A comment that sparked a post

My loyal reader base posted a question as to whether or not I was becoming a budding socialist.  Something fun, something to take my mind off the intricacies of the postal service (should that be inanities?).  Such a question, life is bursting to full with such questions, questions which are much better answered with a paragraph or three rather than a word.  Questions which allow me to sing the word question over and over questionably while preparing to answer the initial question, which I am aware that I haven't answered.  Perhaps another question is posited, such as why haven't you answered the first question?  Answering that initial question really does require that one question what the reader base means when they ask the question, particularly what is meant by that tricky little socialist word.  From experience, I know the questioner did not confound socialist with communist, though his question almost prompted a resurrection of my photo with the red hammer and sickle coated unicorn of the yellow horn.  Remembering for myself the importance of this distinction, I refrained from posting that picture as a response to the question, because it would only befuddle the reader and the reader base's understanding of my answer to this question.  

Now then, after I finish dinner, I will post my response to this question, as only on a full stomach do I think I can gratify the reader base with a response appropriate to the inquiry.

Dinner being complete... Hot Pockets Calzone aren't as bad as they could be, I turn my attention to the question that prompted this foray into my dining habits, that question as to whether or not I am a budding socialist.  The answer is as confusing as the definition of socialism.  Because of government's ability to mess anything up, as a form of government regulating to all aspects of life: no, I am not a socialist.  Business best does the right thing when they are rewarded for doing the right thing by increased sales and stock prices.  If sales aren't driven on price alone and stock prices aren't based strictly on profit, but rather sales & stock prices both reflect to some degree the company's investment in society.  If I were to belong to a warehouse store, I would choose Costco over Sam's because Costco traditionally has paid fair wages and offered benefits while providing competitive prices.  My inherent problem with warehouse stores is that I am a family of one, and I don't need to buy 36 rolls of toilet paper or 8 pounds of salmon at one go.  Even considering the reduced packaging benefits of that much at one go, it doesn't make sense for me.  Costco would win my hypothetical business based on their business practices.  When the press latches onto something unpleasant in industry and broadcasts it, especially if it reflects poorly on one company in particular, recent history has that industry cleaning up, lest another skeleton be found.  The press isn't perfect, knocking Nike sells more papers than knocking a middleman meat packager, even though the latter is perhaps more pertinent to people's health, so the Nike story is likely to get longer play.

I seem to have lost track a bit of my answer to the question, but it hasn't really entirely been forgotten.  I do believe, that while government does mess stuff up, they can't mess up medicine as much as private industry has done, so on the healthcare aspect of life, I may very well be a socialist, though I was one long ago here, when I didn't have insurance and thought it was stupid that I could be driven into bankruptcy and homelessness to save my life--at which point I would likely want to commit suicide, making the initial healthcare expense rather pointless.

Socially responsible business and social medicine are two things I would like, but there is also a need for socially responsible consumers, especially for the former to work.  I try to be one, but there is no way to do it perfectly in this imperfect world, or at least I haven't figured a way to yet.

An observation... probably not new

After seeing a blurb on the vegan who shot the video at the slaughterhouse, it occurred to me, that as long as profit is the primary motive for business, then abuses will occur, because it is cheaper this quarter to do it that way.  As the world speeds up and focus close-up rather than wide angle, these things will multiply, and like child labor, once we wipe them from our shores, they will be in other places, still, where they always were, but where we didn't see them.

On a brighter note, at the post office today they had more employees than ever manning the counter.  They even had a cashier at the parcel pick-up window processing drop-offs and stamp purchases.  It must be cheaper than the machine they took out, or else they aren't losing as much money as they claim and don't need the price increase.

The Post Office Stamp Machine

It can't have been too far back, because the drywall patch hasn't been painted yet, but they removed the stamp machine from the post office in Ballard.  Why would you remove the machine that allows people to purchase stamps without waiting in line?  Ominously, the sign next to the patched drywall where formerly the stamp machine stood advised buying them online by mail or at an authorized agent--oddly, the counter, at that hour closed, was not mentioned.  I wanted to yell back and ask a disembodied voice what was going on, but decided that I will wait, perhaps tomorrow I will try and get there during counter hours and buy some stamps.  I sort of think the post office doesn't want my business.  Hundreds of post cards sent, and they don't like me.  Hours of reading material for the postal clerk, but still they don't like me, and want to make purchasing stamps difficult, even after my trip was there to both drop off mail and visit the stamp machine, getting my dollar coins as change, which I guess now I have to get at the bank, since the only reliable machines to get them from were the ones in the post office.  The other thing that just crossed my mind is that our post office has decided to take a clue from the Europeans, where I don't think I have seen a stamp machine before, and I certainly don't recall one in any of the places I have been there in the last ten years, though most post offices here had them--with the vanished machine in Ballard, I can no longer confidently say the post offices here have them.  Life is change, though I don't know if change is always good.

If memory serves...

So it has been a month.  Apologies to any regular readers.  Love & Loss is the name of the sculpture whose image is on the February post.  The time change has confounded me, and taken me by surprise.   The timing of the time change is what seems to be causing problems, being earlier than to what I am accustomed.  Republicans & time change--seems an odd combination, but I guess it was one of the big successes of Indiana's Republican governor, just like it is probably the only neutral (rather than awful) thing President Bush will be known for.  From what I read in The New York Times (or maybe The Seattle Times), it does actually cost Hoosiers more now than before. (No link because I am lazy.)

Current timeline is to move out of Seattle this summer--end of August is the tale, while end of June the earliest, unless something great happens to speed it up, or delay it.

One Month Down

Well, I managed to not even get a month of daily postings this year, though the blog lasted better than any fitness/diet program I thought about starting. The disconcerting thing about the way things are going is that for me, work is generally boring, frequently filled with exasperating questions (with a dearth of variety), and something that keeps me occupied during the week, when I could be doing something else, like the fitness/diet program I didn't start.

Today though, after spending yesterday afternoon with a friend, I can only say that while things are staid and dull for me, it is certainly better than the drama other's have to live through. So, if I begin to sound a bit down on things, I need to remind myself of what it could be, and while it won't make things better, it will at least make me realize how lucky I am sometimes.

Just a week

I haven't really forgotten about this, but this week is just one of those that it would have been better not to have begun, at least in regards to work. Since I don't like to just gripe and complain, I instead generally say nothing, so forgive the silence, but it is at least as enlightening as complaints regarding how maddening work can be. That said, I am out of here.

Now I have some backlight

Today should have been a holiday at work. Everyone sort of felt like it, but they decided that MLK day just doesn't deserve the extra holiday. If I were willing to argue for fewer days at Christmas, they might agree to rearrange the holidays, but I don't really want the enmity of everyone at work. The only people likely to complain about the Christmas arrangement are new hires with less than 90 days of service who don't get paid for any of it.

Wow, that is really nothing. I do think I need to resume my habit of having at least mildly interesting/amusing things to post, but that doesn't seem the case the last few. Is it possible that I have bloggers' burnout so soon? It doesn't much matter if I do or don't, because I like to pretend there is something therapeutic about the act of writing, so whether or not there is much here is of less importance than the act of putting words on the screen. Not words for there to be words, but words that express something, even if it is as inane as a day at work. The real pathetic part of things is that there are way too many people out there with lousy jobs. One of my coworkers (in another department) called in quits today. It is my understanding she was tired of being dumped on, though whether or not she tried to resolve things before leaving, which I believe she probably did, since the resolution didn't happen fast enough or was not to her liking, I can't do much but commend her on her decision. The rather funny thing was, when I told someone she did the right thing, they were appalled, and I still think they are, because if a job gives you health problems, you need to leave.

