Happy New Year 2011

Happy New Year to all my gentle readers. I hope 2011 brings you plenty of fun, happiness, and joy.

I'm starting 2011 unemployed, so you'd think I'd be feeling serious and philosophical right now. Oddly enough, I'm not. I've got a Route 66 road trip to plan with Monica of 5 Cats Shy, I've got creative projects that have been sitting on the back burner for ages, and I've even got another exciting possibility or two for the foreseeable future. None of which falls under the category of Serious Endeavors or Efforts To Find A Job.

So far, I'm okay with that. I paid my dues for a really long time. Right now, I'm not turning down anything that sounds fun unless I absolutely have to.

Paging Dr. Jung

I'm having recurring nightmares about spreadsheets. Endless, boring, soul-killing spreadsheets. I don't need a psychiatrist to know what that's about.


Do you want to drive a creative and conscientious person to despair? Give her a lot of spreadsheets. I mean, a lot of them. Make sure that some of them only she will ever look at - that they serve no purpose whatsoever - and then require her to keep them up to date.


Next, some spreadsheets should never add up because you have not given your creative and conscientious person the correct data. Change her data to correspond with the numbers she is not allowed to know. Berate her for the spreadsheets not adding up. Repeat.


Of course you, gentle readers, would never want to drive anyone to despair because that is not what nice people do. But I think it's going to be a while before I stop jumping like a cat on hot bricks every time I see the Excel icon on my computer desktop.

What's New, Pussycat?

The last day on my job was Christmas Eve. Leaving was the right decision, for a number of reasons for which this is not the proper venue. Giving myself time to figure out what comes next, to heal, to rest -- that was also a good decision.

Still, I find myself like a deer caught in the headlights, like the victim of an accident wondering what just happened. I've spent three days wandering around, in and out of my home, starting at sudden noises and forgetting what I'm doing. I've slept a lot.

Part of me has been upset about this, thinking that I should Get Things Done and Accomplish Tasks -- presumably to justify taking time off. But my body and mind have not cooperated. Beyond taking showers and feeding self and cat, I have accomplished nothing.

This morning the sun came out after a year and a half of overcast days (I may be exaggerating a tiny bit). I sat in my sunroom and thought, "I can do this. I just think I'd feel better if I knew what this is." Apparently, the answer is not forthcoming.

And so, I'm sitting here, watching the sunshine sparkle on the snow, and waiting. Patience. It's a virtue -- one I am being dragged kicking and screaming into cultivating.

Merry Christmas!

"If you should happen, by any unlikely chance, to know a man more blessed in a laugh than Scrooge's nephew, all I can say is, I should like to know him too. Introduce him to me, and I'll cultivate his acquaintance."

Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol

Gentle readers, I wish you a very Merry Christmas, filled with laughter and good cheer. Enjoy the day, my friends. You are all awesome and deserve the very best the holiday has to offer.

Presents of Mind

This is what I've been doing instead of blogging.

I know this is a cliche, my friends, but wasn't last Christmas about a month ago? I guess time flies when you're blogging about the important issues of the day -- such as rat whispering, catalog shopping, and the outcome of Project Runway.

This week has been a blur of cookie making and gift wrapping until the wee hours. I don't remember the last time I was this tired. Oh wait, yes I do: last Christmas.

Auntie Spends The Day Making Cookies

This is what happens to Old Maids after day-long exposure to children.

Christmas In Rhode Island

You've got to love people who go the extra mile with their Christmas decorations. The Army Dude sent this photo to me yesterday morning and I immediately forwarded it to my brother and sister. It's what we do.