So, let's see how I did today:

a.) got the downstairs closet totally emptied out, consolidated four boxes of personal junk into two, brought in a client's four boxes of records, brought down two more boxes of records from upstairs, took two plastic bins and two big cases of photos and scrapbook fodder (now sorted out) and incorporated them into my burgeoning bedroom closet
b.) swept the floors
c.) cleaned the kitchen
d.) hung the bird feeder outside on a tree
e.) hung up the pictures that occupied both sides of a corner of my bedroom on the floor
f.) vacuumed the upstairs
g.) did the laundry, folded it and put it away
h.) moved the Tom Clancy novels downstairs and put them in a shelf (it seems they're collective worth about the price of a pack of Diet Coke, not worth the time it takes to load them up on Amazon.)
i.) dusted all of the pictures

Compared to my intended list at the beginning of the day, not a bad result, considering that I hadn't thought in advance that I'd have to go through three big boxes of paper treasures that needed to be handled one at a time.

I did find my ticket jacket and ticket for my first airplane flight - a PanAm charter to Hamburg. That's so cool!

So, I feel pretty good about all this, except that I'm sore and my head is throbbing from the dust I raised.

Nothing listed for sale on eBay, though.

Yet.

It's 20:15, and I need to shower, since I've been working all day, and I don't want to go to bed all slimy. I still want to vacuum out the car, and move the shop vac to the other side of the garage, where it will be away from the arrival of Brambo.

Yet to go - boxes filled with packaging (boxes that things came in, that must be saved) go into the attic. The vast collection of stuff I drew, earned, achieved, and whatnot has to go into scrap books. The 15+ images of the 20th Century Limited must be framed and hung in the stairwell. All the stuff in my closet that's to be sold on eBay has to be researched, listed and then boxed and shipped. My bedroom has to be painted, and two pieces of furniture moved.

Maybe next weekend.

At least it doesn't smell like ass in here anymore, as it did yesterday when I arrived at home.

Lately, I've been noticing that most political blogs (that I'd read, anyway) have become just like political propaganda - not unique, new, unusual at all, just shrill and repetitive.

Yes, the Bushies are corrupt and think they can get away with it. Tell me something I didn't already understand.

The Blogs have become everything that I abandoned corporate news for years ago - bone jarring thumping on a particular, half-baked point that could be easily argued the other way. And, I'm not the only one to have noticed.

It seems that concomitant with my own fading interest in re-reading the same drumbeat, someone with a stronger voice has protested the uselessness of the blogs.

One of those blog summaries today led me to a most interesting article discussing engineered responses to climate change. I've read it, and all I can think of is "here again we have people thinking that they can control a complex and incomprehensible, interactive system. And, that they're smarter than God." There are always unknown and unintended consequences in these actions, which are frequently worse than are the symptoms for which management is desired.

Today, I believe I'm going to engage in the following:

a.) avoid as many people as I can
b.) mop the garage and courtyard flooring
c.) scrub the downstairs tile floors
d.) laundry
e.) weed the front flowerbed
f.) re-arrange the downstairs and my bedroom closets

These things will give me a sense of accomplishment that has been sorely lacking in my career these last seven months, but will not produce any income.

I am reminded that I have to go into town to pick up the things at my PO box. Which they weren't prepared to deliver yesterday, even though some items had been received on Thursday.

That does give me cause to get the car out of the garage, which will make hosing out the garage and courtyard that much easier.

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Got up and out this morning; amazing how intentional I can be when I have a commitment to be here before 9:00. And, it's amazing how much less traffic there is leaving at 8:00 - each of the last two days it's taken only about 20 minutes to get to the office.

I'm reflecting today, after a comment made to me last night about my ongoing drama with having to always have a young man of certain character in my life. I've been thinking about all of those characters and what they all had as a quality, what I sought from them, and how it all ended up the way it did with each of them.

Since the only power in life is one's own interpretation and recognition of one's own input into a situation, I have to reflect on what my involvement, unfulfilled expectations and disappointments were, and how I can manage those differently.

Another new loan today; looks like another workable deal. Two more appointments today, and then I have to decide if I'm going to attend the rainbow thing or just go home.

I've decided that my illness now is just a serious sinus infection.

Had a little Joe T visit last night, which was a lot of fun (after watching two episodes of "Hustle" season two on DVD and whining to Guy in IM for a few hours.) Then, I spent an hour fishing around on the internet looking for a mount for the Delphi GPS that I appropriated from Bram for the car. In my search, I found that a guy with the same car had installed an in-dash Delphi GPS and that it's WAY COOL. Now, I want one. I asked Matticiamatic if she could install it for me and she said "of course, Mary."



My 3:00 just reset for tomorrow morning, which pretty much means that I now have zero reason NOT to work on the content for my website.

Sunday afternoon in the park with .. no one

I came straight home after church, feeling dizzy and weird again. Now, I have to run over to the Food town and refill my water jugs, then come home and do some house cleaning. I stopped at the Clear Lake HEB on the way home from church; they have the BEST bulk foods aisle outside of Whole Paycheck on Kirby. Got a bunch of brown rice and raisins, forgot to get oatmeal.

Ben, Roberto, Chuck and George are coming over tonight to watch "The Sopranos." Very good stuff.

I keep trying to focus my thoughts on providing safe and comfortable housing for people. That's what I do. That's who I am. Keeeeep focusing. Focus, focus, focus. Refrain from focusing on other stuff, except that I also help people expand and improve their small businesses. People who also have houses. Houses, businesses - I help people feel safe and comfortable and successful. Yep, that's what I do. Who I am. Focus, focus, focus.

I wish I felt like cleaning up the car, and the garage. My head is just all wobbly and full of goo.

The little weather widget says we're going to be windy today, and it seems to be correct. I need to go out back and do some plant watering, too it seems.

Spent some time today in church beating on the subject of money. "Money's not the problem, money's not the solution, money's not what you really want." Who was I trying to convince? I did a damned fine job of it in any event. Amazing how I can listen to what someone asks or comments, apply science of mind philosophy to it, give a cohesive, coherent answer AND process on it in my own mind for my own mental shenanigans.

I've been thinking about my diabetes, and looking at people around me who are wrestling with it. Makes me want to do better. I only have about six weeks before my next check in with the doctor, and I feel like I've gone in the wrong direction. Last night, I was looking at the website of a personal trainer who's got his own gym in the Rice Military area, and is pretty cheap - $100/3 hourlong sessions. It would conflict with my "ride the bus and save money" idea. Hm. Must give this some consideration. His website emphasized both food intake AND exercise. Can I successfully exercise with this giant hernia thing? Who knows? I suspect that if I reduced my weight somewhat, the hernia would abate further and it would be a gradual adjustment.

In the book I just finished "Starship Troopers," there is a significant passage in which a classroom teacher is trying to get the class to understand that anything that will be valued has to be EARNED, and cannot be given. I've been reflecting on that quite a bit since I read it. It's always been something that stuck out, since the first time I read the book ten or more years ago, but now it really makes a lot of sense in a broader, philosophical/spiritual way. Specifically, people (including me) frequently want to have some huge change (benefit) that will relieve them of their stress and fear. While that's possible, it's probably not beneficial in the long run. I think that change of major belief structures and experiences is more gradual, when it's effective.

Not that it makes anything easier, but it at least gets one (me, for instance) off my own case that relief isn't fully at hand.

I think it's time to go fill up those water jugs, work on the patio, the stairs, and such. Plus, Jackie needs to go pee again.