I have a list of "things I gotta do. I not only "gotta do them," I gotta make sure I never have to do them again, or at least set up a system so that they are done in an organized fashion so they don't take unnecessary time and frustration.
At the moment I am copying off a bunch of paperwork from my dad's estate to send off to my sister. I was going to send it without making a copy and then thought "don't do that, Susan, or the gremlin will getcha." So the reason I'm blogging at all on this subject as I'm up here next to my old beater copy machine hoping the ink lasts for the fairly large pile of stuff. It's going to take awhile, and there's a computer sitting here, so hey, I may as well blog. If I've gotta be bored, so do you, if you wandered here!
Other things on the To Do list:
Get my sales taxes done
Close the Wildrun bank account and all other extraneous bank accounts in Tompkins County, since it's clear I won't be moving back there, and Wildrun's old incarnation is defunct.
FIND A NEW ACCOUNTANT. Anyone have any suggestions in the Owego/Binghamton area?
File for 501(c)(3) tax exempt status for Wildrun. Suggestions for a new name, anyone?
Get my sewing machine fixed. I can't make cat toys with a broken sewing machine!
Get my old laptop fixed.
Go through all my cat adoption/vet records, set up a better filing system
Set up an electronic email list of adopters/supporters
Start sending email announcements
Finish painting the cat facility
Fix the floor in the cat facility
Screen the front porch before Molly gets eaten by a coyote when she's clipped out.
Take photos of all the adoptables. Arthur and Faith aren't even on my pet list. wtf?
Buy a new camera. I have $300 in gift cards that aren't useable online, so I have to go to DEWITT to buy a camera. I guess it's time to go visit my sister in Syracuse.
Clean the downstairs of the barn in anticipation of the Open House.
Send spay/neuter certificates to my recent adopters
Wow, the more I add, the more I think of!
The desktop computer I am using was given to me by work when our company was sold to another company. I seldom work on it, because it has picked up this quirk. Any time I try to work in a new window, the cursor won't work unless I open the Task Manager and click on it. It has gotten so bad I keep the Task Manager open at all times at the bottom of the screen. How odd is that? So it needs its brain wiped, too, but right now the router, battery back up, etc. etc. are all tied into it, and I can't bring myself to mess with it. Once the old laptop is fixed, I will swap her in as the "brain computer" and send the desktop off to be fixed.
There is such a thing as "too many computers." But sure as anything, if I give one away, the one I keep will crash. It's like me having two old pickup trucks. If one dies, I can drive the other, until the day comes when I can afford another new vehicle.
That's the story of my life, and it's something I slowly need to fix. Nonetheless, as long as there are living creatures involved, it's a story of priorities. And while people may argue that "cats aren't that important," nonetheless, not feeding them or cleaning up after them will land you in jail.
So let's consider that important, OK?
Yes! I made it through this pile and the ink lasted. So it's off to the post office.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
The cats like it. Of course.
That's as close to a couch as we are ever going to get, here. Well, unless you count the futon couch.
There. Once the wood is stacked, I'm ready for winter.
Post Note: btw, that pitcher with the flowers in it? History. The kittens knocked it over. Now you know why I usually only get things from garage sales and Craigslist.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Dear Dad.
When I am relaxing in my home, I will think of you. When the snow comes tumbling down, and I'm wrapped up working in my den, warm and comfortable, I will think of you.
As I have blogged about endlessly here, I am a Craiglist fan. Why buy new furniture, when sooner or later, someone will want to find a home for theirs, at a fraction of the price. Granted, it may have a rough edge, and you have to constantly lurk on the list so as not to miss what you want. I practically lived on Craigslist when I was looking for an antique armoire (and found one, too, for $80).
I have cats. There is something painful about buying new furniture, only to have cats destroy it. Mark and I purchased two Lane recliners over time, and the cats slowly picked away at them. Of course, I wasn't as vigilant as I ought to be about training them not to scratch, either. Only our futon couch won the war against cats, because the frame is wood, not upholstery.
When my father passed away, there was a small estate split between we three girls. It was not something we expected. Most of the money I used to ensure I could keep this house so I could continue to work with cats. Some I saved for the drastic house repairs that are to come (I was up on my roof the other day. Ouch. New roof soon).