Sunday too soon

I think people always see the end of the weekend as something that happens too quickly. It was that way for me, yesterday was a blur of nothing productive except laundry. I really mean the nothing productive part. Today was the same, though I didn't do any laundry. It was midnight when I noticed the time, lamented that I missed a day, then finished whatever I was doing, likely drinking a beer, though Scotch is tonight's companion, then went to bed. I really need to be careful how I phrase things on here or I will sound like the town lush, when two beers is normally the nightly limit. Recently, I have been enjoying Full Sail's LTD in the sort of olive packaging, which is distinct from their LTD in the orangish packaging. Personally, I like the Olive LTD better.

Today's picture from the laptop cam:













I made a joke to someone about a daily webcam picture. This is not likely to be something regular, but when at a loss for words, it can show you my latest haircut. At least it would if I took the picture with any amount of light in the room.

Vertical Works

It does, really--though I don't actually know for how long. In truth, it is one of those things better off for being of limited duration, but even then, only the weaving and nodding really lets you know that it is time to move on, to that other state, the one that is not what it is now. Only time will tell, though there is a guarantee that you will make it, provided physics don't drastically change, or that one is imploded. I think spontaneous combustion, done right, might also prevent the change in states, but of course, rather than believe me, it is probably better to do some control experiments. The proof is in the science, not the hypothesis, and I, for one, would love to see the results of such tests.

Of all things, it is the end of the day, and that day happens to be a Friday. I am one of the lucky ones, as some of my colleagues have to go in tomorrow at my boss' request, but I have a real, full length weekend, with nothing planned, so I will consider myself doing well if I get entries in for each and every day this weekend, since no plans so frequently means nothing done.

Habits of hardly successful people

Hmmm.... I get home, and the past couple of weeks I have managed to do a bit of exercise (push-ups, crunches, and the like) shortly after arriving. I then ruin it all with a nice beer, but the exercise hasn't been a part of my daily regime in a while, unless you count the mile or so walk to work. Also, at some point, and I know someone has surely noticed, I throw a blog entry up. Not always an entertaining entry, but an entry. I don't really know what sort of audience I have, so I don't make much point in trying to write for them.

"Her tassles are tangled and what's worse my jingle won't jangle."

Minor distractions from the ipod causing quotes from no place, though Tom Waits would be a good place to begin looking for that last one. With that said, it is still early, but tonight was not one with a paint allowance (besides, I think my panel is still not quite dry, and I don't want muddied colors, but jewel tones for my homage to Rothko), so I am not sure what I will do, though perhaps a bit more of Camus is called for--life and the vagaries of an evening or 365 without television. It is odd, some nights I don't care to do those things I have available to me, and those nights it is fair to say I might be bored, but I am sure that if I had television, on those nights I would instead just spend the evening clicking through channels, because my ennui is much more powerful than a sit-com. If I am actually in the mood for a movie (I thought tonight might be one for Blake Edwards' "The Party", but as I don't have it, it isn't), I will watch it, even though it means the screen size it that of my desktop or laptop, depending on whether the watching is going to happen in the bedroom or some other part of the house.

There she is...

Though calling her Miss America may be a bit much. I apologize in advance for not balancing all the colors and whatnot, but I was rushing through it, before I got sidetracked on a thousand other things. Painting is not on tonight's agenda, though I am hoping to read some, which I haven't managed a few days because of one thing or another, last night it was a phone call and a plan to paint that I carried through with. What will happen with tonight's free time is still up in the air, but there are books to read, paintings to think about, and various other hopelessly pretentious garbage I can rummage through so I will sound erudite and active in my next post. Speaking of my next post, I do plan on doing one tomorrow. I may have actually burst through the wall of tedium, and moved into the round room of enjoyment, from which I will eventually flee due to lack of corners in which to hide. That is the way things go. Tedium at work is the name of the game, and today it involved doing things others were already doing, though I did find one thing that needed to be done that no one was working on... so I delegated, then moved on. Business is a scream, so it would be if I could have a sense of humor about it while I am there.

The progression is because someone asked for it. I think in this case it really shows how little was lost in the various transformative stages, but how much the painting improved. Personally, I am glad there is only this record of the early stages, as there really isn't a need for more (or even these). My guess is that if I actually work on something a bit more complicated, then maybe I will hope to go back to an earlier version, and of course you can't undo like you can in photoshop, so it will become time to recreate, or create some new variation, that maybe will work better.

Michigan & I painted

I paid minimal attention to the Michigan mess, but it looks like Romney will be in the game for a little longer. Perhaps he hasn't wasted all his money. (I am having more trouble keeping my laptop plugged in tonight: first, the adapter kept falling out of the wall, and just now I pulled the mag attachment out of the side--thank goodness for magnetic quick release.) Other than seeing the election results before writing this, I spoke with Dave earlier who, while not really, advised that bad writing is better than no writing. That is a major paraphrase and he probably wonders how I drew it from our conversation, but I did, though I don't feel like rehashing the conversation here, as it would be even more tedious than this sentence.

Daily updates and more fun pictures are my lot in life. Speaking of fun pictures, there will likely be another of my Mod Femme sometime soon since I did more work, and perhaps finished, her tonight. It all depends on what I think in the light of day. Anyway, the four stages will then be viewable, and people can see the progression/regression of a work of art, using that last phrase loosely.

"The shocking facts of grave robbers from outer space." I really like some of the random vocal snippets on my ipod. Plan 9 just doesn't come up often in regular conversation, so when I here the opening, it makes me smile, turn to my invisible neighbor and ask:

Me: Did you like it?
Invisible Neighbor: Welsh.
Me: What?
I.N.: That's how I like my rarebit--Welsh.

Later is Better

Now, while I am thinking of it is when I am doing the entry, not later, after I have relaxed more from work, and thought a bit more about it. Actually, the picture is the third version of the picture, and tonight I may touch up just a bit more and create a fourth, but I don't know yet. It might be better for me to wait until later this week, when last nights additions have time to dry. Personally, I rather like the picture, even though it also seems a bit amateurish. Since I have been painting with oils for less than a year, I am not terribly concerned with that. It is unfortunate that I haven't made the incredible leaps that Van Gogh made when he started, but I am not that driven, nor am I that talented, and finally, I haven't quit my job in pursuit of art, focusing solely on making it. If I did the latter, then I am sure things would progress rapidly, though I hardly believe I am as talented as Van Gogh, especially as I was interpreting Modigliani with this one, though I don't think I captured him at all, with the possible exception of the elongated face. This one has been fun, and now I am also trying to determine what is next. None of my canvasses are large, so everything will be small. Since my last self-portrait was six months ago, it may be a bit early for another, though that happens to be the easiest model available to me. If I could get a still life to spark me, I could do that, but without an initial interesting arrangement, the whole thing just seem like so much painted junk (one must also create a relationship, thematic or otherwise, between the elements). If I did a male portrait head in my variation on Modigliani, I could have a classic pair with their positions reversed, saying something by that very reversal. Ideas and writing them don't get me closer to picking up a paint brush, but they are fun.

Inexplicable Public Art on a Beautiful Day

I went out today to buy some painting supplies and ran across this piece on my way there. I think they are supposed to represent people, with their wire mesh forms being derived from household stuff. It didn't really strike me as anything but shiny, at least with clear skies and the sun at a good angle of illumination.

