Newsy goodness
Normally when I haven't been writing updating LJ for a while, I start with "Well, I haven't been writing much lately," but this time it's different. I have been writing. Not a hell of a lot, but fairly regularly. I edited a story I wrote for my MA and got it mailed off to Glimmer Train, and have been working on writing a modern hard-boiled detective story, so I've actually been writing quite a bit. Just not on here.
OK, so in the past week or so it's been a bit less as my body's been recovering. I displaced my fibula in my left leg and misaligned my left hip joint in a bad dismount from a climbing wall, so my lower back's been out of commission for the past almost-three weeks. As usual, there were several rounds of injury, chiropractic, pushing and re-injury, so I'm being good right now. Healing is progressing apace, although I'm still being very careful, moving slow and not pushing myself. As proof, I just canceled a planned bike ride tomorrow, regardless how much I've been jonesing to get back on a bike.
In other news, I finally got a new computer, so I'm tapping away in a new laptop. Solid-state drive, Macbook Air, a total luxury tool and amazing for dragging around, writing on, etc. Very fast, very light, nice big hard drive (remember, I'm a writer not a movie pirate for the most part, so I don't need a huge one), and generally precisely what I need- quick, light, straight-forward and hopefully fairly future proof.
I have mixed feelings about this, though, and for several reasons. Part of it is that I dislike catching myself in the consumer mindset of buying something to replace an item I already have just because it's newer. I had (have) a perfectly useful laptop, and in some ways just bought this one because it was lighter, faster, spiffier. That bothers me, because I'm not behaving in a rational way, but in an emotional way. While I have no problem doing things for emotional reasons, there are emotional reasons of "I really want this because I've wanted one for a long time, so nya!" and there's emotional reasons of "I want this because it's new and I like having the newest computer on the block." This one bothers me. It's not who I want to be. I've been lusting after one of these machines since they first came out, so there's certainly an aspect of "I've wanted this thing for years, and now I can say for sure that I do, so I can do this because I'm an adult and it makes me happy." But in a way, I wanted one because it was the newest, fastest, spiffiest. Quandary.
It also bothers me in a spiritual sense. I've been working on divesting myself of things I don't need, and this really is an acquisition of luxury. Sure, I'm not adding items (in theory) I'm replacing, but I'm also putting money into an object. I really could be writing just as well on my old computer. Bad Buddhist. On the other hand, this one is lighter and will let me focus on writing for several more years before I'll have to do this again, so there's that side of it. I see it, I note it, I move on.
And finally there's the very real practical application that I just spent a good hunk of money (pretty much my entire tax return) on a thing I wanted (rather than needed), when I still have a mountain of debt, both to the government from my education (I'm not too worried about this), and personally from when my parents loaned my cash to move after I graduated with my BA (this one bothers me considerably more). It seems to me that I really should be paying that off first, and getting a new computer when that's done. This is the hardest one to justify.
Ultimately, however, I have a fancy new computer, I'm working on refurbishing the old one so I can get the maximum bang for the buck when I sell it (anyone want a 2007 Macbook with 2 gigs memory and an 80 gig hard drive? Comes with OSX 10.4 or 10.6 installed, and 10.4 backup discs), and I'm writing.
Itchy feet continue to be an issue, but are becoming more routine now as I learn to make the most of my weekends. And I'm writing, which is nice. Work is going well. Amy and I are doing stellar. I'm reexploring the Bay Area, and carefully biding my time until I can get out and ride, run and climb again. Don't want to damage myself any more, but waiting is hard.
How are you doing? What are you doing? Where are you?
OK, so in the past week or so it's been a bit less as my body's been recovering. I displaced my fibula in my left leg and misaligned my left hip joint in a bad dismount from a climbing wall, so my lower back's been out of commission for the past almost-three weeks. As usual, there were several rounds of injury, chiropractic, pushing and re-injury, so I'm being good right now. Healing is progressing apace, although I'm still being very careful, moving slow and not pushing myself. As proof, I just canceled a planned bike ride tomorrow, regardless how much I've been jonesing to get back on a bike.
In other news, I finally got a new computer, so I'm tapping away in a new laptop. Solid-state drive, Macbook Air, a total luxury tool and amazing for dragging around, writing on, etc. Very fast, very light, nice big hard drive (remember, I'm a writer not a movie pirate for the most part, so I don't need a huge one), and generally precisely what I need- quick, light, straight-forward and hopefully fairly future proof.
I have mixed feelings about this, though, and for several reasons. Part of it is that I dislike catching myself in the consumer mindset of buying something to replace an item I already have just because it's newer. I had (have) a perfectly useful laptop, and in some ways just bought this one because it was lighter, faster, spiffier. That bothers me, because I'm not behaving in a rational way, but in an emotional way. While I have no problem doing things for emotional reasons, there are emotional reasons of "I really want this because I've wanted one for a long time, so nya!" and there's emotional reasons of "I want this because it's new and I like having the newest computer on the block." This one bothers me. It's not who I want to be. I've been lusting after one of these machines since they first came out, so there's certainly an aspect of "I've wanted this thing for years, and now I can say for sure that I do, so I can do this because I'm an adult and it makes me happy." But in a way, I wanted one because it was the newest, fastest, spiffiest. Quandary.
It also bothers me in a spiritual sense. I've been working on divesting myself of things I don't need, and this really is an acquisition of luxury. Sure, I'm not adding items (in theory) I'm replacing, but I'm also putting money into an object. I really could be writing just as well on my old computer. Bad Buddhist. On the other hand, this one is lighter and will let me focus on writing for several more years before I'll have to do this again, so there's that side of it. I see it, I note it, I move on.
And finally there's the very real practical application that I just spent a good hunk of money (pretty much my entire tax return) on a thing I wanted (rather than needed), when I still have a mountain of debt, both to the government from my education (I'm not too worried about this), and personally from when my parents loaned my cash to move after I graduated with my BA (this one bothers me considerably more). It seems to me that I really should be paying that off first, and getting a new computer when that's done. This is the hardest one to justify.
Ultimately, however, I have a fancy new computer, I'm working on refurbishing the old one so I can get the maximum bang for the buck when I sell it (anyone want a 2007 Macbook with 2 gigs memory and an 80 gig hard drive? Comes with OSX 10.4 or 10.6 installed, and 10.4 backup discs), and I'm writing.
Itchy feet continue to be an issue, but are becoming more routine now as I learn to make the most of my weekends. And I'm writing, which is nice. Work is going well. Amy and I are doing stellar. I'm reexploring the Bay Area, and carefully biding my time until I can get out and ride, run and climb again. Don't want to damage myself any more, but waiting is hard.
How are you doing? What are you doing? Where are you?