But the other day the final check arrived, I looked at it, and thought, you know? I would like to have some furniture that I picked out. I would like it to be comfortable for me. I would like it not to be a compromise with other people (either the previous owner, or a partner whose preferences and body you also need to take into consideration).
I remind myself that some people closing in on 50 don't find anything odd about buying furniture from a furniture store rather than a garage sale or Walmart. Some people actually have entire rooms where the furniture all matches. Shocking!
Two chairs needed to leave to help my house look less like Cat Lady Land. The recliner that Cricket needs to get her three-legged self up on the cat tree, and my over-sized desk chair which was a gift from friends.
The recliner was the first thing you saw when you came in the door and has suffered the ravages of cats and time. It is also pink. Well, light mauve. Yeah...it's pink.
The desk chair, while it looks comfortable, is too large for me. It will be fine at the upstairs desk, however.
So....
I'll have you know that I spent so much time agonizing over that chair, FOUR salespeople came over to help me vote on which one to buy. The place practically broke into applause when I made my decision. I don't care if it's red velvet. I think it's cool.
And yes, the desk chair is brown zebra print! It exactly matches the brown carpet. I hope my friends who know me are laughing out loud now.
My back is so happy now. The Cricket chair has a cat in it at all times, so it appears to be a hit. Neither chair has arms to scratch. Take that, cats!
But then, I moved the recliner into the den (where my desk and the new zebra chair also reside) to live with the second clawed recliner.
Uck. Cat lady furniture.
So today I went chair shopping again, to search for a chair-and-a-half. Believe it or not, the one I liked best was also on sale, and was the least expensive big chair at Sam Peter's. But it didn't fit in my truck (yes, it's THAT big) so will be delivered tomorrow.
You'll be happy to know I do have some sense. It's brown. Just brown. Well, very plushy dark brown. Ummm...EXTREMELY plushy dark brown. It's a totally sinful chair.
Oh, and I bought a few more things.
A squirt gun. THREE squirt guns, so I can always have one at hand. And three rolls of double-sided tape.
As I have blogged about endlessly here, I am a Craiglist fan. Why buy new furniture, when sooner or later, someone will want to find a home for theirs, at a fraction of the price. Granted, it may have a rough edge, and you have to constantly lurk on the list so as not to miss what you want. I practically lived on Craigslist when I was looking for an antique armoire (and found one, too, for $80).
I have cats. There is something painful about buying new furniture, only to have cats destroy it. Mark and I purchased two Lane recliners over time, and the cats slowly picked away at them. Of course, I wasn't as vigilant as I ought to be about training them not to scratch, either. Only our futon couch won the war against cats, because the frame is wood, not upholstery.
When my father passed away, there was a small estate split between we three girls. It was not something we expected. Most of the money I used to ensure I could keep this house so I could continue to work with cats. Some I saved for the drastic house repairs that are to come (I was up on my roof the other day. Ouch. New roof soon).
But the other day the final check arrived, I looked at it, and thought, you know? I would like to have some furniture that I picked out. I would like it to be comfortable for me. I would like it not to be a compromise with other people (either the previous owner, or a partner whose preferences and body you also need to take into consideration).
I remind myself that some people closing in on 50 don't find anything odd about buying furniture from a furniture store rather than a garage sale or Walmart. Some people actually have entire rooms where the furniture all matches. Shocking!
Two chairs needed to leave to help my house look less like Cat Lady Land. The recliner that Cricket needs to get her three-legged self up on the cat tree, and my over-sized desk chair which was a gift from friends.
The recliner was the first thing you saw when you came in the door and has suffered the ravages of cats and time. It is also pink. Well, light mauve. Yeah...it's pink.
The desk chair, while it looks comfortable, is too large for me. It will be fine at the upstairs desk, however.
So....
I'll have you know that I spent so much time agonizing over that chair, FOUR salespeople came over to help me vote on which one to buy. The place practically broke into applause when I made my decision. I don't care if it's red velvet. I think it's cool.
