BurningbirdI live by a simple philosophy:
I never say anything of a live person I wouldn’t be willing to repeat after they’re dead.
And I would never say anything of a person after their death that I wouldn’t be willing to say of them while they’re alive.
I’m about to head out for a new daily ritual: walking to the closest Starbuck’s for a latte. It’s 1.7 miles away, giving me a 3.4 mile roundtrip walk. I’m hoping this, combined with my walks at Powder, Shaw, the Gardens, and other favorite places, will help me get back into shape for some more serious walking in the Spring. And I need to lose weight; I feel like playdough, fresh out of the can.
I’m also trying to establish a routine in order to make better use of my time and be able to meet my obligations. When you work at home, you can easily lose track of time. However, if you establish a routine of getting up at a certain time, logging into work on schedule, taking true breaks during the day, and limiting one’s free roaming on the internet–including weblogging–one can get a lot done.
Did I happen to mention limiting one’s weblogging?
If I haven’t been giving any detail on jobs or professional writing, it’s because I would rather discuss ongoing tasks once they are completed. I don’t want to jinx the efforts by talking about them ahead of time.
It’s a lovely day here today, in this our up swing of what’s become our winter cycle of warm days followed by freezing temperatures followed by warm and so on. Rumor has it the crocus are up in spots. I can’t believe that Spring is almost here.
It doesn’t rain, it pours, or some such thing. Sometimes there seems to be little work, other times, too much. Lately I’ve had a good amount of work, enough that I thought about going on hiatus with the weblog–focusing on work, the development server, et al. Rather than some kind of formal break, though, I’ll just do what I have been doing. Whatever that is.
There was a possibility of me traveling on one job, but this has had to be put temporarily aside, primarily because of issues of health. I’ve had some long standing work I’ve needed to have done by an oral surgeon, and unfortunately, as I found this week, this work can no longer be put off. In fact, I’m pushing it to hold off on the work until my medical and dental insurance kicks in March 1st.
The great thing about being busily and gainfully employed is knowing that you can take care of what needs to be taken care of. It used to be, years ago, that I would measure the worth of my work in conspicuous consumption. Now I measure it in necessities purchased (new tires) and tasks finished (the surgery). And it feels good. When I do get the rare treat (from friends or what I buy myself), such as a new DVD or book or my new iPod, it makes them that much more special, and appreciated.
Back in the dot-com era, I made a great deal of money, and did not value myself. I spent the money on frivolous toys, overpriced dinners, and clothes I didn’t need. I once took the entire company out for an expensive lunch, just because I could. What a waste.
Now, I make a fraction of what I used to make, I value every penny, and I’m more content.
Hopefully those of you expecting books from me received them by now. I gather the packaging for the Practical RDF book did not hold up particularly well to shipment; again, hopefully, none were lost in the mail. If so, and the books separated from the packaging and the addressees were lost, then at the least I hope they increase the semantic awareness of our US postal system.
Recovered from the Wayback Machine.
Tonight I sent off the books for those of you who emailed me your addresses. The UPT is in boxes, and the Practical RDF is in bubble envelopes. Zoë helped me pack the books, so you’ll know which ones are from me by whether they glow in the dark or not.
Just kidding — Zoë’s radiation does not rub off on inanimate objects. Not unless she were to pee on your books. I can assure you that if my cat peed on your book, I would not send it. Well, not without drying it, first.
I got a very good deal on envelopes and boxes at our local Office Depot, and the Media mailing rate is incredibly low. All total, mailing the Practical RDF books came to about 3.00 each and the UPT to about 5.00. Since I would rather not have 3.00 and 5.00 charges on Paypal (of which I believe it would take 1.25 anyway), instead I’d like you to consider donating some canned goods or money to your Humane Society. If you would prefer, you can also donate to another charity, or drop it into the tin of a really good street performer. Or you can have a good cup of coffee and a PB & J sandwich, on me.
Then, if in my journey late summer, my odyssey through the States and beyond, I come into your area and you want to buy me a beer, well, you’re on.
Speaking of the little princess, she’s happily home and has spent the last several hours exploring every last bit of the town-home, climbed into boxes, snuggled, ate, snuggled, played, and snuggled some more. She hasn’t slept once. I did a little research and found out that if we hold her close for three hours a day, the amount of radioactive exposure we’ll experience is 3 mrem/year–an increase of 1% over normal radiation doses we experience from the sun and other sources. This is supposedly equivalent to drinking one cup of coffee or one diet soda per day. We have decided to snuggle Zoë the 3 hours and do without one can of soda or a cup of joe a day.
It was a surprise to hear, though, that coffee and soda add to our radiation exposure. I wonder if Starbuck’s is managed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission? Further research shows that drinking coffee shortens our lives an average of six days. If you think that’s bad, did you know that if you eat 40 tablespoons of peanut butter, one after the other, you’ll die of aflatoxin poisoning?
All in all, I’ll take my chances with Zoë.