Archive for the ‘Personal’ Category
I’m cutting back on my web exposure this year. I thought about cutting back on the blog and using Facebook more, but instead I’ve decided to cut back on Facebook and put this blog on hiatus for a while. I continued writing my Journal in January. I got half way thought the month and decided to put that on hiatus too. I did pick up a Moleskine and have been writing daily notes in that. Going back to analog has been sort of relaxing. It helps that I’ve been disciplined enough to keep it updated every day.
I thought long and hard about writing. Each year I review my work flow and decide how much I want to write, what I want to write, who I’m writing for, how much I want to share, and how I want to share it. First I decided I wanted to write more analog i.e. using pencil and paper. I needed more room for notes, so I passed on the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimwear desk calendar and got a 2010 Moleskine Pocket Diary. I’m convinced more notes mean I won’t have to write a journal. The notes will be the journal. So far it is working out.
I almost pulled the plug on this blog. Instead I’ve decided to pull the plug on Facebook. I’ve grown disillusioned with the Facebook experience. I’m not closing my account but I’m not going to actively use Facebook any longer. The blog will continue but I envision shorter entries.
I would love to post longer fiction on my other blog, but I have to force myself to complete some of the many drafts I have laying around; maybe some older work as well. It remains to be seen.
I’ve been tired and run down lately. I thought it was time to start running again. I hope to run three times a week. It’s hard to schedule a run. It makes the most sense to run in the morning. Historically I have zero energy in the morning but lately I’ve noticed I’ve become more alert in morning. I thought I would give it a try. I was actually excited this morning. I’m not interested in running fast or far, just enough to get the heart rate up and improve my oxygen update. It was 20 degrees this morning, but once I start moving it will be fine. I was listening to “Pride and Prejudice” on my iPod. This is much better than music. The book forces more concentration from me, which distracts me from the discomfort of running. I have the version read by Jenny Agutter. She reads each of the many characters in different voices. I quite like it. I need a map to keep the characters straight. Early Thanksgiving morning- there is little traffic. I’m running in the neighborhood to the east where everything is pretty residential. I didn’t measure the distance but it must be close to a mile and a half. A good distance as I ran out of steam by the time I got home.
Saturday (11/28) It is 28 degrees this morning but humid. I made some adjustments. I put on lounge pants under my warm up pants and wore mittens. The lounge pants worked well, but the mittens were too hot. My knees were sore from the last run so I added two Ace Knee Braces. This helped a lot. I also took one aspirin and a glass of water before I run. I take the cell phone in case I drop dead. I ran slightly faster and ended up having to walk half a block at the halfway point to catch my breath.
Sunday (11/29) Two days in a row wasn’t my plan but I was curious how my body would react. I exchanged the mittens for gloves- it is still 30 degrees outside. I ran the other way around and had to walk half a block twice. I was pleased with this first week of runs, but worry I will lose interest. [I did]
I was surprised to find all my joints felt better than they have in years. I don’t know if it is the exercise, the aspirin or both.
My cousin Nathan Orr got the job at Caterpillar, he was excited and I was excited for him. He needed a ride to finalize his employment. I took him over to Volt, which must act as an employment subcontractor for Cat. (Get around the union?) “I’m going to pop over to Suzanne’s so call over there when you’re ready.” It was expected to take half an hour but it was closer to 90 minutes. Good thing there is no limit to the number of topics Suzanne and I can talk about. I played with Clare until it was time for her nap. Suzanne and I discussed her new chocolate venture. It sounds very exciting. Suzanne talked about Paul’s job and Deacon training, and we covered books, politics, religion, and education before Nathan called.
I wrote a poem for Ray on Father’s Day
I was happily surfing the web when it the pages stopped loading. (4:03 pm) I checked my wireless connection. I check the DSL modem. The Internet light was off. I rebooted the modem. Still no love.
While I was surfing I saw a graphic that gave me an idea for a logo. I do a lot graphic work- it might be cool if I had a logo. While I waited for the Internet to return, I designed the entire logo in Macromedia Freehand. No sooner had I finished than the program crashed; it crashed when I was trying to save my work. Thankfully, the program froze with the logo was sitting in front of me. I made some notes. I killed the program. The Internet was still down. I called Qwest. I got a computer, that told me, “I see the internet is down in your area. Be assured we are working quickly to remedy the situation, but we don’t know when repairs will be completed.”
I checked all evening. I called Victor; he is happily running on the internet while I looked a dead browser. Crazy me, I’m playing a $10/ month premium to use Qwest.net as my ISP rather than Microsoft Live, which is free with Qwest DSL. I gave up at midnight. Qwest has it running by morning. Testing Macromedia Freehead it seemed to crash every time I tried to save anything. I restarted Windows XP- that seemed to fix the problem. I recreated the logo.
I have a dentist appointment this morning. I’m unhappy. In the last 10-20 years my dentist has grown wildly expensive. The sort of technological advances that have driven prices down on computers and electronics seems to have had the opposite affect on dentistry, not that his practice has changed all that much. It also annoys me how little I know about my dentist. Is he the best in town or the worst? Is he the least expensive or the most? Are there alternative treatments, plans, insurance, or strategies that would make me happier.
I did a quick review of Dental Tourism. It looks to be pretty popular. The primary destinations are Mexico and Hungary. It only seems viable if you need a lot of work done at once or live close to the border.
The cleaning went well. Once the gunk is removed around my salvia gland it squirts a happy stream on to my bib. Funny and embarrassing at the same time. The Dentist pops his head in. He reminds me #14 had a cavity and he would like to rebuild #15. Neither of these two teeth are bothering me, which makes them the only teeth that don’t. The total cost for what amounts to one small cavity is $953. I should take some time and discuss my concerns with him, except he is billing me close to $1000/hour. I can’t afford to ask him a question.
The Fargo Public Library (FPL, main branch) has been my home away from home for years and years. I was pretty pissed off when they tore it down to build a multi-million dollar shrine to civic pride. I’m sure I’ll have more to say on the topic, but here are my first impressions.
Simultaneously for lunch I was:
enjoying some pepperoni pizza,
I listening to Jimi Hendrix wail on his guitar,
and smirking to “Mad About Star Wars: Thirty Years of Classic Parodies”.
Ray was attending a Religious Convention in Jacksonville, Florida. I took him to the airport at 6 AM. I swung by the Teigen house but the car was gone. Victor was probably at the gym.
Time to hit the showers. After toweling off I was still damp. I decided to air dry. It was warm and I was alone. I sat down to the computer and got distracted as I always do. Some hours later I was dry and conscious that I was overexposed. Thankfully no webcam.
Victor called about lunch and brought a Subway sandwich to share. He also brought his camera so I could read the photos off his xD card. I posted his better photos including this one of me to his flickr account. Victor was taken by the Gazillion Bubbles Elmo. He wants to get one for his granddaughter.