The sun being out has also made my apartment quite toasty, though that is a topic I know I went on in depth about last year, so nothing besides the brief comment today.

Today has been one of those rather nice days where not a lot happens or gets done, but both do. The art supplies have been on my to do list for a while, but I hadn't managed to get around to going to Utrecht, but my 20% everything not on sale coupon was about to expire (on 15 Jan), so it moved up quickly on my must do list. Amazingly, I did not make any detours to spend even more money are art books or magazines or any such thing. The market ends in an hour, but I don' have plans to get there. I will try to find something around the house to eat for dinner, or whatever I want to call my late afternoon meal.

Jefferson in Paris

I have no intention of writing about Jefferson in Paris, though the picture is exactly that.

I wonder if what is playing was supposed to be one giant mix. The last song sort of ended mid-beat and this one didn't fit very well as a continuation. Today has been spent doing stuff, like spending my Bop Street Records gift certificate (Ethel Smith's "Miss Smith goes to Paris"), though now I have to do the smart thing and get my turntable fixed. That has not been on my list of things to do, though I should probably make it something to do. I also took down my artificial Christmas tree, and since it is still only mid-January, I did a good job of getting it down at a reasonable time this year, as I think last year it lingered until February. Not only did the tree come down, the boxes actually managed to get put into storage, and for me, the fact they didn't sit around for a couple of weeks minimum is pretty good. Mind you, all of this is happening with no resolutions to change any of my habits, though I think a resolution to take down the tree before January 31st might have been a good one, as I could have kept it. Other than that, nothing terribly exciting going on, though with luck, maybe that will change.

Too drunk to blog

While I am sure that is not the case, this evening has been spent imbibing, generally Belgians, but early in the evening there was a local micro from the cask. Truth be told, it has been a fun evening at the Old Town (I don't think old has an "e"), and I had a decent conversation with my neighbors at the bar about all sorts of local things. Since I haven't been around the house reading, i don't have a clue as to what to say here, and my post is as much for reasons of posting as it is because I have something to say. Because of the conversation, I was distracted and didn't get to the local "record" shop to find the Ann Sorel song I was looking for. It seems, much to my dismay, that I deleted a song I really liked from the hard drive of my desk top. Even worse is that when I did it, I was sober, and it was a mistake I made because I thought it was a duplicate. I have actually asked for "Attention" to be reposted, but I don't know if it will happen.

The skates are cool. When I was in Paris, they had traffic stopped so skaters could continue their circuit. I am told this is a regular thing, which is very neat, and something that would not win over the locals around here because it would affect traffic.

Zombies to the fore

What a day of nothing. I did receive an enjoyable letter from Dave today, but work was on the dull side. I read a bit more Camus. As I approach the last 50 pages of the book, I wonder just what I will read next. Actually, evening reading works a bit like this, before dinner, I read Camus, during dinner it has been Gielgud, and after dinner, generally back to Camus if I read a book, or else mindless surfing of the web learning what is going on in the world via various online newspapers from around the world. Then there is the time I spend typing this, though perhaps I should take some time to write this before typing this, as opposed to typing as I write. The last few days I have been unhappy with the output. There can be a way to make this interesting, but I wonder if I have found it. Maybe I am just waiting for my Hillary moment, except that he died today, and that is a moment I am not looking forward to just yet, though a cement truck might find me on the way to work tomorrow.

Dave made an interesting resolution, which was to get a life, though in reality, as he explains in his letter, the resolution was to step out of his comfort zone on a regular basis. I am hoping his second resolution was to stop drinking Bud Light, but as he lives in Indiana, if he skips the Bud Light, Lite from Miller is the alternative, and that is no improvement at all. Honestly though, I think his resolution about getting out of his comfort zone on a regular basis is great, and I look forward to hearing how he does it.

In reading Camus, I did come across a nice YouTube debate question: "Do you think our society should legitimize murder?" This is his question for those advocating revolution, though it is useful now as well, even without revolution on the horizon. (Of course, the question of what is "murder" needs to be answered first.) Life as we know it shall continue, and none of the politicians running will make a difference. What needs to happen is a bit of reclamation of the rights of man. Everything is about to move to a stricter voter requirements (thank you Indiana, for enacting nasty strict legislation so you could remain red, while the rest of the country sees it), and we have already lost so much in the name of the "War on Terror" that I don't want to dwell there, but I did find it humorous that the FBI can't pay their phone bills so they keep losing their wiretaps.

Toilets & Terror

At the outset, I should apologize for the blurry picture, but these are the toilet seat pants I saw while I was in Paris. The guy was moving, and I was as well, so this is the best photo I could manage. I still don't understand the fashion statement involved with toilet seats painted on the backside of a pair of jeans. If only I could come up with such things and actually have them sell.

There is a real nice quote from Camus, "terror does not create a climate conducive of thinking." (p. 259) This is from some of his last work for Combat (featured in the book "Camus at Combat"). Here I think enough people have lashed out and flogged this horse often enough that if it isn't dead, it must surely be close, though with a constant python-esque refrain of "I'm not dead yet." To write of the absurd is to write of our times, and so much has been parodied, that there is little left to do. It does make me wonder though, is it really possible to attack the current times from a new direction, so commentary is fresh and perhaps a bit less referential than the mundane. What shoehorns people into their actions? Every so often something seizes on the vast malaise of men, and everyone runs about seizing the day (by drinking way too much and skipping work) to escape their quiet desperation. The change people are after is a change in outlook, because politics will remain the same with only a slightly different seasoning. We have had too many years of the parties at each other's throats and this incivility is what needs to change, as it carries over elsewhere too. It is impossible to put forward the proverbial good family front when the neighbors hear the fighting. [This needs some major editing, but I don't think I am up for it tonight.]

A thought...

Do you think, that just maybe, we should hope for a Republican in 2008? The place will be a mess and likely it will take more than a single term to sort it out, and as hope vanishes in 2012, a Democrat could come in and save the day. It would be a bit like the Carter/Reagan thing, except the parties would be reversed.

The only really bad thing about this idea is that it show just how cynical I have become in my judgement of the state of the nation and the path it will follow the next four years, regardless of who leads.

Pesky Frenchisms

Somedays, I have no problems whatsoever uploading photos, but on other days, it is a bear. I do wonder if blogger doesn't always communicate with tiger the way it should. Today, while reading Gielgud, it occurred to me that G W Bush was sort of like Marshall Petain. Petain signed the armistice with Germany in 1940 and ran Vichy. The comparison has more to do with Petain implementing all sorts of "security" measures and stuff. (I just edited out everything I had typed.) I don't even think it was the security measures that brought the comparison, but the fact that Petain and Bush brought their respective countries to the nadir of their respective histories. Bush keeps trying to see if we can go lower, while Petain's government is long dissolved, ask any French person if the legacy is forgotten. (This is much closer to what I had intended to write than what I was writing.) It is really too sad that our country didn't have the good sense to dump Bush after the first four years, though maybe we did, because there were still some contested elections that were swept under the rug. ( I heard somewhere that Diebold changed the name of its voting machine division to Premier Election Solutions.) While Petainism also refers to Catholicism, the parallel with Bush will still be religion, but not the church of Rome, which I still can't believe Bush visited, but some pole barn superstructure where 2,000 can sway to the easy melodies of the Lord.

I should quit now, before I offend more people, or come up with ever more preposterous comparisons.

Less than manic Monday

Since I spent time yesterday sorting through and editing pictures from China (deleting dupes, or cropping and color-fixing), it occurred that I should post some, though I still have plenty from my recent trip to Europe that haven't posted as well. Life is about all these sorts of decisions--the minor ones which may or may not end up being major in the long run.

