One important reason why I may not make it to Dublin, without someone just sending me $2,000, is that having one big company, that used to sell $1,200/month net to me, of my DVDs, having structural problems, and drop down to $600/month net to me because they cut back on employee time and marketing, then not be able to pay me for 4 months, until Friday, meant that my schedule for upgrading my iPhone, iPad and MacMini got at least 2 months behind schedule.

So with wanting to fly out May 1, here it is May 5 and May 8 and May 11 that I am receiving and setting up each new machine, in kind of a crash course! Two of the three I ordered on-line, to get better deals, like the Educator discount with my ESL Certification, while the iPhone I got in the local Apple Store and had it working in store, a half-hour tops.

Because of a bit of a Billing snafu, Apple gave me $260 in discounts and coupons and delivery upgrades on my new $1,300 Mini! $260 and 5 days shipping upgrade really makes a difference, when I need $2K or more in order to spend a month in Dublin.

I got the iPad yesterday via UPS, right before leaving for NAB/CPUG event (see separate thread). Last Friday, I went to the Apple Store and got the new iPhone - and stayed for a Workshop on iCloud - which really doesn't have much for me as a filmmaker. Both machines almost set themselves up without me! The new way the App Store works, in remembering your App purchases, even the free ones, virtually enables you to just turn the new machine on, and go do something else for an hour.

Today I listed all three on CraigsList. Sold the iPad 3, 16GB +Cellular unlocked. $200, in 15 minutes, spent an hour training the Windows user how to use his first ever Apple product, and the cash is in the Bank! We sat in his car, he enabled a hotspot with his Samsung, and it worked!

I've had 5 inquiries about the Mini - although the new one doesn't arrive until Friday from HK. No nibbles on the iPhone 4 unlocked. if I don't sell it here in the desert, I can try elsewhere.

The only way I could have started this planning any earlier, is if I had gotten paid on time. And, if the company was still at $1200/month in sales, rather than $600 or $400, I would have had the $2K cash in had, and not moaning about it.

It is tough being a one-man shop, on the road, at 63! In 6 months, I'll be singing that Beetles song with Bec!