Christmas stuff
Well, I finished my limited Christmas shopping today - mostly by putting off a lot of things until after Christmas. For example, Aus and I are likely going to wait until our anniversary (Dec 31st) and buy presents/enjoy life then.
One thing I did have to buy today is a speakerphone, so that I can use my little recorder with it to conduct a phone interview. Yes, I know there's probably a better way to record a phone conversation, but when you're working on a tight budget, you do what you have to. As it is, picked up a speakerphone for ten bucks, so rock on, we're in business. The band I'll be interviewing is Neva Dinova - they're apparently not very internet-savy according to their record company. Got a couple more interviews I'm working on for the next issue, but that'll likely be my main contribution.
I have to do an article on the whole getting published by Santa Clara for Urbis. I'm dreadfully bad at talking about myself in the third person (see my bio writing difficulties not long ago) so I've been stewing on it, when what I really need to do is sit down and just write it. When the kids go back to school Monday, this is likely what I'll be working on. It's a bit difficult to work on the weekends when they're home because they get kinda noisy (and demanding of time and attention, which is fine- but doesn't make for good working conditions).
Tomorrow I really need to make out my Christmas cards so that they'll actually arrive on time. There's till time to put your name and address on the list! Just click here and fill out the poll (answers only viewable by me)
One of Aus's coworkers, a kind man named 'Mr. Bill' gave Christmas cookies to all the employees in his department. So we have a tin of yummy chocolate chip cookies to munch on! Yay!
While out finishing up that shopping, we stopped at the antique store in Hammonton. We go there like fifteen million times during the holiday season, because they have complimentary refreshments and this addictive holiday hunt game - you pick a ticket out of the jar and walk around searching for presents. If your number matches a present, you win that present. Last year we played this all month - and finally, Steve won! A dishtowel! It was a bit of a disappointment, haha. He insisted on keeping it, and hung it up in his room and everything. Who knows, maybe this year we will win.... a pot holder! The hunting around is a lot more fun than the actual win, yes. While there, I happened to spot a couple of geometric design coloring books. I love coloring things with patterns- I have a big tin of markers and colored pencils that I keep for just such things. The kids color along for a while, but they don't like the intricacy of patterns and get bored and wander off eventually. I could do it all day, though. It's one of those things that makes me feel connected to things - I don't know how to explain it, exactly. I'm a terribly disorganized and non-patterny person, but I love seeing how things interconnect. And picking out various parts of a pattern for certain visual effects is really neat. Crocheting is another repetitive activity I enjoy - it makes me feel a connection to ancestry, that I'm doing something people have done since the invention of yarn.
My mother bought Aus The Movies for Christmas- he's playing it right now. It's a really nifty game!
Back is still being painful, but down to more manageable levels.
One thing I did have to buy today is a speakerphone, so that I can use my little recorder with it to conduct a phone interview. Yes, I know there's probably a better way to record a phone conversation, but when you're working on a tight budget, you do what you have to. As it is, picked up a speakerphone for ten bucks, so rock on, we're in business. The band I'll be interviewing is Neva Dinova - they're apparently not very internet-savy according to their record company. Got a couple more interviews I'm working on for the next issue, but that'll likely be my main contribution.
I have to do an article on the whole getting published by Santa Clara for Urbis. I'm dreadfully bad at talking about myself in the third person (see my bio writing difficulties not long ago) so I've been stewing on it, when what I really need to do is sit down and just write it. When the kids go back to school Monday, this is likely what I'll be working on. It's a bit difficult to work on the weekends when they're home because they get kinda noisy (and demanding of time and attention, which is fine- but doesn't make for good working conditions).
Tomorrow I really need to make out my Christmas cards so that they'll actually arrive on time. There's till time to put your name and address on the list! Just click here and fill out the poll (answers only viewable by me)
One of Aus's coworkers, a kind man named 'Mr. Bill' gave Christmas cookies to all the employees in his department. So we have a tin of yummy chocolate chip cookies to munch on! Yay!
While out finishing up that shopping, we stopped at the antique store in Hammonton. We go there like fifteen million times during the holiday season, because they have complimentary refreshments and this addictive holiday hunt game - you pick a ticket out of the jar and walk around searching for presents. If your number matches a present, you win that present. Last year we played this all month - and finally, Steve won! A dishtowel! It was a bit of a disappointment, haha. He insisted on keeping it, and hung it up in his room and everything. Who knows, maybe this year we will win.... a pot holder! The hunting around is a lot more fun than the actual win, yes. While there, I happened to spot a couple of geometric design coloring books. I love coloring things with patterns- I have a big tin of markers and colored pencils that I keep for just such things. The kids color along for a while, but they don't like the intricacy of patterns and get bored and wander off eventually. I could do it all day, though. It's one of those things that makes me feel connected to things - I don't know how to explain it, exactly. I'm a terribly disorganized and non-patterny person, but I love seeing how things interconnect. And picking out various parts of a pattern for certain visual effects is really neat. Crocheting is another repetitive activity I enjoy - it makes me feel a connection to ancestry, that I'm doing something people have done since the invention of yarn.
My mother bought Aus The Movies for Christmas- he's playing it right now. It's a really nifty game!
Back is still being painful, but down to more manageable levels.