(Note: I originally had the links open in a new window because there are a lot of them, and I don’t want you to wander off and not be able to find your way back, but then I decided you can open them in a new window yourself if you want to and if you don’t and get lost as a result I’ll never know anyway. No, this journal is not turning into a weblog; I’m just feeling link-rific today.)
The bad news:
Proposal K was defeated. I was really hoping this measure would pass this time, hoping that a majority of the electorate in these two counties, the one in which I work and the one in which I live, would be willing to support the common good of improving the cultural climate in metro Detroit. But no, they weren’t. They’re selfish bastards who would rather spend their money on premium cable channels and monster SUV’s, I guess. Or perhaps they’re cranky people who think art, parks, and kids are a waste of resources. I’d love to believe that everyone who voted “no” did so because they already contribute to area cultural institutions, but the realist in me knows that’s not true. Today I’m depressed about it; tomorrow I’ll have to do my part to make up for the loss by joining the Zoo or the Institute of Arts or maybe painting a mural on a freeway overpass.
The news that’s both bad and good:
I rescheduled the albatross review meeting I was whining about in my last entry. That’s bad news because it means I was not able stop freaking out and focus well enough to get my act together for tomorrow. It’s good news because now I’ve got an extra week and a half to work on it and talk myself down off the imaginary ledge. I think I might have managed to do the meeting as scheduled if that same customer hadn’t spent all day yesterday filling my inbox with e-mails demanding I work on other issues, ones I thought were already resolved. He makes me want to cry with his overwhelming demands. If he were willing to pay a fair price for the work needed, it’d be different. Then I could put my energy into doing the work rather than worrying about my billable hours. As it is, I don’t know how I’m ever going to get out of this nasty situation I inherited. Wait, didn’t I say this was both bad and good news? What was I thinking? Other than the glimmer of good in getting a temporary reprieve, the whole situation remains discouraging. I think it’s best to move on to happier topics now before I start looking at ticket prices to remote locations where I’d be beyond the reach of customer e-mail.
The good news:
To distract myself from the dismal day I was having yesterday, I decided to calculate my BMI (body mass index). Weight loss is one area of my life that’s going fairly well, so I was pretty sure I’d get a boost from seeing some progress on the BMI chart. Indeed I did; according to this site, I’m now in the “normal weight” range. At the high end of normal, true, but considering I was solidly in the “overweight” category earlier this year, I’m very pleased. This past Saturday, the scale read 151.5. Flipping back through my little notebook where I record my weight and measurements, I saw that the last time I weighed this little was in 1995. 1995. Wow. I’m experiencing a seven-year low—go me!
Less than seven years ago (gotta love a good transition), I got some nice e-mail from Stephanie, who writes From Scratch. Getting e-mail in response to an entry is always a good thing; getting some from Stephanie was especially great because she’s one of the people I met at JournalCon whose name I didn’t manage to retain in my overstuffed brain. Now I’ve got her face and name connected all orderly-like, which makes me happy. You know how I love order. (Hush, I do too love it; I just don’t manage to achieve it nearly as often as I’d like.)
Further improving my sense of things falling in to place, Denise, the demise of whose journal I was lamenting just a couple weeks ago, is writing online again. Yay! I highly recommend you go read bookwhore. Also, if you have a few spare minutes, send her e-mail pestering her to sign up for Diary-X Plus! already so we can see more pictures of the adorable Tess. In other new journal news, Angelika, one of my favorite people over at The Usual Suspects, has just started No Questions. It would be great to see both these ladies at JournalCon next year, though Angelika does live rather too far away for that to be more than a dream. Of course, I hope to see Denise again a lot sooner than that, once we’re both done being so busy on weekends.
So, on balance, there’s more good news than bad in my life today. It might be hard for me to remember that once I plunge back into work after I post this and lunchtime comes to an end. Maybe I should sign up for my own notify list with my work address so I’ll at least have one undemanding e-mail in my inbox.
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