Invoicing ‘n stuff

I’ve been having fun finding the time to even produce invoices and no invoices, no income. This is a problem. So, to resolve the weeny problem, I invested in some software, which should automate the invoice producing process quite well and speed up the production of invoices. Well, that’s how the theory goes, doesn’t it? And we all know that theory and real life are not always closely related.

I’ve finally managed to get this wonderful application to print off invoices the way I want them. This was no mean feat and included installing a really neat pdf writer program and a ghostscript printer driver. These two handy snippets of code mean than I can preview print jobs by sending draft invoice layouts to a pdf file. No more wasted paper. Cool. Before solving the layout problem, another little problem was getting a clients reference number to show up somewhere on this magical invoice. I finally found a spare data field which allows me to do this. Big sigh of relief.

The software seems to be a little over the top in some ways seeing as it contains price lists and other business related gubbins which do not really interest me too much. I did look for and at other applications, but discounted them on the grounds of too simple, too expensive and miles too complicated. I even mulled over building an application by fiddling with MySQL and OpenOffice, but decided that I really did not have the time to do the job properly, even though it would have been a fun thing to do. Well, it would have been for me, but then I quite like putting PC’s together, was quite handy at the old home mechanics thing when I had the space and took quite a lot of pleasure from ‘tuning’ the various airguns I had back in the UK. Messing is in my nature. I just have to have something to mess with, otherwise I become the world’s biggest couch potato. Not that this is an option now, becoming a couch potato, that is, seeing as the sproglet dislikes people trying to relax when he is not sleeping.

Talking of sprog, his first regularly used English word has made an appearance finally. After idly repeating the word ’snow’, but forgetting the word after that, he now has added the word ‘here’ to his vocabulary. Strange choice of word when you think about it. I mean ‘here’ of all words. Well, it seems odd to me.

Enough, must head for bed.

A gap and Italian ‘fun’

Busy week. Not had enough time to get everything done. No different from usual really.

Tried to get hold of the copies of some x-rays my son had last year. I phoned the hospital to ask if the copies were ready, only to be told by a very helpful woman that I needed to go there personally to ask the same question. I protested, ‘But you (The hospital – not this particular dunderhead) gave me this number and said to call before I came.’ ‘Well, you have to come anyway, we’re too busy.’ So she wanted me to waste my time, turn up at the hospital, open my mouth and ask the same thing, so she, in turn would have to go and look for the copies, come back and tell me that they are not ready, again. Could she not have just looked in the first place while I was on the phone? I mean, it would have been the same thing. Obviously not.

Now, I shall wander over to the hospital and ask the same question. I’m just waiting to be told that I should have phoned first.

The above is an example of Italy at it’s worst. It is not always like this and I’ve been pleasantly surprised on a few occasions by real efficiency, when I was expecting a real disaster. You never know here, and that’s part of the ‘fun’.

Busy day

Not enough time for a proper entry today. Too hectic. Had loads off stuff to prepare for courses and the accountant called to get me to get all 2004’s stuff together so that the tax year can be closed. Tax bill coming soon, I suspect. Boo hoo!

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