Oh, my stars and garters!

Not doing nothing

Yep and yay, I'm not doing a damn thing this week. I hosted family over Christmas and cooked and ate a lot of food and drank a lot of wine, and since then I've been off work and have just been doing nothing.

I go to bed whenever, wake up whenever, eat food, read magazines, and drink beer whenever. It's fantastic. Yesterday I went for a hike at Pedernales Falls, met friends for drinks, and fell asleep on the couch for the night while watching trashy TV. Today I drank a million cups of coffee, watched the rain, ran a few errands, cleaned my office/guestroom for friends who are coming tomorrow, and watched a really shitty movie. So boring, so great.

I have lots more lazing to do and some hosting duties too, all of which will be fun and none of which will make for compelling blogging. I'll see you guys in 2010.

Guess what I got you for Christmas?

Have a great one, okay?

Wishes

It's a little too early for New Year's resolutions, but I'm kicking a few around. So far I have:

1. Write a rap song.

2. Devise a system to keep my photo file folders organized for all time.

That's it. Both are concrete, attainable goals. I already quit smoking, so I really think I get a free pass for 2010. I'll keep you posted.

Yesterday and today

I have always been a huge sucker for those Magic Crystal kits.

Maths

I haven't had a cigarette in 52 days. Assuming I'd spend $6.50 on a pack each day, that's almost $340 I've saved.

Unfortunately, I also estimate in those 52 days I've spent twice that on extra food, booze, and toys to distract myself from being miserable. (I honestly feel like I have a touch of brain damage; I probably do.)

Ok, but money and self-pity and brain chemistry aside, here's the really fucked-up thing, and by "fucked up" I mean kind of cool and also completely, head-shaking, lips-flapping and going "buhduhbuhduhbuh" horrifying: assuming it takes me 7 minutes to smoke a cigarette (give or take the travel time outside, time fumbling for lighters, etc.), that's 123 hours I've saved.

That makes five days--FIVE DAYS--out of the past not even two months that I would have spent smoking cigarettes.

I mean, it's not like those five days were spent doing nothing but smoking. You can do other things and smoke at the same time, like drive, read, walk, have interesting conversations with your friends (sob), or whatever, but still. FIVE DAYS. As in five full, calendar, 24-hour days. 

FIVE DAYS!!!!!!!

!

Not that I have anything to show for those either. I think I've spent twice that complaining about not smoking, to be perfectly honest.

You call yourself a phlebotomist?

Ha! More like a flubotomist.*

They took a tiny bit of blood for a thyroid test on Thursday and apparently now I get to look like a junkie for the rest of the week. Good thing it's sweater weather.

*My sister's line; I can't take credit.

Blinky!

This guy in my neighborhood programs the hell out of his yearly Christmas display and sets it to music transmitted over a low-power FM station. Every year he adds something new. This time there are a few extra songs in the repertoire, and also strobe lights for extra-dramatic crescendos.

The house is on Exeter Drive in Northeast Austin. If you come visit me at my house this month there's a good chance I'll drag you over there myself. Bring your bike; we can take the transistor radio and ride around in circles to the Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy.

Murk

It is extremely foggy tonight. The weather service says visibility is 0.0 miles at the airport right now.

Driving in fog so dense is difficult; you can't tell what you're going to do until you're doing it. It's either fun or terrifying, depending whether you like the sensation of hurtling forward into nothingness. I happen to feel both ways, so I alternated between shrill giggles and tiny whimpers as I picked my way along the freeway ramps on the way home from the store.

More tests

Please bear with me as I continue with my testings.

Ok, now for some vertical cuteness

Hmm. It looks kind of square.

Test

I have always believed it is best to use the cutest picture possible when testing out your new mobile blog settings.

Oh, yeah, check out this snow day.

Palmetto State Park, Gonzales County, Texas

Snow?

Come on, snow. We need a little meteorological interest up in here, plus I would like to get out of work early if at all possible.

Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

Sniff.

The next person who tells me about how much keener your sense of smell is when you quit smoking gets a chop to the throat. Haven't these well-intentioned but totally wrong people noticed how awful most of the world smells?

I've always had a pretty good sniffer--too good, in fact--so it's the exact opposite of a benefit to be even more sensitive to car exhaust, b.o., other smokers, asphalt tar, stale beer, wet cats, rotting possums, and the stench of my own self-pitying blog posts.

This is a hard time of year for just about everyone, isn't it? I resolve to be nicer to everyone this month, or at least stay drunk enough the whole time that no one takes it personally when I act like a hooch.