For Christmas, Dave was kind enough to provide me with Gielgud's Letters, and as I was eating dinner and reading this collection, I began to wonder what he would make of this thing called blogging. (As an aside, I thought the same thing of Camus the journalist.) How much of this would be deemed "quality" communication? What sort of things make up communication of a significant nature? Is all communication significant? No answers today, but quite a few questions.

I wasn't there, and I don't know, but having seen stories already asking if Hillary's tearing up during a Q&A today will help or hurt her, and at least one comment about whether someone thought it was an act, really makes me regret the lack of substance that seems to be running the news. My frequent news source is The New York Times, and when I find things like that there, it makes me wonder what definition of "newsworthy" they use. It isn't as if she broke down crying on her husband's shoulder complaining of the stress and that people were being mean to her, so in that sense it doesn't seem to deserve that much comment. My few comments on that. The world is spiraling into a morass of mediocrity, and there is nothing I can do about it, though I will do what I can to point it out, and probably add to that morass, since there is no way I can be adding to an intelligent discussion of much of anything.

Starbuck's Forbidden City

I am told it is closed now due to some sort of outrage, but this miss if you blink Starbuck's, located in the Forbidden City, seemed to cause quite the stir over globalization. Not to sound too cold and callous, but from having been there, it is acceptable for tourists to be besieged while inside the Forbidden City to go to "Student Art Exhibits" wherein one can purchase any number of scroll paintings duplicated by the masses for the masses, but one coffee joint that doesn't send people out trying to lure customers and has forgone any lit signs, opting for the name painted on the windows as its demarcation. If there were other signs inside the City pointing to its location, they too were subtle enough that I don't recall them, so I don't really know what the fuss was about. China didn't have a coffee culture, and without Starbuck's would likely still not have one. The location, actually split with a tchotchke shop, probably still serves coffee of some sort, as well as the postcards and other mementos one can pick up in places like this. The only real question now is whether it is an improvement. One thing people forget about restaurant chains is that many of them source locally where they can, and many are owned by locals who have purchased franchise rights. There are likely still evils about them, but the businesses employ locals and pay local taxes. Personally, I don't think this particular store deserved the vilification it received for its location. I haven't heard anywhere near the chatter about the location in the Louvre that I heard about this location, and there is a cafe culture in France and the Starbuck's experience is nothing like it.

Me and my lazy Sundays

Originally, I had intended to do something today, but it turned out that this morning I spent time editing pictures from the trip to China I took three years ago, and, this afternoon, when I was about to go out shopping for paint supplies, it started raining, so I decided a nap was in order. Naps always seem to be in order on Sunday afternoons, but moreso today because I slept poorly last night. There was a short time I was sleeping well, but it seems far in the past, so now it is just trying to minimize the effects of it now. Grey skies and blowing rain do make for great napping weather though, and if I had not honestly tried to be out in the mess earlier, perhaps I would be regretting my nap-making more, but I gave up the enterprise while waiting for the bus.

With all that I have I can do, there is not much excuse to be doing nothing, and with it being not quite 3 o'clock maybe I will still get something done, leaving me time during the week to get my art supplies. I do think my weeknights are better times to go out looking for things, since I can do the running after work and before I get home, unless the bus involves riding down Market Street, then I can come home first.

With no promises from me that I can manage to do this daily, or almost so, for a year, I am beginning to wonder what sort of arc it would take, and what sort of perceptions of me it would give people. In my wrestling for resolutions, perhaps there is one, and it is one I may be able to do, though past performance raises doubts. Lazy Sundays or not, let's hope I can spare a few minutes regularly to try and update this regularly this year. No rules as to what constitutes a long break, nor any as to what I need to write, but an everyday sort of something. Life moves and flows with patterns that not everyone sees, and which I am not likely to see either, but that may make this more interesting as time goes on. How much to reveal and how much I keep to myself are, of course, the questions I get to handle regularly.

One more thing which may be totally off topic, but I had the utter surprise earlier this week when one a colleague of mine commented that it was leap year, to hear that she had no idea whatsoever that it was also an election year. My election year comment came on the heels of hers about the leap year, and it wrought a total stunned sort of response which sort of made me cringe, especially as she went on to acknowledge that she pays no attention to that sort of thing. I can only hope she doesn't vote, but "informed electorate" she is not.

Time for tea now, though just a mug of it, not the small meal sort.

Saturday is here (and a good deal done)

Mid-afternoon here in the wonderful land of whatever. My close by art gallery (OKOK) is open by appointment only this month, but I think that is because the proprietor is off living in some artist's boat in Rotterdam. I finally managed to get the balance of my Christmas presents mailed today, meaning everyone should have their stuff by the end of the next week. I really hope my grandmothers don't talk all that often, especially not in the next week or so. Also, I managed to get a haircut, which is one of those things I do too seldom, and only when my hair has gotten to be too long, which for me translates into long enough that I need to use a comb on it.

We are having the sort of foulish weather where it is sunny and everything, but still raining from the passing fluffy gray clouds. It does make is difficult to come up with solutions as to what to do on such days. I kept thinking about getting the paints out, and they may yet come out tonight, but found myself engrossed in all sorts of other errands (bank, post office, and barber chiefly). Now that afternoon is here, it is up to me to either nap or get busy, but I decided to type instead. As I said in an earlier posting, it is very easy for me to find excuses not to do things that I should be doing. I even managed laundry today. Speaking of laundry, I also managed to complain to the in house manager because someone was inconsiderate enough to start laundry at some point prior to 7 a.m. and at 1 p.m. the washer still had the same clothes it had in it this morning, as did the dryer, and the pile on the floor hadn't budged either. I ended up doing my laundry upstairs, but thought I would at least let the manager know someone was being inconsiderate. For whatever reason, just leaving a "remember your neighbors" sort of note did not appeal to me, probably because calling someone an inconsiderate lout is just not something that I want to do in a polite fashion as I wouldn't want them to miss the point, as it would be cloaked in euphemism as such polite missives always are. There is also the chance that something catastrophic may have happened to the clothes' owner, and if that was the situation, such notes seem horribly tacky faux pas in times of crisis. I will not promise an update on the laundry situation as I will probably have forgotten about it by tomorrow anyway.

1st Friday

This week was fairly horrible in regards to clock-watching as it seemed none of my co-workers were thrilled about being there, and that made it no easier for me. C'est la vie. Next week holds more surprises, I am sure, but I am not sure I am prepared for them. Friday at 7:30 and I am ready for bed. Tired from the work week and apathetic about doing just about anything. The art classes I was thinking about taking are even more inviting now, as they do a good job of dispelling general malaise, since they get me out of the apartment and working. I can't say that learning encaustic technique will be good for the floor and carpet, but it could make for some interesting possibilities when it comes to paintings. The other class is an eight week Sunday watercolor class. I don't see how learning how to use those would be a bad thing, and since it is a Sunday thing, I don't have to worry about a tight schedule after work. Somehow, I need to figure a way to keep moving on activities I want to stay involved in, unfortunately for me, it is easy for me to get distracted and find other things to do, sometimes reading, sometimes playing video games, and sometimes just finding an easy excuse not to do it, like laundry, which is such a reasonable excuse since everyone understands what it involves. Breaking old habits and training myself in new is really what it is all about, which always sounds easier than it is.

