Now, On to the Next Thing

Blog Post No. 544

I’m not going to claim that after a week and one writing session that I’m back on track with my writing and editing. That’s going to be a long, slow process, especially as I have to figure out what the new job means for my writing schedule. Chances are I’m going to be doing some solo evening writing in order to keep up any reasonable schedule (and progress). I feel like I’ve taken the first step in that area, though. Now, there’s another aspect of my life that needs some attention and, if successfully added to my routine, should help just about everything.

I Think I Get it Now

Blog Post No. 543

I’ve been working the New Day Job for just over a week, now and I think I finally get what people are on about when they say they struggle to keep work time and non-work time separate. I’ve read articles or heard anecdotal accounts over the years about separating work from home and how to disconnect from the office. In the time of work-from-home there are even more that describe the methods people use to stop working when their day is technically over but they’re still at the “office” since in some cases it’s the same place where they live.

The Dying Days of Summer, The Birth of Autumn

Blog No. 197

This morning, while I was driving to work, I noticed a smell, and it wasn’t the sewage treatment plant I pass on the last leg of my journey. I was driving passed a beautiful wooded area (I’m lucky to have several small ones near me) and the air turned crisp. It didn’t last very long. By the time I was pulling into the parking lot (desperately searching for one good song before turning off the car and heading for the building) the sun was chasing the freshness away. We’re reaching an interesting time in our seasons, the transition into my favourite season. The mornings are going to become cooler and more invigorating (for me I suppose if you’re one of those people who can’t get enough blazing heat) but the afternoons still hang on to the summer sizzle. I never know how to dress, but at least I feel more alive for the start of the day.

Shocking

Blog No. 184

What the heck London Ontario? Seriously. No banks are open on Saturday? Only one, but it’s on the far side of the city? Who does that help? What do business do if they run out of change? What is a person who is running a table at an event supposed to do if he runs out of change? What is this, the 90s? Is it just a London thing, or is it weird that Windsor banks are open Saturdays? I’m blown away. Of all the things that happened last weekend, that one was the most shocking—and I was at an event called Shock Stock.

Last week I did a split post about going to Shock Stock and being in a commercial. I thought it would be good to write about both of the major things happening to me. I figured I could just do this one as s split post too, but now that I’m back, it may be better to just stick with one and leave the other for the next post. Which is what I’m doing, right now. Since I’ve already started with my rant on London banks, I may as well stick with the convention.

London Nerves

Blog No. 181

One of the banner images at the top of my page (the ones that change when you reload it) is a snow-scape taken from the balcony of my tiny apartment when I was living in London Ontario. It was several years ago now, and I was only there for eight months for school, but it was a very formative time in my life, so it’s really stuck with me. I even talk to people like I know London like the back of my hand, but, while I’m acquainted with the place, I realize I will never know it like someone who was born there or lives there. Still, I have the lay of the land and a few potent memories that stick out above the jumbled mess in my head.

Thoughts about Books

Blog No. 155

Much of the following story has been told on this blog before, but it may have been a while ago, or you may have not read it, or you have and I’m telling it again anyway.

Some time ago I was in London Ontario for school. I was only there for eight months, but in that time I made some astounding discoveries. One of the greatest was audio books. I took the bus to campus most days. The school forced students to buy a bus pass and I wasn’t about to pay for a parking pass. I wasn’t overly experienced with riding the bus (coming from a family of drivers) but I was given a crash course. The first month or so I tried to read during the short trip. Sometimes it was things for school, but mostly it was for leisure. At every stop (and there were many) I would look up from my book and lose my place. I’m a slow reader naturally, so over the twenty minute ride, I wasn’t getting more than a page read, and being distracted at every stop wasn’t helping.

A Blister in an Odd Place

Blog No. 148

The other day I woke up with a blister running around the back of my right heel. It runs in a relatively straight line, about a quarter inch thick, and it hurts when I walk. I’m sitting at my computer right now, so it’s not really an issue, besides, after a couple days the process (whatever it may be) has started to eliminate it (or shrink or whatever happens to blisters when you don’t pop them). I’m not a stranger to blisters. As a youth playing hockey (often using the hand-me-downs of two older brothers) I would start each season with a vast collection in many interesting spots, but never on the back of me heel (that I can remember). How my parents managed three boys in hockey at the same time, I’ll never know, but the blisters, I know very well.