More Than Fashionably Late & Happy Surprises

'Twas another beautiful rainy day in the Ozarks. Loveliest of days to be driving around for an hour ad a half lost, looking for one's free Small Business Association counseling session with a kindly volunteer. This is exactly what I ended up doing for most of the afternoon. *laugh* My appointment was set for 2pm. I left the house at 1:30. I wanted to make sure I wouldn't be late. *smirk* This may have been my first mistake of the day. See, I'd been there before, so I was pretty sure I knew where I was going. I turned down Campbell and headed south. Wrong way. I turned north on Glenstone. Missed a street. Drove south on National. I knew I was close, even though I was already 20 minutes late to the appointment. I was just going to swallow my pride when I got there and apologize for getting lost after I had assured him that I had been there before and did indeed know how to get there. *shamed blush*

I drove up & down National for a while, still lost. Then, beaten, I drove home. Walking in the door at 2:50pm, I growled as I opened the door; "Don't ask". I was in such a mood at that point, I would likely have either broken down or started screaming if anyone had said a word to me. *sigh* So I turned to my trusty internet. Internet can answer any question. *grin* I asked my question to Google, a long time friend; "Small Business Association Springfield, MO" I typed. It returned Kansas City & St. Louis. *grumble*

I gave up and called his home number. His wife answered and I explained to her what had happened and apologized profusely. Google had no record of Springfield's SBA office. I was going to have to reschedule. His wife was very kind and took the message for me saying "Don't worry, these things happen".

Lost trying to find any information on the internet, I go the old fashioned route. Clicking on the link to the KC office, I locate their phone number and dial. When the phone is answered, I inquire as to the address and phone number of the Springfield office, which the person on the other end helpfully supplies. *grin* Yet again, I have achieved my goal. I call the local office thinking that even if it is too late to have the meeting, at least I can drive across town again and apologize for being a doofus in person. *sad smile* He's still there, so I print out a map to a nearby business, hop back into the car and drive like crazy (safe & slow, but with determination. It was raining after all). The map wasn't accurate, so I had to drive up & down Primrose three times too, but I finally found it!

Pull into the parking space, hop out of the car, don't forget the paperwork, and stride quickly into the building. He's still there. I apologize profusely for being so late and tell him that I didn't think we'd have time, but I wanted to say sorry in person. He leads me back into an office and we sit. He tells me we have time for a few preliminaries to get me started, and I ask if I can tape the meeting 'cause I have a horrid memory, and he agrees. I get out the trusty camera that does everything and set it to record. Out with the pen & paper, and we're ready to go. In 35 minutes, he irons out for me what a business plan is, and sets me up to make one with handy tips & advice. I get several pamphlets and worksheets to help me make a P&L sheet and we leave with me promising to call him as soon as I get it straightened out and down on paper as best I can so we can move on to the next step at our next meeting. He's really easy to talk to, and friendly, so working with him is a breeze, even though I have no clue what he's talking about most of the time. *laugh* I may be a successful business woman, but I've never bothered with all this paperwork stuff before. *smirk* Always learning something new. *grin*



On my way home in the rain, I see one of our public busses (the huge ones) in front of me at a stop light. I peer closely to see if it is also run by biodiesel, and IT IS!!! *grin*



ALL of our public transportation is running on biofuel! *cheer* It goes to show that positive little things happen when you aren't looking too. *grin*

But it makes me wonder... Does this mean that there is a biodiesel station here in town? It would have to, right, if even just at the bus station? *ponder* Is it open to the public? Do I have the opportunity to not only recycle my old cooking oil for a good cause, but also have a minimally polluting vehicle?! Oh the joy if I could! *grin* Even moreso, what if the whole city could!? *squee*