And yes, the desk chair is brown zebra print! It exactly matches the brown carpet. I hope my friends who know me are laughing out loud now.
My back is so happy now. The Cricket chair has a cat in it at all times, so it appears to be a hit. Neither chair has arms to scratch. Take that, cats!
But then, I moved the recliner into the den (where my desk and the new zebra chair also reside) to live with the second clawed recliner.
Uck. Cat lady furniture.
So today I went chair shopping again, to search for a chair-and-a-half. Believe it or not, the one I liked best was also on sale, and was the least expensive big chair at Sam Peter's. But it didn't fit in my truck (yes, it's THAT big) so will be delivered tomorrow.
You'll be happy to know I do have some sense. It's brown. Just brown. Well, very plushy dark brown. Ummm...EXTREMELY plushy dark brown. It's a totally sinful chair.
Oh, and I bought a few more things.
A squirt gun. THREE squirt guns, so I can always have one at hand. And three rolls of double-sided tape.
Partan Bree, Spencer style
I found a recipe in a magazine. Like most foodie recipes, it took more work than I was willing to invest (cutting corn off corn cob, soaking the corn and cob in cream and broth).
I'm sure it is amazing when done as ordered, however, that wouldn't have happened in my kitchen.
So, anyway, let me put the water on for tea and I'll get back to you.
I'm back.
2 cups chicken broth. I used bouillon and water. For a year and a half I either (A) bought boxed organic broth or (B) tried to make extra of my own to keep frozen as a soup base. I figure I've wasted so much time and money (and packaging), I finally went back to bouillon.
2 cups half and half (recipe called for heavy cream. I figured halfnhalf was sin enough)
1 small can of quality corn (recipe called for corn on the cob, blah blah blah...)
6 slices of bacon. You can add less if you prefer.
8 ounces mushrooms, fancy-schmancy type. Recipe called for morels (!!!). I used about 6 ounces of shiitake.
1 1/2 tbsp minced fresh thyme. I used 1 tsp dried, but I'm sure fresh would be better
2 tbsp whiskey. I did use whiskey, but sherry might work for those who prefer it.
2 tbsp butter
1-2 leeks, white and light green parts only, chopped fine. I used one.
1/2 lb crabmeat. I used the fake stuff. I'll use real, next time. I'm sure canned lump crab would be better than the fake stuff.
Salt,and fresh ground pepper.
3 tbsp minced fresh chives (I used this, but you don't need it. It's just for garnish).
Combine 1.5 cups broth, 2 cups half-n-half, and 1 drained can of corn in a large saucepan and warm on low. Add a small amount of salt and pepper.
I'll have you know that the above directions just deleted about about a half hour of cutting corn off the cobs and soaking the corn cobs and corn in the cream/broth. If you'd like to do that, you go right ahead. You then discard the cobs. Unless you really like corn cobs. If you do, well, you are a weird one, aren't you?
In a skillet, fry the cut-up bacon. When cooked, add mushrooms and cook for about 7-10 minutes. You want it done to the point of having crispy bits to scrape off the bottom of the pan. Add the thyme and cook until fragrant, about one additional minute.
They would have you get yet ANOTHER pot to cook the leeks. I added the remaining broth to the bacon and mushrooms, and threw the leeks in with butter, for about 7 minutes.
If you want to cook the leeks in butter in a separate pan, you wash another pan.
I then put the skillet contents in with the corn/broth/half-n-half base. Add the crab. Add the whiskey.
Let cook about 5 minutes (do NOT bring to a brisk boil) and then salt/pepper to taste. Don't season it until it has had a chance to cook a bit. I then let it sit on low for another 10 minutes. Really, really low. Seriously, if you boil this stuff hard, all that work and money just went right down the drain, because milk does not like being boiled. But it does need to simmer to get the flavors to work together.
This recipe also suggests adding rice. I figured that with all the stuff in here, I'd rather eat it as a chowder/stew. But if you want rice, go for it.
This makes enough for four very generous servings. If you add rice, you will increase that. I cut the recipe in half, by the way. I could have fed the entire road with the original.
