironing out a few small problems at start-up, the entire operation has been running smoothly and I’m now at an income level that is close to what it was back when I used to gobbled up the lion’s share of profits. With about 10% of the effort. So, of course, I decided to fix what wasn’t broken.

I just redesigned an entire line, the one responsible for 60% of sales. You can imagine how thrilled everyone has been. Our wholesale accounts, after initially being a bit concerned, are thrilled. Sales are up and the redesign lowered their costs. The independent contractors who used to be employees who actually make the products are not as happy. But that’s a different aphorism; the one about teaching old dogs new tricks. But the change allowed my artistic side free reign and fed that part of my soul. ‘Artistic’ is one of the few gay genes I got saddled with. That and a love of cock.

Redesigning an entire line of a successful product is a ballsy move. Just ask Cocoa Cola. The creative part was fun. Tweaking designs and colors from customer feedback is a necessary evil but also creatively satisfying. Ignoring complaints just comes naturally to me, so that hasn’t been a problem. Working with new suppliers is a headache, working with old suppliers so they can adjust their inventory needs to meet mine is an uphill battle. Calming the stressed out minds of my ex-employees who just had a major change forced down their collective throat is time consuming. Doing all of that while in the middle of trying to manage and support a new retail operation that is five hours away by air . . . ya know? I’m really getting too old for this shit. But then I just agreed to do the same in Alaska. I believe that one is covered under the ‘biting off more than you can chew’ adage.

The reason I’m bothering you with all of this is as an apology. First, before I forget to do so, to those who have taken the time to comment on a post and then have had to wait a day or so to see it published or responded to . . . sorry! But please continue to share your thoughts. Some touch me deeply, others make me laugh, I’m constantly amazed at the breadth of knowledge about Thailand and SE Asia ya’ll have. And am always grateful for feedback. But more importantly ( to many of you) there’s no Noom post today. I know. I’ll miss him too. Apologies. I’d considered just re-posting an old tale, but a) ya’ll would have busted me for that, and, b) ya’ll are smart enough to find one of those on your own if you really need to feed your Noom jones (they are all listed under “Story Lines: Chronological Index ” for those of you who are still smart but currently suffering from a bout of chronic substance abuse. Which I believe is covered under the ever popular ‘don’t bogart that joint’ idiom.)

Noom will be back next week, or later this week. For those of you who click over just for the pictures anyway, I got your back. Posts for the next few weeks may be a bit skimpy (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing) while I finish getting business running smoothly with minimal involvement on my part again. Fortunately I’ve a handful of posts ready to go and lots of Bonus Shot posts that require little to make them ready to publish.

Thanks in advance for bearing with me, and for making Dancing With The Devil In The City of Angels part of your on-line world.

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