Day 2 at work in the new year

No easier than day 1, though I have to say I have gone through the two itty bitty teeny weeny trial size Maker's Mark bottles I bought during Dave's visit in case he decided he needed a bourbon Perfect Manhattan. While I enjoyed my garnish-less drink last night and tonight, I haven't decided yet on whether to buy a bottle of bourbon for that sole purpose. The delay on this decision is not doubt because decreasing my alcohol consumption was a goal of sorts this year, though more focused on beer, since my shape is reflecting the wide variety of good beers available locally. There is a name for the scotch variant, but I can't think of it right now.

With the way everything is going, all I can hope is that things at work pick up soon. I don't much care for the notion of creating work and looking busy, but if more stuff isn't late, I will be forced to such measures. Actually, it is nice that I am not constantly busy, but with too little, it throws me in that other awkward direction, of trying to look busy, and that is utter misery, as it means I am constantly looking over the same data and trying to find new things in it to follow-up on. Work is like that, they hire you to do something (get things to be on-time), and when you are done, something new has to be found, and they haven't quite found that something new, though I fear it will be to bring everything into some sort of order, and that is a tall order, as it involves keeping track of 4-5 buyers' purchase orders. If it comes to that, I think it will become an issue of too much for one person, so let's hope it doesn't.

It needed to be a half day

The decision at work today by those of us who were attempting that thing was that after extended periods of time off, everyone should only work a half day, allowing them some time to get back up to speed. Today was truly pretty dead at my desk, and my eyes glazed to such a degree that my eyelids kept wanting to slide down them. No sleep for the zombified, as I decided at that point the necessary balm was a walkabout. While at Fluke I would do this same sort of thing when life behind the screen hit that magic "dull beyond belief" moment and I had to fight off sleep. It has never seemed to me a good idea to nap at one's desk, especially if one is not on break--during break it is acceptable.

Oh well, my lean pockets thingy is ready, so I am off to my nutritious dinner.


****After eating lean pocket thingy****

Since I made chocolate chip cookies yesterday, using the last of the dough Dave bought, my house smelled like chocolate chip cookies while baking the lean pocket thingy. My guess is that is an improvement. For those concerned about me doing something proper an balanced for dinner, in addition to the lean pocket thingy, I had a banana and a beer. I will have a couple of the cookies later, though I still fear this won't make my dinner well balanced.

New Year, New Fun

Hey, it is time to sound like an advertising jingle. It is the New Year, and an election year at that, so the jingo will be in, even if it doesn't jangle. My evening last night involved sleep, and no champagne. Today has been one of those lazy sunday-like holidays where nothing is accomplished. Partly because of inertia and partly because I really didn't know what I wanted to do today. Now that I have said all that, and managed to get a post up today, I guess I can call it quits for now. It is absolutely amazing how doing nothing is so addictive. You do a bit of it, and you just want to continue doing it. One excuse leads to a whole parade of unfinished activities. The avalanche is incredible. If I stick to no other decision this year, I hope to keep the one that prevents the snowball of unfulfilled interests & incomplete projects from getting any larger. That said, I will see how long the blog goes on, and see if I can manage to surpass last years number of entries, and in doing so, prevent them from becoming navel gazing, as there is no real point in that--if you are going to navel-gaze, do it in front of the mirror in the bathroom.

A few more hours

Perhaps I should have gone to that New Year's Party, but I doubt I will be awake long enough to consciously ring in the new year. The reason I cancelled at the party was because I really want to go to bed, and it doesn't make much of an impression if I am that tired person off in the corner. I don't want to be the guest who brings the level of party fun down because I am tired or something silly like that. Oh well, maybe next year...

To a close

With this, there is one more day, and hopefully at least one more entry, before the new year. Today involved going to the store. That is all today involved, aside from playing the Lord of the Rings Online free demo I downloaded yesterday. It is fun, though different from what I am used to, but that is neither better or worse. Aside from that, I haven't really been doing all that much. Today was sunny, but I think it was chillier than it has been the last several days.

Oh, it looks lie AOL is going to finally shut everyone's Netscape accounts down. I don't' know how much additional it costs to maintain that domain name and those servers, but I guess they have decided it is one more cost they need to cut. Netscape will officially be consigned to the dustbin, though in reality that happened shortly after the purchase by AOL. I don't think they new what to do with it, and the result is that it is just one more thing people will remember, but not longer be able to experience, at least not in an up to date form. Firefox may be derived from the old code, but Firefox doesn't capture the spirit of the early age, and it isn't likely anything will, as the internet has changed to something not easily recognizable to those who thought it up.

Looking back is traditional this time of year, and maybe tomorrow I will do some more.

Update on the painting

After deciding eyes would be a good thing, as would smaller hair, I took the plunge and gave my lady some changes that definitely changed the nature of the picture. I do believe a better picture was made by it, though it isn't done yet, so I still have time to mess it up, though that is not the direction I want to go. One thing I need to remember, at least for me, is that since I am working with a small canvass, is to keep it simple, and not try too much. I am sure there is always something else to add to a picture, but I haven't managed to get to the point of even thinking I am done, but thought an in work picture might be fun.

101

While it is less than 30% of the possible number of posts per year, if one posts once daily, I have managed to finally break the 100 mark. Who knows, maybe I have managed 100 individual page views by this point as well, though if I have, it has been my luck not to have any comments from those viewers, so I can pretend that no one is reading this at all.

There are all sorts of studies showing up on web privacy, and in those, it actually sounds as if the younger set is better about maintaining some semblance of privacy, while older people let everyone access everything. I don't know if I believe this completely, but it isn't really my concern right now. I have read some fascinating blogs that reflect on personal experience, and I am still at a loss as to how those who blog professionally for a living actually get paid if they don't work for a new organization which is paying their salary. I just can't imagine ad supported blogging that likely to generate enough revenue to keep someone going. Most likely, it is my lack of imagination which prevents me from seeing the truth about that though.

I haven't really done anything today. I was going to go to the art supply store, but the foul weather gave me pause and I stayed at home instead. My desktop is downloading the online Lord of the Rings game, and I may spend part of my long weekend playing that, since there is a 7 day free trial. In truth, the last thing I really need is another online game-Guild Wars keeps me busy enough when I play, and splitting that time between two games is not giving me enough time to enjoy either. If I don't like it, uninstalling it is always an option. If I do like it, then it will still probably be uninstalled, since I don't know when I will manage to play it, especially if I sign up for a few weekend art classes to dip my free time back into painting.

There is much to do, and the new year makes it seem urgent.

Friday is Friday

With the end of the two day work week, it is finally Friday, though this wasn't something I longed for all week or anything, but something that just dragged through all of the seven or so hours I was at work today. The end of the month when all numbers are made for the year is a dull time. Actually, the last day of the month is normally one of my easiest, since if we haven't managed to get it back by then, it won't ship, even if we do get it back.

Four days and plans for only one of the evenings. I guess that means I should get busy planning the other three, but since one is before work, that leaves only two, but then there is tonight, which bumps it back to three. (Isn't math wonderful?) Tonight is probably an evening at home, though I might change my mind as it is only 5 o'clock.

Paragraph breaks today. For some reason I decided they would be a good idea, though I think I have been ignoring them of late in my posts. One question though, does writing look more intelligent broken into small bits? (or is it just more likely to be read?) With that ponderous imponderable tossed out, I can think of no better thing to do than mention Britney, though I don't believe she has had nearly as much good fortune as Paris of late. Nothing like adding to the saturation of our media with totally useless commentary on two who have (had) the ability to contribute something positive to the world beyond their court ordered drug test.

