Running

Because it's so so true. Kudos to the originator of this graphic. Wish I could thank you personally.
Sad that I'm putting this up here right now when I am not only working on my knee, but also recovering from bronchitis and feeling further from a return to running than ever. However, I freakin' WILL get there eventually and I'd like to store this hilarious and true graphic here while I work on it.
Also stored here for posterity is Janiece's moving post about why she runs and minus the running 8 miles thing is true for me too.  In fact, after I get "running" back into my "things I can do" column, I'm going to work on my endurance and see exactly how far I can run.

'Tis the Season (for Muppets)

Just heard an instrumental Carol of the Bells and it made me think of this rendition.

 [sigh]

 I love the Muppets!

Kindle Reading

When I first got my Kindle last birthday, I was ecstatic and cautious all at once. After all, I have an enormous pile of to read books that occasionally gets whittled down by me changing my taste in books and giving them away. My fear was that the impulse buying issue I have in bookstores that leads me to avoid them in the same way an alcoholic avoids bars would be free to deplete my bank account unchecked.

My fears were thankfully unfounded. I do impulse shop, but mostly from Pixel of Ink's free (or nearly free) daily listings. I prefer to visit the website rather than get the email notifications, mainly because the former has pictures and the latter, only text. I highly recommend it if you're in tough financial straits because you can get some good, well-reviewed (by readers) books in a decent range of genres (ie. not just romance).  I do have a pile of cool books I might end up reading, and a shorter pile of must reads, but they no longer take up so much space.  :)

My other big discovery was Instapaper. The site calls it, "A simple tool to save web pages for reading later." For example, say you're websurfing during your lunch hour and you encounter a neat, but very lengthy article. In the past, you might bookmark it for later, but you'd have to remember it was there and be on a computer to read it. With Instapaper, you click your "Read Later" bookmarklet and through the magic of computing, the article is sent to your Kindle via your Amazon account. That means it comes over wirelessly. Now they have iPhone and iPad and Android apps for those wanting to read it that way too. I've been using it for a couple of months now and it is super cool and very easy to use. I highly recommend it.

Now, if only I had more time to read...

Blogging Breakfast

(I've been too busy to blog, but I'm determined to try and keep it up...)

To continue my blog's trend of posting yummy pictures, here's what my brekkie looked like this morning.  As usual, it was delicious.  :)

Mis en place (toasted sesame oil not shown)

Final product

Blog Reboot

This isn't a true reboot (or would that be "reimagining?").  I've been tempted to do so and have been ogling Squarespace for a little while now.  But I'm not sure it's worth the expense for just a blog that has, for the last year and a half been mouldering in obscurity.  When I'm back into a good routine and feel better about having something that is linked to my full name, somewhere I can promote my activities (writing, architecture?), I'll probably look at Squarespace again, but right now, I think this will have to do.

I've been thinking lots about writing recently, especially since I went to Worldcon (Chicon 7) and have started watching The Story Board, a Google Hangout once a month, moderated by Patrick Rothfuss.  I have more to say on the subject of writing, but will leave it for another post, as I really ought to get back to things I'm "supposed" to be doing.  Also, so I have something in the bag to post about next.

And finally, I will do NaNoWriMo this year.  I considered writing with an audience (like this woman is doing) but considering how exploratory this year's effort will be, I think I'll simply blog about my progress and my discoveries during that progress.  A bit like an explorer's journal entry, rather than taking you on the excursions themselves.

Anyway, welcome back, dear readers and if you're a new reader, there's plenty of old posts here if you're curious what I'm about.

Enjoy!

Improvements

Moonlight Scotch Broom plants were on sale at the local nursery and, since there was one on the property when I got it (way overgrown, but did not make the move from the patio area to the side yard) I thought it might be nice to have a new one -- in the side yard, as originally intended.
The hole digging went much more smoothly than I expected, so now I'm enjoying one of my birthday presents (bought with a gift card): Family Guy: Star Wars Trilogy. I'm not generally a Family Guy fan* but it is really good (especially the first one, Blue Harvest).  I highly recommend it to any Star Wars fan.  (And for any of my friends, you're welcome to borrow mine.  :)

*I once dated a guy who disliked South Park because of Cartman, but loved Family Guy. I, on the other hand, dislike Family Guy because of Peter, but love South Park. The humor of this was not lost on me, as both are extremely similar, boorish and unpleasant. 

Me and Work

Last weekend, I did an experiment about working first, then playing later. It worked in the sense that I got lots done (and needed to). It also confirmed for me that my internal rhythm does not suit that particular saying. I worked the entire weekend and did not actually get any "play" because of several factors:
- If I am "on a roll" and getting somewhere on my neverending to-do list, I won't stop because of some arbitrary stopping point. This is why I work late during the week and why I rarely go into work early. My most productive time is in the afternoon, so it's hard for me to stop working during that time.
- I have a strong habit of needing to "finish" a task before I stop. This often manifests as needing to finish the chapter or a scene before putting a good book down, finishing a knitting row or sequence before putting knitting down, finishing a task at work before stopping for the day, etc.
This, paired with my morning attention patterns:
- I'm often late for work because I get distracted and start emptying the dishwasher (which, of course has to be finished before I leave), reading an article in a magazine, taking out the trash, etc.
- The above distraction at work as well makes it difficult to get a lot accomplished in the morning. I'm checking my email, catching up on what I missed online at the end of the day before, etc. (I rarely get online in the evenings anymore. It really screws with my bedtime.)

The conclusion is, I'm not going to feel guilty anymore that I play first and work later. Life is too short to fight your inner nature, and as long as I get stuff accomplished sometime and it doesn't negatively affect others, who cares when I get it done?

A Case for a Hermitage

1. When you are a hermit, no one comes to your house, so they don't see the cat hair on the couch or the drips of spaghetti sauce on the stove top or the crumbs on the counter and think "TSK. Doesn't she ever tidy this place?"

2. When you are a hermit, you don't see anyone, so they don't look at your clothes and your hair and think "TSK. There's a stain on the collar of his shirt. And his hair is much too long. Would it kill him to get a haircut?"

3. When you are a hermit, you don't interact with anyone, so you don't have to be afraid of accidentally offending someone or hurting someone's feelings, as if you were some sort of lumbering cave troll who backs into someone's favorite heirloom vase and sends it tumbling to its doom.

4. When you are a hermit, you don't tell anyone what you do, so you can spend your time as you really honestly like. If you feel gardening that day, you can spend the whole day covered in dirt. If you feel like sitting in the sun reading a book, you can do that without someone thinking, "What a lazy bum. Doesn't she know there is grass to be mown, weeds to be pulled, leaves to be raked and plants to be watered?"

When you are a hermit, you are insulated from judgment. Sure, the people in the town 40 miles away, where you go to get supplies think, "Strange old duck. Half the marbles have rolled away," but they only think that on the day you go into town, every 3 months or so. And the rest of the time, you're free to be yourself.