Path of the Vampire forum

I sit at the counter and stare down at the pad of paper before me, as I tap the pen against it. I have to make a list of what I need to do. Some of it I might get through today. Some of it I might not. I know I'm forgetting something but I'm not sure what it is.

To do list: ☼ Find and kick some paladin butt. ☼ Ring Tay, find out what he wants for dinner. ☼ Go food shopping. ☼ Scout a location for a gym. ☼ Talk to Tay about starting up a gym. ☼ Look into logos and branding and stuff. ☼ Look into instructors and the qualifications they need to teach classes. ☼ Look into how much it would cost to get Tay and I certified. ☼ Consider selling coffee here. ☼ Buy Tay a xmas present.

I ring Tay, tell him we need to talk and ask about dinner. I give him the rundown of what I'm thinking in my usual way. I'm off the phone in a matter of minutes. I wouldn't have told him what we were going to discuss but he needs to know that it's nothing to worry about. It'll give him time to consider the pros and cons of starting a gym. I don't want to ambush him with the subject. That won't help either of us. It's better if he has time to think things through without me around.

I glance down at my list as I scrub things through. Tayden and I are simple folk, we've got more money to pay with now than we've ever had in our lives before but that doesn't say much considering we spent so long on the streets. Still, it's a new year. New chances. 2016 is going to be our best year yet. I can feel it. And I'm not the optimistic sort.
Crossing items off the list is therapeutic. Makes my accomplishments tangible, no matter how small they are. There's something to be said for that. Make a plan. Do it. Move forward. I like New Year, it's the same in a way. I chance to draw a line under what's happened. You get to create a new starting point. I'm making this our starting. Our year.

New Year's list: ☼ Buy snacks. ☼ Set up Mortal Combat. ☼ Check controllers work. ☼ Dig out/buy a few action films to watch. ☼ Pre-order pizzas. ☼ Check we have/buy cider, Kahlúa and Vodka. ☼ Check we have/buy Alka-Seltzer. ☼ Put closed sign in shop window.

I place the list on the counter. I've done everything that needs doing but there's space to write more, so I'll likely tare the sheet in half and write a new list on it tomorrow. I could do that now but I like to keep my lists close until they're complete. And then I keep them a little longer as a reminder that I've done everything I need to do. It's comforting.

To-do list: ☼ Sign the lease ☼ Take delivery of the gym equipment ☼ Set an opening date ☼ Talk to Elizabeth ☼ Order the sign for T.R.s ☼ Get Tay and I certified as trainers!!! ☼ Buy the ingredients to make a strawberry cheesecake.

I cross through the line about ordering the sign. That's done at least. It took me a while to name the new business and in the end I went with our initials, not incredibly original I know, but I didn't just want to use my name. I did consider calling it Tee's Gym, as in T the initial Tay and I share but I just didn't like it. I didn't like the gym part either. Though that made sense. I have the perfect name for a different business, using our surname, but I'm not sure you're supposed to start a business around a name. I'll put a little more thought into that. It's not like I have the time to start up anything else right now, even with Tay's help.

I sit with my phone in my hands. I'm working through the list but my lists are never ending. I consider the fact that I might have taken on too much, even with Tayden at my side, there's a lot to do when running your own businesses and I'm already planning my third. I've found a location. I know what I want to do. I have the vision and the drive, it's time and money that are my issue. I've almost blown through what I stole from the paladins. I just hope it's enough to do what needs to be done.

To-do list: ☼ Order books on mythical creatures ☼ Scout new locations ☼ Get funding from the bank for hostel ☼ Look into charity status criteria ☼ Consider universal logo to tie businesses together ☼ Lunch with Tay ☼ Schedule interviews for hostel clerk ☼ Find designer for refurb

I sit with my phone in my hands. I'm working through the list but my lists are never ending. I consider the fact that I might have taken on too much, even with Tayden at my side, there's a lot to do when running your own businesses and I'm already planning my third. I've found a location. I know what I want to do. I have the vision and the drive, it's time and money that are my issue. I've almost blown through what I stole from the paladins. I just hope it's enough to do what needs to be done.

Order for shelter: ☼ Bed linens ☼ Dinner service and cutlery ☼ Toiletries? ☼ Towels ☼ Sitting room furniture ☼ Office supplies ☼ Wifi? ☼ Stack-able/folding chairs ☼ Homely knickknacks? ☼ Everything else I've forgotten!

Important: ☼ Remind Tay we're opening the shelter ☼ Get spare keys cut ☼ Make sure paperwork is in order ☼ Brief staff ☼ Open The Robins Nest ☼ Pray it's successful

It's almost time to open the doors to this place. I'm not sure the shelter's going to work but I hope it does It needs to work. It's needed here, in this city. It will help people like Tay and I. It will help people not like us too. People who need refuge from the supernatural element that stalks the street. The bad kind, not the god kind. Everyone's welcome here, so long as they behave. So long as their intentions are good. People's intentions aren't always clear and I'm not the most trusting of people but I have hope. Not much, but it's enough to try.

I heard chatter that The Order took a beating last night. I'm happy to hear it. I am. I'm sure those that died deserved their fate. They bought into the bull they tried to feed us when they marked us. I wonder if they were all forced though, or if they truly believed. I wonder if they signed up to The Order. I hope they did, as much as I hope they didn't. Either way it doesn't matter. They were clearly along for the ride.

To-do list: ☼ Celebrate - Alone or with Tay?

To-do list: ☼ Avoid people - specifically couples ☼ Tell Tay I'm avoiding people ☼ Hide out at the gym

Valentine's Day. It's not my favourite day of the year. People get crazy and desperate. I'm not sure I even believe in love. Not romantic love at least. People bond for the sake of boding on a day like today. It's stupid. Men think every woman on the planet wants a guy at her side. They don't. I don't. I'm not interested in any of that. I don't want any man touching me. I don't want anyone touching me. I'd have to trust them for that to happen, and that's unlikely to happen in this lifetime. I'm not looking. I think Tay wishes I would but he understands. Or he knows. He knows why I am the way I am. I should probably be in therapy. I believe in therapy but it's not for me. I'll help others. That's how I go on. Why I go on.