I did work on my lady's face again, but haven't take a picture of the current state yet. I am also wondering what to work on next in regards to painting, as I should do more of it, or drawing, or writing, or all of it (throw going into the gym in there, too, but it is not considered an artistic discipline so I omitted it from the initial list, though it is on my personal list).

Thursday as a Monday

It definitely felt like a Monday at work, but that is over with, and now I can blissfully blather about Bowie, who happens to be playing in the background as I type. Actually, I don't know that he will be the subject of this post, but how to get back in the habit of typing a reasonable amount of text. Dave actually puts me to shame with his pre-written and edited blog entries, but if I were to try that, it is likely nothing would ever make it here, not because of self-editing, but because I would deem it too old to deal with by the time I got around to posting it.

The new year is rapidly approaching, though time is probably moving at its standard pace, so it is now appropriate to make those resolutions which I may or may not keep. I haven't made them in years because I normally don't manage to keep them, and I have never been keen on the concept of failure or giving up. The horrible thing about not making resolutions is that by not having them, the goals for the year are already met at the stroke of midnight. On a broader scale, by not setting resolutions, I also continue in the same patterns that I have always held, which is why it was such a big deal to get those brief posts posted while Dave was here. I don't need an excuse to do nothing, and once excuses start, then the big doing nothing begins, if you can actually begin doing nothing. It is actually something that has never crossed my mind in this fashion, as previously I had just dismissed resolutions, not really looking to see if they can relate to a larger palette. [I am sure I can mix a few more metaphors given the proper amount of rambling space.] I think all too long I have seen resolutions not taken seriously, so I have never really bothered to make them. It has also come to my attention that I am better at working towards something I am paying for. If I want to go to the gym regularly, get a trainer, and if I want to work at art, take a class. Where do I find the self-motivation. There are lots of pictures out there to motivate me, but pictures are abstract, and I can always just stay home, not worrying about the social thing. Unfortunately, this latter option makes things very dull. Bowie is still playing and my beer is getting warm on the counter, so I think this is wrapped up for today.

Work tomorrow :(

Dave has left. He is on his way to the bus stop to catch a bus to SeaTac then off on a plane to beautiful Indianapolis. I enjoyed having him out-it is great when you can have a guest that doesn't require 24 hr entertaining. I do believe that if I had to schedule his entire day, his trip would have been miserable. I should also give kudos to his Aunt Rhoda who provided several hours of fun on more than one occasion this trip. I should continue this, and try to create an interesting post for once, but I need to hit the sack, as bed is calling, and work is calling far too early in the morning.

Part-way through

Well, the morning is over, and the afternoon is halfway through. I feel bad because plans changed suddenly yesterday, and Wes was unable to come over due to my plans changing. So far the day has been fine, quite a few phone calls, and not everyone has been heard from, but messages were left. Hmmm.... sitting around the house chatting with Dave just does not make interesting posts, at least not in my hands. Dave will probably turn his nights on my sofa into scintillating prose, though such things are beyond me. That is about it, and I am off to find some sort of food and beverage.

The 24th, Finally!

Well, the holiday has arrived, The Reindeer Room is playing, Delirium Noel is in the glass, and all the lights are lit and other festive nuances accounted for. Today was quite a pleasant afternoon, and even included The Nutcracker. Actually, Dave is sitting next to me plugging away at the text messaging on his phone, and so as not to think I am ignoring him, I will get out of here. Too bad my image didn't upload.

Sunday, Rainy Sunday

With it raining all day and Dave, I believe, at the Frye (he may have decided to visit Sam as well), I decided to select a diverse six pack of brews from around the world, and one of Full Sail's Wassail for good measure, at Ballard Market, so there would not be a lack of interesting things to drink around the house. Also, I broke out the paints for the first time in ages. Wondering if the malaise that was gripping me was due to pent up creative energy that just hadn't seen an outlet, I found a Modigliani etching and decided to take a page from Vincent and tried to turn it into a painting. I don't think it is complete yet, but things need to dry a bit before I can do more. There are some things about it that I want to contemplate prior to continuing on. For the sort of day it is, rainy, grey, and uninspiring, I have managed to get stuff done, like laundry and the start of this painting. Maybe the fact Dave was off to a museum inspired me to get motivated and do something. I don't know, maybe it was just that I have been too much of nothing since I returned, except this blog, of which I am as surprised as anyone that I have managed as many regular entries as I have. None of them are necessarily exhilarating, but the constant typing keeps the synapses open, even if they only come up with crap. Just like to be a painter, one has to paint, to be a writer one has to write, and to be an artist, on has to create. It is the act of doing which is the operative act in being anything, bodybuilder or philatelist. Anyone can talk about doing things, but it is the act of doing that starts the process of becoming or maintaining the process of being. Lives of quiet desperation may be giving too much credit to how people live today, since I would think that some consciousness is required to lead a life of anything, quiet desperation or great joy and fulfillment. Too often the thinking requirement for living is replaced by auto-pilot. Oh well, I have gone over this territory before, if not on here, then surely in a journal or six, so I am going to wrap that line up.

Anyway, it is only 3 p.m., which leaves me more to do this afternoon, though my options have narrowed down to housework, surfing the web, or playing Guild Wars. I could pick up a book, but they are nearly as effective tools for procrastination as video games or internet enabled computers.

Salmon for Breakfast

Sorry, no pictures to post of the smoked salmon & havarti omelets I made this morning, as they were eaten prior to me even thinking about taking a picture of them. It looks like it is going to be a typical sort of Seattle winter day today, with gray skies and rain--at least it isn't cold enough for all the water to freeze. Today is still sort of a blank, though we may head off to the museum, since neither of us have been since the refurbishment that finally wrapped up this past spring. Maybe I will come up with more to write later, but at 9:30 in the morning, there isn't much to say other than I still need to hop in the shower and brush my teeth.

Holiday!!

Friday is here and no work until next Thursday. Now all I have to do is figure out how to entertain Dave for the next five days. That is about it for now, unless I want to continue ignoring my house-guest.

Oops! I missed a day.

Well, one day isn't a bad skip, but I had been trying for a month with no skipped days on the blog. Actually, yesterday's reason was because Dave has arrived, so we had a bit of catching up to do, as well as a bit of drinking. The drinking part may have involved more than a bit, but he did like the offerings at the Jolly Roger Taproom, his favorites being the Flagship Red and the namesake Christmas Ale, though if the weather would have been warmer, the dry hopped IPA would have been the winner. Tonight, he is off visiting his family, which is why I can sit here and type this without worrying about ignoring him.

Unfortunately, I don't have any more to say than I normally do, and so I get to go tangentially where I hope I haven't really gone before, but one can never really be sure. I have spoken about beer before, so that won't really be the focus, though there is much that can be said about it. I was actually surprised and pleased when Dave was cool with the experimentation while drinking, rather than retire to what I would have thought as his predictable glass of wine. Truth is, he is out in good beer country, so I am sure he will explore that as fully as I let him. Tonight is going to be a super early night because last night wasn't, and I stay up so far past my bedtime that I didn't hear the alarm this morning, at least not consciously, though Dave claims to have heard mutterings from my room when it went off. It was a challenge getting to work close to on time today, though I did manage a facsimile of it, and was told that it was no big deal--pleasing me much, but not so much as I think I will try it again tomorrow.