When I first put it all together, I was underwhelmed. However, after the thyme cooked into it and all the flavors soaked together, it was very good. I'm interested in seeing whether it is even better tomorrow.
PostNote: EXCELLENT the second day.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Speaking of the demon of fate. It...
...pisses me off.
So, my PO Box expired, and I went in and paid for it, and the Post Office person and I joked around while the transaction went through. Three weeks later, friends are telling me their mail is still coming back to them. Grrrrrrr.... OK, it's just a mistake. Back I go to the Post Office!
Two weeks ago I took back my library books, which involves a trip to Ithaca. Today I get an auto-dialer call telling me I have overdue items.
I do NOT like it when I have done something and I have to do it again! I especially do not like it when I have been busting my butt to get my life in order.
So I take three deep breaths and tell myself I need to pick up mail anyway, and I have to feed the cats in Ithaca, so hey, "no big deal." Except I know the library will be a pain, because the only answer a library knows is "We don't have it, so you pay for it," unless you can find the book on the shelves and set it in front of them.
I think it's time to go boogie with a kitten. Maybe some Michelle Shocked, turned up really loud? And more coffee.
So, my PO Box expired, and I went in and paid for it, and the Post Office person and I joked around while the transaction went through. Three weeks later, friends are telling me their mail is still coming back to them. Grrrrrrr.... OK, it's just a mistake. Back I go to the Post Office!
Two weeks ago I took back my library books, which involves a trip to Ithaca. Today I get an auto-dialer call telling me I have overdue items.
I do NOT like it when I have done something and I have to do it again! I especially do not like it when I have been busting my butt to get my life in order.
So I take three deep breaths and tell myself I need to pick up mail anyway, and I have to feed the cats in Ithaca, so hey, "no big deal." Except I know the library will be a pain, because the only answer a library knows is "We don't have it, so you pay for it," unless you can find the book on the shelves and set it in front of them.
I think it's time to go boogie with a kitten. Maybe some Michelle Shocked, turned up really loud? And more coffee.
Friday, October 16, 2009
I am staying up far too late tonight
...and it's a good thing. My 2008 taxes are out of the way, along with any future joint taxes. From now on, I do only my own taxes. I met my ex in town to sign them at the post office and send them away. He'll probably be just as happy to do his own now, and no longer have to wait until my business taxes are done. I then took my little netbook over to the Smart Monkey for an hour to work. I'm liking this little computer!
Taxes...that's one more load of guilt off my back. And I have a nice neat file here for 2009, and when forms and reports trickle in.
To my knowledge, that's the last time we see one another ever again, except by chance or accident. In the post office in Ithaca NY, LOL! The end of an era.
After I had said "sign here, and here, and here, and here's your copy" and he left, a gentleman in line said "I do taxes too." I told him my accountant was TurboTax and asked him for his card, but alas, he wasn't taking new clients. Then a woman waved her taxes over her head from the front of the line, and I recognized a woman I adopted a cat too.
She came over after posting her taxes, and said "I have sad news."
I hate that. I hate that more than ANYTHING. It's the way everyone tells me that I cat I adopted to them has died.
So sweet Dart has passed on. First she got a vaccine-site sarcoma and her leg was amputated, which she recovered from. The she went out and took on a weasel in a fight and her wounds became septic even after vet treatment, and she was put down. I'm not even sure I have any photos of Dart. I gave the adopter my card and asked her to please email me, because I had to get my taxes postmarked before 5. I hope she will. Perhaps she won't.
So yet another indoor/outdoor cat has died.
I also received word from my neighbors that Rudy disappeared while they were on vacation this summer.
Rudy was dumped here on the farm, and the neighbors were looking for a warehouse cat. Since he had been used to the outdoors, I sent them Rudy. He lived only a year with them before disappearing. They dropped off his shelter (given to them in case he was ever locked out of the warehouse) last week.
Really, I am absolutely done with adopting friendly cats to indoor-outdoor homes. Only two are alive. The rest are all a progression of injury and illness, all resulting in death. I realize the appeal of an indoor/outdoor cat (after all, I have Bear, and had Nick before that), but no more. Indoor only means indoor only. Period.
