Workspace!

I haven't had a desk since I lived on Lawrence street in Ann Arbor -- that was about three years ago. My last apartment in Ann Arbor didn't come furnished with an area devoted to work, so I used the kitchen table. This was a perfect solution, since it meant I was near food, and had two lovely windows to look out of. All I could see was a parking lot and some tree trunks, but it was better than nothing.

Since moving to Virginia I've been a nomad. Sometimes, I work from an easy chair, sometimes from our small dining table, and sometimes from the toilet. Each of these locations has it's pros and cons, but the real problem was that I had no space devoted to work. I often had to pack up all my materials on whatever I was doing, and clear out long before I was finished.

That's all changed now.

The local consignment store had this very nice antique solid wood desk at a very affordable price.

From Virginia Apartment: Awesome

From Virginia Apartment: Awesome

From Virginia Apartment: Awesome

From Virginia Apartment: Awesome

I was told by the woman who sold it to me that the former owners had the table in their family for years, and that it was once used as an altar in an outdoor wedding.

I am eminently pleased with my new acquisition, and I have now removed one more excuse to not get any work done.

These Feelings Are Natural

Day01 at Ft. Belvoir summation: Oh crap crap crap! The woman I am replacing is far more experienced/talented/competant than me. Oh my god what am I doing here? I am going to screw up and everyone is going to hate me oh god. Maybe I should drive my car into a tree and use some disability time to get off the hook. No no no, if I start driving funny the Army guys will think I am a spy and shoot me a thousand times!

Day02 at Ft. Belvoir summation: Ok, I think I can handle this.

The big change between the two? Well, today I got a much more concrete feeling for what needs to be done in the coming weeks. Most of it just nerves; changes in my routine always throw me off like that. It's also kind of nerve wracking for someone like me to work at an army base. I get freaked out when a cop goes by me on a bicycle, so you can imagine what working at a place with Area-51 signs around does to me.
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I don't think I'll be as good a job as the woman I am (temporarily) replacing. But I will learn a hell of a lot about how to be a better writer. She's got years of newspaper and Army experience. She knows how to write for these people, and can make writing a task in a way that I am still learning how to do. She, and others I have worked with at SAIC, are able to build an article like they're building a table.

The closest analog I can think of is writing college essays. You take a stack of information, and you make something cohesive out of it. Now, it's true that I could (and probably still can) churn out college essays like a machine, but this is like a whole other level.

The other skill that I have not fully developed is a journalist's scheduling. These pro-writers track story ideas in terms of what will be available when and from whom, and various aspects of the approval process, in addition to deadlines. I am truly amazed at the information handoff going between the two of us. This is the kind of skill-reinforcing activity that really need.
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So, to my family and my employers: I am OK, and I think I am going to do well.

Bachelor Chow

The perfect meal for any occasion!*

"Delicious" Recipe

Pour Vegetable Chip Crumbs over lukewarm microwaved Tostito's Queso dip.
Eat with the slightly less destroyed chip remnants from another bag.
Remember that you have a beer left in the fridge.
Remember that beer has calories; and therefore qualifies as food.
Realize that the beer is, by comparison, the gourmet part of the meal

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My super power is, without a doubt, the ability to not feel hunger. For some, when their bellies begin to empty they feel an immediate drive to rectify the situation.

If it weren't for the regularity of meals, I would blast right through the day without even stopping for a scone. This was particularly true in college. I have memories of my Freshman year, spent under a loft bed in West Quad. During finals/midterm time, I would often go a whole day without eating, simply because I was distracted by a paper I was working on.

Sophomore year continued this habit. At one point, I recall eating nothing but bread, water, and Nutella for about a week. The problem was that although I could cook, and had the facilities to do so, I frequently found myself struck with an intense lethargia. More than once, Kris would drive herself across town and drag me downstairs to NYPD and force me to eat something.

"Oh no, I'm not hungry at all." I'd say. "But, my! Is that ziti pasta mixed with chicken and sauce, wrapped in an 8" long baked roll? My goodness! OM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM."

The regularity of work and living with Claire -- who does feel hunger -- has changed all that. But every now and again I fall into my old habits. I know this has happened when I look up at the clock and realize I've spent hours watching Sean Connery clips on YouTube, instead of making dinner.
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*Read: when Claire has driven back to Illinois for the Holidays with the dog, in a rental car, and this is all you can muster.

A Confession, And A Bit More

Dear Lord,

Please forgive me for lying to the Mormons who accosted me on the street so as to avoid what I anticipated as being a frustrating and one-sided conversation on the nature of existence.

Amen.

I thought I would just drop a little something here since my computer is not co-operating. Atomsk is alive, I guess, but cannot seem to make it through booting without freezing and needing to be re-started.

Claire has requested that I clarify that she is NOT ON A HOPI EXCAVATION. She writes, "Not a Hopi excavation! Ancestral puebloan!"

Also, I am going to be working 4 ten hour shifts in two weeks, to cover the art-fair happenings in Ann Arbor. If anyone was going to pop by that week, I'm going to need some seriously advanced notice.

The weekend after that (July 27-29) cousin Phil will be dropping in for a little R&R in this scenic northern paradise.

Not too interesting, I know. Ah well, it is summer after all.