When I set out this morning to have coffee with a friend (instead of running the usual errands), I knew that my evening would be busy. What I didn't know was that I'd end up spending part of the afternoon with the Boss. He had some papers to deliver, and for the next week or two he's set up locally, so he wanted to meet me for lunch.

A free lunch is almost always worth whatever I have to endure for it. This one was different, though. The Boss wanted to talk about the Kennel, and how much work he could get out of me to help get it up and running. Our loan has been approved, and we take possession in a few months (unless things change again, which of course they will).

The Kennel is an entirely new venture for us, and I know absolutely nothing about how it should be run. I'm willing to learn, and I'm even willing to visit the place once in a while, but I'm not willing to spend a lot of time traveling halfway across the state of California to oversee the operation. We need to hire someone to do that. I'll look over someone's shoulder as much as necessary, but that's as far as I want to take this.

Even the prospect of a retirement nest egg ten years down the road isn't enough to make me want to change my entire lifestyle. I'm convinced now more than ever that the only reason they're cutting me in on the deal (without my investing any cash) is to drain as much work out of me as they possibly can. As soon as they feel they've used me up, or if I don't hold up my end (as they see it), they have the power to vote me out.

So I'm a little less enchanted with the whole prospect tonight than I was before. Maybe it's just that I'm so tired I can't see the rosy bright future as clearly as I should. Talking to the Boss today was just a shade more rewarding than talking to a wall. (In some ways. In other ways it was a shade worse.) He thinks he can make the laws of physics (not to mention economics) bend to his will by snapping his fingers. Anyone who doesn't see things his way is obviously wrong, even if they have math, science and God on their side.

I'm probably making too much out of this. Probably it will all work out and I'll be on top of the world once everything shakes out. But I don't trust them, if only for the simple reason that they don't seem to trust me.

On the other hand (and thank goodness there's another hand), we all gathered in the sanctuary tonight to watch D.J. and his classmates graduate from preschool into kindergarten. It was a very touching ceremony, and the children marched and sang their little hearts out. It was the perfect blend of chaos and order that you'd expect when that many five-year-olds are on display in front of friends and family. A beautiful thing to watch.