I looked at this topic from a couple of different directions, and discussed it with my husband, who actually has had to save things from a fire. We live in an area of Southern California where wildfires are, unfortunately, not rare, and he and his family had to evacuate their home due to a nearby fire threat several years ago. They were able to return safely and their house wasn’t damaged, but was still understandably […]
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Labor Day, and some people are working…
…or at least writing things to make us think about working. I’ve come to suspect that too much time spent with “productivity” websites can have the exact opposite effect, so I’m looking to sites like Lifehacker and Lifehack.org to find what’s worthwhile for me to check out, and Lifehack’s pointing to a few good ones today. This post about “being selfish with your time” addresses boundary-setting and the ways that “just say no” really can […]
Just finished: “The Good Life”
The Good LifeJay McInerney When I was young, I often re-read my favorite books. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become far less likely to do so, probably due to a combination of less time to read in the first place and so many appealing new books I haven’t gotten to yet. Brightness Falls by Jay McInerney is one of the few novels I’ve read multiple times since I left my 20’s. Russell and Corrine Calloway […]
So, what have we learned?
I believe in karma. I believe that what goes around comes around. And thanks to my deep Catholic roots – even if that plant’s not getting much water lately – I believe in penance. I’ve spent most of the last two days doing it. My conflicted relationship with my job is becoming an old story around here. But we’ve spent a lot of time together for the last couple of days – 12 hours at […]
iPod Random 10 8-31-07
“The Laws Have Changed” – New Pornographers“Red Dragon Tattoo” – Fountains of Wayne“River of Love” – Pat Benatar“Soulful Shade of Blue” – Neko Case“Probably” – Lisa Loeb“I Hate Myself for Losing You” – Kelly Clarkson“I Me Mine” – The Beatles“Last Goodbye” – Jeff Buckley“Little Too Late” – Pat Benatar“Sweet Baby James” – James Taylor Looks like it was a woman’s world today, but sometimes I wonder about how that “shuffle” thing on the iPod actually […]
Weather report
This southern girl felt right at home when she stepped outside at 5:45 this morning to walk the dog. It was already 73 degrees, and the humidity was thick. When we got downstairs to the open sidewalk, we discovered it was actually drizzling – rain has been rare this year anyway, but in the summer it’s especially unusual. Unfortunately, this is one of the three things I miss least about the South. Southern Cal is […]
Rules of the road
Stolen (with permission) from A Daily Dose of Zen Sarcasm: Yield ≠ mergeLeft Turn Only lane ≠ your personal merging laneNo turn signal = No letting your rude-person butt inFlashing RED light = Stop, then proceed with cautionFlashing RED light ≠ “Let’s see who can get faster to the intersection!”Flashing YELLOW light = Proceed with caution.Flashing YELLOW light ≠ “The road is mine, bitches”Flashing YELLOW light ≠ Stop. Go. Gooo….ssttttooopp! GO!Pedestrians ≠ Bumper fodder (unless […]
Wiki Wednesday 8-29-07
It’s the first day of school, and time to learn something! 1. Go to Wikipedia.2. Click on “Random article” in the left-hand sidebar box.3. Post it! (I forgot to include the instructions last week…oops!) Traveling back in time and down under to see what was notable about 1948 in Australia: Events January 23 – De Havilland Australia conducts the first flight of its 3 engined Drover transport aircraft at Bankstown Airport May 8 – Margaret […]
A little “liking your job” followup
Lifehacker points to a post on the Life Learning Today blog that offers “25 Tips to Become More Productive and Happy at Work.” I think I may have mentioned that this has been a challenge for me of late. Like many lists of this type, some of the “tips” are a little redundant, and they won’t all work for everyone all the time, but there are a few that caught my attention: Choose Happiness, Humor, […]
Ten on Tuesday: 10 Things You DO Like About Your Job
Since I appended five things I liked about my job to last week’s list, I’m going to tweak this assignment just a little bit, and make my list “10 Things I Like About Having a Job.” As usual, these are in no particular order (except for the first one): The ability to support myself financially The ability to contribute to my family’s financial support (this would really be more like 1a, but I couldn’t get […]
Today’s “Gratitude 5”
Post-weekend, Monday-morning, quickie edition Family time this weekend – bowling, board gamesKitchen time with The Girl – preparing Saturday evening dinner together (a new pasta salad recipe, fried chicken from Safeway, and chocolate mousse for dessert)Little morning chats with The Boy – some days I’m not the first one up, and he’s looking to be sociableLearning there’s a very good after-hours Pediatric Urgent Care clinic in Thousand Oaks (unfortunately, having to learn about it the […]
iPod Random 10 8-24-07
Karen’s Random Tens are usually much more interesting than mine, so check that out. (Her blog has inspired both this meme and “Wiki Wednesday.”) I’m not sure what’s happened in the last couple of weeks, but the interference with my car iPod adapter, which goes through my FM tuner, seems to have disappeared. This is what I listened to on the way to work this morning, with comments: “Stupid Girls,” Pink (she doesn’t want to […]