I have an symbolic demon that haunts me. As my ex walked away and I felt the weight lifted from me, it was the demon that sent my adopter over to me to let me know Dart was dead. Nonetheless, unlike the old days, I'm not letting this get me down, and the demon is banished immediately.
I have a good life, and even when cats die six years after I've adopted them out, they lived many years, happy and loved. I remind myself that there is not a wild animal on my mountain that dies an easy death, yet they have fulfilling lives. I will not let any demon of coincidence destroy the progress I am making.
Before the adopter had told me the tale, I asked her what Dart had died of, and she said "Courage."
When I die, I want to die of Courage.
Taxes...that's one more load of guilt off my back. And I have a nice neat file here for 2009, and when forms and reports trickle in.
To my knowledge, that's the last time we see one another ever again, except by chance or accident. In the post office in Ithaca NY, LOL! The end of an era.
After I had said "sign here, and here, and here, and here's your copy" and he left, a gentleman in line said "I do taxes too." I told him my accountant was TurboTax and asked him for his card, but alas, he wasn't taking new clients. Then a woman waved her taxes over her head from the front of the line, and I recognized a woman I adopted a cat too.
She came over after posting her taxes, and said "I have sad news."
I hate that. I hate that more than ANYTHING. It's the way everyone tells me that I cat I adopted to them has died.
So sweet Dart has passed on. First she got a vaccine-site sarcoma and her leg was amputated, which she recovered from. The she went out and took on a weasel in a fight and her wounds became septic even after vet treatment, and she was put down. I'm not even sure I have any photos of Dart. I gave the adopter my card and asked her to please email me, because I had to get my taxes postmarked before 5. I hope she will. Perhaps she won't.
So yet another indoor/outdoor cat has died.
I also received word from my neighbors that Rudy disappeared while they were on vacation this summer.
Rudy was dumped here on the farm, and the neighbors were looking for a warehouse cat. Since he had been used to the outdoors, I sent them Rudy. He lived only a year with them before disappearing. They dropped off his shelter (given to them in case he was ever locked out of the warehouse) last week.
Really, I am absolutely done with adopting friendly cats to indoor-outdoor homes. Only two are alive. The rest are all a progression of injury and illness, all resulting in death. I realize the appeal of an indoor/outdoor cat (after all, I have Bear, and had Nick before that), but no more. Indoor only means indoor only. Period.
I have an symbolic demon that haunts me. As my ex walked away and I felt the weight lifted from me, it was the demon that sent my adopter over to me to let me know Dart was dead. Nonetheless, unlike the old days, I'm not letting this get me down, and the demon is banished immediately.
I have a good life, and even when cats die six years after I've adopted them out, they lived many years, happy and loved. I remind myself that there is not a wild animal on my mountain that dies an easy death, yet they have fulfilling lives. I will not let any demon of coincidence destroy the progress I am making.
Before the adopter had told me the tale, I asked her what Dart had died of, and she said "Courage."
When I die, I want to die of Courage.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Wrestling the paper demon
Sometimes,when I have time to dream, I dream of a day when all my paperwork is nice neat folders, and as soon as a piece of paper enters my home it goes into a file.
While I am no longer ruled by piles of paper, I'm also not in command of it. I have paper from work (faxed, emailed, and postal mailed which must be scanned). I have records for all the cats, and many many vet bills, which need to be copied and included in the folder of each individual cat. I have my father's paperwork (which I had thought was complete, but alas, tis not). I have my own bills that come through. I have receipts for work. Receipts for the cats. Receipts for house repairs. I have my record-keeping books. And then there is the miscellaneous paperwork. The projects you have planned. The article you would like to keep (I no longer do). I also have educational materials that I give out--articles, DVDs, brochures. THREE different types of business cards (work, cats, and wildlife should I ever handle wildlife again), as well as postcards to advertise in a more overt way.
I realize some people manage paper without difficulty. It comes into their lives, and goes out of their lives. I am getting better at this--in fact, quite good compared to the Management By Piles method I used to use. Nonetheless, paper does not EAT. Paper does not BREATHE. Paper does not need to have its LITTERBOX SCOOPED or its LAWN MOWED.
