I can’t possibly overstate the benefits of working out of a great place like CSI; the people you meet, the magic that happens when you do…
I took over my new office in July and it has taken me over two months to get it set up the way I want it. I have also taken on a room mate at the office and at long last he can do his work without hunching over a file cabinet to do it. Of course, being me, part of the room mate deal was, “but we do things my way, right?” When I refer to ‘my office’, there are any number of people at CSI who will say, “Isn’t it Dimitris’ office too?”, well, yes, I meant that in a descriptive way, not a possessive way. Really.
I have no idea where I’ve been all summer, but it wasn’t at my desk. So now I’m rubbing shoulders with the room mate on a regular basis, our office is beautiful and we’re both getting things done. Dimitris Stubos, aka CSI Finance Guy specializes in accounting etc for artists and non-profits. It’s the ‘et cetera’ that’s getting interesting in his case. Like all great Super Heroes, Dimitris has his day-time costume that he wears on the job, posing as a money-guy who understands artists. But when he takes his costume off, he’s really an artist who understands money.
He says I have a great relationship with money. All of you who know me will laugh at that, but his explanation made a lot of sense: “You give it away like you have an endless supply, it comes to you out of nowhere when you need it, debts don’t bother you, big numbers don’t bother you. It’s truly a means to an end for you.” I like that.
Between Dimitris and Linda (administration and book keeping at Bestseller Bootcamp) I feel like my cash-flow is in good hands, though it took me a while to convince them that the best plan for the Bootcamp was to put six degrees of separation between me and the money. Now I go to them and say, “Do I have $200 for a file cabinet?”, and that way I know I’ll always have enough for the things that really matter – like wine on the rooftop!
So Dimitris and I headed out for a ‘Back to September’ brainstorming breakfast which means me coming back with more accountability than I can handle in one day. Our conversation went something like this:
Dimitris: Have you ever thought of blah blah blah?
Rebecca: Yes, yes but not until I have blah blah blah.
Dimitris: Why can’t you do it now?
or
Dimitris: Why don’t you do a this n that?
Rebecca: I need to have a thingee first.
Dimitris: Why can’t you do it yourself?
Gees Louise. It’s all about accountability. I have my personal Business Development Bootcamp going on right in my office, and with Idea Guy an elbow length away, he knows how much time I spend on Stumble Upon (it’s research!) so I have no excuses. This week we got serious about a monthly newsletter, weekend writing retreats, week-long exotic writing retreats, the youth program, an author reading series, an internship program and more(!).
“Dimitris”, I said, “I am having proprietorial feelings towards you,”
“Wow,” he said, “I don’t think anyone’s ever had proprietorial feelings towards me before.”
…I doubt that very much!
Rebecca Doll - at work, at home, at play: learning things the hard way! 
dimitris definitely sounds like another “a.k.a. the best”
proprietal feelings! it’s fun to read many of your entries all at once. gives me a real concentrated afternoon break of laughter.
well you sure fooled me. i have not seen evidence of can’t do this until that syndrome until you just broadcast it. but perhaps i’ve never challenged you on it or presented ideas that made you want to move.
sounds like i need to get myself into the vicinity of mr. dimitris and have a pow wow with him. hope he likes to eat…