One more day

Down to my last evening in the house by myself for a week. While tonight won't be anything special, the next week should be fun. I really don't have a clue as to what we will do all week, though I do know Dave has some activities he needs to work on in preparation for next semester. Surprise of surprise is that his siblings, none of whom are going home for the holidays are slagging him for going to Seattle for those same holidays. Family is such fun. Mine is understanding that I have a life and may have other plans, and they won't guilt me for not flying home. Odd that I have it so lucky, but then I have not lived in their vicinity in a long time, and some of my early jobs required working on Christmas, so they really did become accustomed to me not being home for a good reason, making later absences no big deal.

Work this week is a nasty, horrible drag. No one in the department really wants to be there, and for the most part, I don't think any of my suppliers want to be working either. It makes for a rather lackluster sort of time at work, and I am eagerly anticipating Friday, though I know it won't provide me with the relief I need, just a temporary five day reprieve. How the human race got itself into this mess, I don't know. Somehow there must be a better way to live. Only a small percentage of people really have those jobs they love and don't consider work. (I have a job that I don't consider at all if I don't have to.) Where did we go wrong and end up in this position. There must be a considerable amount of creativity squandered because there is no outlet for it. If it doesn't jibe with what you do for a living, then you need to have enough energy to work on it at home after work. This after work sort of thing doesn't happen if you have a family or any self doubt whatsoever, as then you don't do it, thinking nothing will come of it anyway, besides, you are not a (fill in creative type profession of choice here). This is a sort of horrible place to be, because it is so deadening--killing any spark of creativity and drowning any that somehow make it past the scythe. I didn't really intend for this to be a depressing sort of post that fills one with dread and doom as such. The meanderings of the mind and the flow of words never cease to amaze.

Laundry & Elvis

Nothing like a Monday evening composed of laundry (Elvis was just playing when I typed the headline). Much like the temporal nature of the Elvis song, laundry will be done in an hour or so as well, making the headline doubly dubious. Today was one of those Mondays that didn't ever seem to get going. I really didn't want to get out of bed, and work seemed sort of pointless. I did have a meeting about what they wanted to ship by month end, and of course they had to cover all sorts of things that weren't really in my area, though the meeting was supposed to be specifically about my area. I do find much of what they do terribly silly, though that may not be the best word (trivial comes to mind, but that is probably even more of an opinion). Truthfully, I know why the meetings happen, and I know why they try to ship a certain number of dollars during a given month. Aside from guaranteeing some jobs, I am sure some bonuses are also affected. The only thing that bothers me is the goal to constantly exceed the target, because by constantly exceeding it, a higher bar is created for the following year, if not the following month. The other thing about constantly topping it is that frequently there is the pull in from the next month to make this months numbers (or beat them). At some point there is no more pulling you can do, and the pulling you have done, has impacted the ability to make numbers.

I should wrap this up now, as I have someone messaging me, and that means I will have a great deal of trouble keeping thoughts flowing semi-coherently.

Music today...

This is a much more what has been playing today column, rather than a state of music today column. I don't honestly listen to enough new music to say what the state of it is today. Oddly, when Christmas music hasn't been playing this month, it has been Tom Waits. Why I seem to be far more infatuated with his music now than when I first discovered it in university must have something to do with me actually maturing a bit. Back then I was fascinated with the noise/shock value; whereas, now, i enjoy the songs as a whole, considering lyrics and musical technique. That isn't to say that there isn't some fun in playing certain songs to people for the sheer shock value, but I like him for more than just an incredible interpretation of the Dwarf Marching Song (Heigh Ho). It is just the sort of paradox I enjoy, but the last year has also included a fair share of female European Pop singers from the sixties. There is nothing quite like ye-ye and the girls, mini-skirts, and go-go boots that always form the image for this French sub-genre. (Femmes de Paris is a good beginning for these ladies.) Fair warning, they are fluff and they are nothing like Tom Waits.

My desktop needs a new mouse. I think the old one is sticking, since it doesn't seem to register half the clicks, and doubles or triples the other half. I guess it gives me a good reason to stop by Office Depot or Fred Meyer after work tomorrow. I should try the latter first, since if they don't have what I want, I can always then stop by the other on my way home, with minimal back-tracking and delay. These sorts of things happen, and those things failing after a few years is to be expected. Computers aren't made to last forever, and if they did, you couldn't use them for much after a few years because all the programs are written planning on Moore's Law to work as it does. Plot the computers to do more and more, and hopefully they will be able to, without seeming to be much slower. I did see an early report comparing Tiger & Leopard, and it said that currently the latter isn't faster then the former, so don't upgrade just yet. It did say that while it was not faster, it wasn't slower either, meaning Apple managed all the new stuff without sacrificing speed, though they didn't gain it, which is a customer expectation these days.

Shipping Charges

Shame on me for waiting until 3 day service was the cheapest guaranteed way for things to get there, but some day I will learn, though by then my nephews & nieces will all be of age. It is kind of funny that UPS 3 Day is more expensive per pound than someone flying over the same distance. I don't really want to continue that out, because I am sure there are all sorts of things I am not factoring in that will make it less obscene. Anyway, this shipping to the youngsters is done, sent, and should be there in time for them to open them on the big day. Actually, they should be there in time for them to beg Mom & Dad to open them early, though I doubt they will allow it. Now the season is truly moving, with only one week left of work, then five days off. It looks like I might be cooking a Christmas Lasagna, since someone local may be joining Dave and I for Christmas dinner. Cooking is better than not, since otherwise I have no plans, and movies aren't a likelihood, unless I get some morbid taste for Sweeney Todd, if it opens at the Bay that is. It is weird for it to be noon and me to be done with all the important stuff that needed to get done today, so I guess it is time to start drinking. (Not really, but is sounds like a decent plan.)

You're a rotter...

Yeesh, just how many awful things are they going to say about the Grinch before wrapping up his song? The Christmas songs are continuing, and don't get me wrong, since I am not out shopping often, and they don't play them in the street, I am not really tired of them. Really, even if they did play them on the streets, how likely am I to hear Charo's disco version of "Donde esta Santa Claus?" It is actually just a Sunday morning, and I am not up to much except morning coffee. I was playing around on Guild Wars but there were some technical problems, so I gave that up and decided to write something instead, if this indeed counts as writing something. When do random musings become something more? Since I am not much for yammering about politics lately, or religion, or anything terribly controversial for that matter, this is a bit on the toothless side, but hopefully doesn't verge so far into navel gazing that you have to dodge the lint. (I think I am discovering why the better postings are made a bit later in the day, since this morning I don't seem to be able to put together two consecutive sentences that relate to each other.)

Not a total waste

Today has been a decent sort of day. I managed to get gifts wrapped, though they aren't sen yet. I did find out I have a few more hours tonight as well as all day tomorrow to get them in the mail. It looks as though UPS 3 day is my shipping method of choice this year, and to think I almost managed to get everything out in time to make UPS Ground viable.

Today actually consisted of wrapping things, cleaning up around the house while procrastinating against wrapping gifts, and then going out to an early dinner to procrastinate against hauling everything out the door to ship it. It is drizzling right now, which is a better excuse against taking things out of doors than any other I can think of pertaining to things around the apartment. House or apartment? Is there actually a correct word, or are they interchangeable unless specifically talking about something one owns? I use them rather interchangeably, trying to make sure I differentiate when it is important. Since I don't own a freestanding dwelling, I really don't have a house, but since I do live someplace, i can use house in that sense, or can I? The vagaries of the English language are such that one could ponder such things for ages, and, in this country, it would vary depending on region what I could and couldn't say, so I just won't worry about it, preferring to do what I want to say, rather than puttering and worrying too much about the greater implications of my comments--I am not a world leader, and no amount of hubris and ego will make me so.