Guess what takes last place at my house?
Paperwork frustrates me, especially when I feel like it is under control, need something, go to grab it, find the nice fat file, and ARGH! The one piece I need is NOT THERE! How can this be? It's not FAIR! I was being GOOD! I should be REWARDED!
I have a desk dedicated for work, and most of my work paperwork is electronic, so luckily that is under control. Still, there are two folders--paperwork that is assigned, ready to be scanned, paperwork that is in process and may or may not be completed. I try to turn the paper "paper" into electronic paper as quickly as possible so I don't have to look at it, but scanning (ugh!) is surely a boring task.
The real issue is personal and cat paperwork. Especially cat paperwork. Let's say I go to the vet. I get a receipt for my bill. This also has the work done on that cat(s). So I need a copy in the cat's file (for the adopter) a copy for my books (taxes if needed) and a copy for my records on that cat (which I keep). That means, ideally, as soon as I get home I should head to the copy machine, copy, and file.
Yeah, right. What normally happens is I have a pile of recent vet receipts, until someone wants to look at a particular cat. Then I dig out the receipt and copy it. If I'm smart, I make enough copies so I can put the original in my tax file as well. If I'm lazy or low on ink, I don't. Which means I have to deal with it again later on (stupid).
Ink and copying is another issue. I live in the hinterlands. I am a two-hour round trip (when all is said and done) from a Staples, or Kinkos. I don't often have two hours. If my brain is engaged, I'll remember to take things into town, or pick up what I need, when I go to Ithaca on the weekends.
Often, my brain is not engaged.
Every time I can't lay my hands on something right away, I swear I'll get every little bit of paper organized. For the most part with new incoming paperwork, that's happening. But the old stuff? Ah!
So very simple requests can turn into a royal pain in the butt. Right now I'm trying to get information to family on the joint bank account I had with dad. Simple, right? Sure, if you are a person who keeps your check register updated, and didn't pay for a lot of bills with your personal debit card because the bank wouldn't open a credit card in your father's name. And if half the paper in your house hadn't left when your partner left. I doubt anything I need left the house, however it did all get moved to different files and places in the house.
So off to the bank to get the missing pieces, where I spend many valuable minutes with a teller who gives me moo-cow eyes telling me how expensive it will be to get the past records. I go home and look again. I go back to the bank and learn that "really expensive" is just a few dollars a record. For goodness sake, I realize we live in a poor region, but don't give me a heart attack woman! So I order the pieces I'm lacking.
All the time I am telling myself "never again, never again."
So if anyone has any really good tips on organizing paperwork, do let me know!
I tripped over the rolls of carpet for almost two weeks before finally making time I did not have to cut and lay it. I was having a major guilt trip the whole time, knowing I should be doing other things (paperwork!) but also knowing I can't get kittens out of the house (seven left!) unless people can get into see them. And kittens eat, poop, and grow (unlike paperwork--although you might argue paperwork grows). To top it off, stress and alcohol give me acne, so I couldn't even drink.
Which is probably a good thing, given that I was working with very sharp knives.
I'm glad that I did get it down, because I am so happy with the result--and the cats are so happy--that when I feel my blood pressure starting to rise, I just stand back and look at it. Nothing like a milk chocolate floor to calm you. And happy cats in the sun. I find them asleep where ever they like, scattered around the floor. Maybe there will be an empty chair for me to sit in now and then!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Warming things up for winter
I finally got the carpet down in both rooms, which was a bit of an adventure since some of the furniture in the den was quite heavy. Trying to fit in projects between all the other things in life has been adventurous as well. I had to concentrate on cutting the carpet slowly and carefully, rather than in my usual slapdash manner...keeping in mind the carpet was expensive.
The carpet became a priority because it was in the way and I need to have people over to adopt kittens.
My home is finally becoming the home of a grownup. I have the decorating sense of a college student in a dorm room. I can't envision what is best for a space, and I also feel like I should use whatever comes my way, when perhaps the best use for the thing would be the garbage or Craigslist. The best part of the major changes in my life these past 17 months is that I now have a new willingness to just get rid of things.
