Did I mention that I got the Legos? I don't think I did. I was too busy Legoinng. All I have left to do is the big RV. Holy crap. I must have worked on it for 8 hours today. Not even half-way done. I got the base built and some of the dining area and oven area but that's it.

I also posted a package to my niece for Christmas. Had to first make a trip to the post office to get tape and that brown wrapping paper. The post office is only half a mile from my house but you have to go up a steep incline. I seriously didn't think I was going to make it. I had to stop to rest. Then the next day, my ankles were a bit sore.

I walk two or three times that far every day for work and it's no problem. It's just the gradient, I guess. And it was fine walking back because it waw downhill.

So today I had to go back but this time with a heavy package. I put it my bag for work. Has a shoulder strap.

Actually wasn't a problem this time. Maybe because it was so much warmer today. It was so warm that I almost didn't need a jacket. It's crazy. Two days ago, it was quite cold, today it's summer-like.

Oh, and the package guy said it was too heavy to use the cheaper postal service and I should split it into two packages or else it's going to be really expensive. So I said, "Well, how much is it?" He said £54. So I said, "How much would it be if I split it?" He said, £37. So I said, "That's not a huge difference. I'll just post it as is." He said, "It's a £17 difference." I said, Yeah, that's okay."

It's an interesting cultural observation. The Scottish people are tight with money. I mean, what the fuck? I'm going to go home, unpack my package that took me 30 minutes to wrap, find two small boxes to put the stuff in, wrap both of those, and then make the trek back to the post office for a £17 savings? There's no way. It's £17. Just take it.

I also had an encounter with a ticket salesman at the train station while I was with my ladyfriend who said, "The all day, any time ticket is expensive". So I said, "How much is it?" He said £3. I said, "That's okay. I'll take it."

Three pounds to go anywhere in Glasgow all day and he thinks that I'm a fool for throwing my money away. How much is London? £17.20 for zones 1 through 6.

Anyway, I just got my niece some sweets and put $70 in there and a crispy new £5 Scottish note so she can see the different currency. It's not worth £53 in postage to send £20 worth of those orange chocolates and tinned haggis but whatever. I spend money freely.

Speaking of which, got my first job with a solicitor lined up. And I think the prices may have gone up. The prices that can be charged are governed by statute. I asked a colleage for help. She gave me her email address and phone number last time I saw her and said to contact her if I needed help. But...I emailed a month ago and she didn't reply. And I texted today, thinking that she didn't get the email, and she didn't reply. So I'm being shunned for some reason. Fuck her. What do I care?

So I emailed the Scottish courts to try to find out. Somebody will know. The solicitor probably knows. I just don't want to rely on him because he might not give the accurate answer. And it's not professional to have to ask the client how much you should charge them.

But yeah, he saw my resume in the court so it's paying off. I'm going to have to put my resume in all the courts.

It's something like £45/hour, though. And £22/hour for travel. And transcripts are £6.50/page or something. It's mental. I was doing transcripts for £2/page. So I do all the work and these companies just take 66% of the money for doing almost nothing. They got the job, I guess. And they sent the invoice. They dealt with the client, whatever little work that required. And that's it. For that, they take a 66% cut while I slave away writing these boring as shit transcripts. Oh, they also proofread, presumably, so that's something. Not £4.50/page but more like 20p a page.

I mean...I got £1700 for transcripts this month. Had I done these jobs directly for the clients, I would have got £4700. That's just for transcripts. Add the money I get for actually going to court and you're looking at £8,000 for that month. I only went to court seven or eight days.


I should be making £100,000/year. How on earth did that company go bankrupt? He was skimming £66,000/year off of everybody and he just had a shitty little office. Where was the money going?

I've noticed that the owners of these companies take A LOT of holidays. I suppose that's part of the answer.

To hell with these parasites. Get out there and do your own work. I mean really. £100,000/year is enough for me. I don't need to con somebody else into working for a pittance so that I can buy some more ivory backscratchers.

£100,000...I mean...what am I going to do with this?

And I just remembered that guy offering me £100/day to go to London to do a job. Fuck you. The most lucrative type of work and he wants me to do it for £100. Court work actually pays THE LEAST. This job in London that he wanted me to do is top drawer stuff. He wanted me to do it for the same price he pays me for walking 10 minutes to the local court. Total scumbag. He was probably getting £1000 for that London job.

So where was I? Oh, yeah. Thinking what I'm going to do now that I'm in the top 4% of earners in the UK. I don't know. I guess the first thing is finally dump HSBC and their 0% interest rate account. I've been with them since I came to the UK. They were the only bank that offered me an account with a job. I think I've repaid the favour by now, though. And they recently sent me a letter about how they're cutting their interest rates. How? It's already at 0%? I guess now I'm going to have to start paying them.

Looking at £8,000 month, though...you know...£600 goes to rent and bills and then what? £7,500/month going to the bank? That's going to add up fast. And you can only keep £50,000 in an account for it to be insured.

So I don't know. Have to start investing it, I guess. Just put it in low-risk mutual funds, I guess. Have to talk to a stock broker or somebody. I don't know who deals with this stuff. This is probably why people who win the lottery end up broke in two years.

Can buy a car but that's not going to be more than £20,000. And I don't drive. And there's no need to drive.

Don't want to buy a house because I don't plan on being here forever. Although, I'll certainly stay as long as I'm making £100,000/year. I don't think the job will last much longer, though. A few years maybe.

I guess if my ladyfriend moves in and we have a child there's that. That's not going to be £7,500/month, though.

Even if we look at sending a child to Eton. How much is that? £25,000/year. It's totally doable. I know there's extra fees and shit but it can be done without much difficulty.

I don't know. Whatever. Can start going on holidays, I guess.