I wish there was a bit more going on right now, but I really needed to post before I was sidetracked and the day escaped my clutches.

Friday Food

Dinner decisions are a nightmare sometimes. Those nights when you just feel the desire to get out of the house for a bit, and believe dinner is just the perfect excuse. It is the perfect excuse, but then comes the decision on where to eat. Perhaps I should have sample the menu at the Old Town while have a Dick's Silk Lady, but I have eaten there a bit since my return from Europe. There are so many other alternatives, that I haven't decided yet where to go. While I am sure this says nothing about my culinary tastes, lately, I have been choosing my restaurants by the tap selection as much as by their food. It is nice that there are several places close by with a variety on tap and not all of them serving burgers. The worst is waiting too long, for then, food is just food, and then McDonald's would work, though they don't serve beer in this country, so would be disqualified for that reason. (And if they did serve beer here, it would likely be Miller or Bud, so, again, they would be disqualified.) I do enjoy variety, which is sort of why Zayda Buddies keeps crossing my mind. While they do not have the best beer list, they have a decent pizza, and I haven't had anything but store-bought frozen pizza since my return from Europe. The few places that serve burgers are also appealing. Dining options and walking distance--this is what my Friday's are reduced too. Nothing bright, shiny, and festive this close to the holiday, but instead, where can I fill my stomach. Theoretically, I could expand the options a bit by walking over to Fremont, but I don't see much point in that, especially not with a house guest showing up next week who can be a guinea pig for places over there I haven't tried. Dave like Chinese buffets, though I think he is out of luck in this neighborhood for that, but if he like Thai, there are a few places we can go--one in Ballard & another one or two in Fremont.

What to add?

Actually, I can think of plenty to add, but the most distressing is I still have Christmas shopping to do, when I thought it was all done. All the little ones are taken care of, and one I even spoke with on the phone today? These last two weeks of the year are going to be difficult at work--difficult in the sense of really getting much done. Things will happen, and business will move forward, but I think in most places people are less than fully present at work (less now than normal). Tomorrow is our office party, and the whole company will shut down around 11:00 or so, move off-site for a buffet lunch, and if last year is an example, then a few hours of random drawings for company supplied swag (though none had the company logo on it last year), followed by an "early" release. It should be pleasant enough, at least a little more pleasant than working all day and dealing with that sort of silliness. This is actually the first place I have worked where they decided the company party should be during business hours so everyone could attend with no difficulty.

This is a difficultly random post, as I can't think of what needs to be here, though perhaps I will try to take a good picture of my tree and post it some time before the holiday, but don't hold your breath, or you may turn blue. What does need to be added here? Does anything need to be added here? (Actually, I should forgo adding additional questions and clean house, since I have a guest coming next week.) Cleaning is boring, so I will get to it later, like next Tuesday night, where it sets in with a panic. I did some deleting of contacts off my Yahoo messenger yesterday. Somehow I managed to get all these people, and I don't remember who they all are, so I decided to click on their profiles and see if I recognized the picture or the description. Surprisingly, a few I recalled, and, not so surprisingly, there were many more I did not know, and the delete button was pressed. I really hope that I didn't delete anyone I shouldn't have, but I would bet everyone goes through this pruning process periodically.

Christmas Guest

Hey, I just found out that I will have a guest at Christmas. Needless to say, I am excited and a bit concerned as I haven't had a house-guest since I moved out here. Man...Star Wars Christmas moving into Kay Martin, nothing like comparison.

Mid-week already

If ever there was a week moving fast, so far it has been this one, but I am sure that has to do with me not working Monday. I may also have to do with the inexorable speed the end of the year seems to bring with it. Nothing seems in its own time, though some things are taking their own time. I am hoping the last gift I need for a niece shows up tomorrow, especially since I spent that extra bit to get it here, so I could then ship it at a normal rate across country.

Wow...yahoo is taking forever to log me in. I wonder if I should cancel and try again. Ok, I am trying the cancel and login again thing, and it seemed to work. Now I am in, and even have a dopey holiday hat on. I guess all that is left is for people to make snide comments about it, but it is the holiday season, so I should be given a pass, as long as it is off my profile by sometime in early January, unlike my tree last year, which I think was out until sometime in February (though I may have taken it down by January 31st, but if I did, I didn't beat that date by many days).

The last few days I have been bothering people on chat, so I will see if anyone actually says anything to me. I find it sort of fun, though yesterday I cleaned out a bunch of contacts that I don't think I ever spoke with past the initial day or two that they were added. It isn't that I don't want to talk with them, but at this point, I don't even remember who most of them are. It is, in my opinion, much the same plague that hits friends in MySpace or Tribe, that sort of instance where you can't possibly know all 900,000 people listed in your friends list. I don't see any advantage to a long list of people you barely know calling themselves your friends, while the people you actually know are lost in the mess of names. This is probably just a sign of age or else poor organization, but I wouldn't really want a tab titled, "who are these people?" I am trying not to be too closed-minded, but too many people is just that, and if you don't know them, then they aren't really your network, but just a collection of web-sites you have visited.

Well, it is time to throw something in the oven for dinner and drink some more "Delirium Noel."

The most posts

for a given month award this year, goes to December. It wasn't that I was really having a contest, but it is just something I noticed today. The desperate urgency to continue finding words to fill these spaces, as not filling one, leads to another, and so forth (examples are a-plenty this year). Today was back to work, and a rather bizarre day it was, as I never quite felt like it was time to be there. Perhaps it is that holiday spirit that leaks into everything this time of year, making you wish that other things could be done than work, like sitting at home thinking you should be putting up the tree while watching some silly holiday rerun on the television, and this year, rerun is the operative word. Oh, if anyone happens to come across "Jul Igen (remix)" by Monrad og Rislund, I would recommend it. I don't currently have an online account for sharing music, nor do I know how to embed it here, so making do with the title and artist will have to do. Other than meaning "Christmas Again," I can't say what the song is about, and it could be about axe murderers, but I like to think not, as that would not be very characteristic of a Scandanavian Christmas Carol. Other than that, I don't have much to say today. Work was just that, I came home, napped, woke up, messed around on Itunes, had dinner, and am currently enjoying a Leffe Blond while typing. I should no doubt be doing a dozen other things, but they don't seem to have priority right now. Priority right now is typing this, something of utter profound importance. I also have to admit, and maybe I mentioned it yesterday, but Tom Waits version of "Silent Night" is really cool. It has come on the stereo again, and I am enjoying it again. My family would really dislike my holiday music selection--not the songs as much as the artists singing the songs. But most families tend to be traditional in this light, so I shouldn't expect mine to be any different (and they aren't).

Too many words--though Tolstoy has me beat, both in content and length. One year of my life still takes up less space in paper than the entirety of "War and Peace." That really is pathetic, though maybe it isn't. Would a War-and-Peace-length blog really be all that interesting. We do enough navel gazing in this century as it is, and I don't see a reason to add that much more. Truthfully, I wonder how focused on my navel this blog really is, and all I can conclude is that I hope it isn't that focused because I don't find navel gazing that fascinating a past-time, though like many, it happens, and when it does, it throws me into some sort of depression because of all the things I haven't done. If that isn't a good reason to avoid it, I don't know what is. Maybe this whole blog is a treading water exercise to keep me from navel gazing, though more likely it is time passing exercise that will prevent me from going to the gym, or maybe it is both. The variations are many, and since I am an excellent procrastinator, I don't think I need to find more excuses for it than already show up, nor do I need to commit any more into text.