I have resigned myself to the fact that I will only stumble over good room arrangement by accident. I originally wanted the carpet: A) because painting the floor beige last year looked good, but required too much upkeep and B)it was freaking cold in here last winter.
Now that the carpet is down, it draws the entry room and the den together, and it makes the den look like--well--a real room. The area rug that had been in the den (black with a brown aztec-type design) was moved to the great room for lack of another location. I was certain it would be too "busy" for that space. But, surprise! It has instantly transformed half the great room into an area that is positive cozy. The great room? Cozy? Who would have thought.
Sheer accident.
In addition, the carpet, which appeared brown-orange-coppery under the lights at the store, looks like milk chocolate here, and the ceiling in the great room is dark brown. So now it looks like I planned this to tie the two front rooms in with the great room.
Sheer accident.
At least I'm no longer stumbling over huge rolls of carpet, and my tootsies are quite warm, thank you.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Yeah, yeah, another "today is the first day of the rest of my blah, blah, blah..."
So much to do, so little time. Every Friday arrives with a "let's get everything done for the week!(for employment)" attitude, with the hope that my job is all tidied up so I can commit to a sleeves-rolled-up, get-personal-things-done weekend. But 6:00 pm arrives with work left to get done over the weekend, and Monday arrives far too soon!
Nonetheless, the optimism of Friday morning remains.
In the interest of splitting work from regular life, I finally saved enough to get one of those dirt-cheap little netbooks so I am no longer doing anything personal at all on my work computer. My desktop computer upstairs has finally picked up so many quirks it is virtually unusable and needs it's brain wiped by someone who knows what they are doing. I held off for months on the netbook, waiting for the price to fall. I wasn't familiar with the cheapest option from Acer, so hesitated to get it. Then I spotted one of our primo tech guys sporting one at a work meeting and figured "hey, if he'll be seen in public with it, it must not be a piece of crap."
I always gritted my teeth checking my personal and cat email on my work computer, and taking it to adoption events to show off the cats just wasn't an option.
So, nowadays you can get a miniature laptop for $300 bucks. It doesn't have much space to store lots of programs and files, but files can be stored on flashdrives, and there's something to be said about not being able to download all sorts of crap you don't really need, anyway. This thing is fast enough for surfing, blogging, handling photos, etc. that I don't notice any difference between it and my laptop.
It doesn't have much volume, so if you have hearing issues, check that before you buy. You can use headphones if needed.
And it can go anywhere. I can even access most of my work files and work email via the internet, so if I want to work from another location I can do so without risking the work laptop. No more excuses for not updating my poor neglected website!
So no more excuses about not advertising the cats the way they ought to be, or not getting personal work done.
Speaking of employment, off we go.
Nonetheless, the optimism of Friday morning remains.
In the interest of splitting work from regular life, I finally saved enough to get one of those dirt-cheap little netbooks so I am no longer doing anything personal at all on my work computer. My desktop computer upstairs has finally picked up so many quirks it is virtually unusable and needs it's brain wiped by someone who knows what they are doing. I held off for months on the netbook, waiting for the price to fall. I wasn't familiar with the cheapest option from Acer, so hesitated to get it. Then I spotted one of our primo tech guys sporting one at a work meeting and figured "hey, if he'll be seen in public with it, it must not be a piece of crap."
I always gritted my teeth checking my personal and cat email on my work computer, and taking it to adoption events to show off the cats just wasn't an option.
So, nowadays you can get a miniature laptop for $300 bucks. It doesn't have much space to store lots of programs and files, but files can be stored on flashdrives, and there's something to be said about not being able to download all sorts of crap you don't really need, anyway. This thing is fast enough for surfing, blogging, handling photos, etc. that I don't notice any difference between it and my laptop.
It doesn't have much volume, so if you have hearing issues, check that before you buy. You can use headphones if needed.
And it can go anywhere. I can even access most of my work files and work email via the internet, so if I want to work from another location I can do so without risking the work laptop. No more excuses for not updating my poor neglected website!
So no more excuses about not advertising the cats the way they ought to be, or not getting personal work done.
Speaking of employment, off we go.
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