Music for a long drive?

1. Folk Implosion – “Natural One”
2. Soul II Soul – “Keep On Movin’”
3. The Bangles – “Eternal Flame”
4. The Killers – “Read My Mind”
5. Metric – “Help I’m Alive”
6. Seether – “Careless Whisper”
7. Better Than Ezra – “Absolutely Still”
8. Foreigner – “Double Vision”
9. Queen – “Bohemian Rhapsody”
10. Crowded House – “Don’t Dream It’s Over”

Yes, thank you Music Choice!

I’m a “published” author. On the Tortus blog of course, http://blog.tortus.com/. Not only am I published on the Tortus Blog, but there’s a post about my recent flickr endeavors!

The other day, we had warnings of a frost. We had just planted our garden the day before, so we had to cover (and uncover it). My job was the uncovering the next morning. So I go out and removed all the coverings, run around the front of the house just in time for my carpool ride to get there.

I get to work, settle in at my desk and get to work. At 9:30 every morning we have a meeting halfway down the hall, so I get up and make the trip down. After the meeting, I make it back to my desk and sit, starting work for the long day.

About an hour later, a coworker comes down the hall with a nasty face on. “Who sh*t in the hall?” she shouted, to anyone near. Of course, she follows the tracks right down the hall to my desk. “Oh, it’s only mud.” she says.

And I’ll have to get some garden shoes…

I’ve heard it said that in a recession, things get tighter and tighter until people realize what’s really important: Family and Friends. I’ve heard that in a recession, we tend to see the best in people, as they reach out to help neighbors, friends and families in ways that weren’t asked of them when the “good times” were rolling on.

In this recession, I notice a trend toward negativity. People are shrinking behind their doors, turning out their lights so no one will think they are home.

How do you deal with all the negativity? Are you grateful for the things (family, friends, possessions) you have? How do you show your family and friends you are grateful for them?

There seems to be an insurmountable amount of panic and paranoia over the swine flu. I can’t say that I’m immune, as flooding reports have passed over the media into topics of conversations between friends and family. Is it all necessary?

Sure there are certain precautions people should take. But is this really going to wipe us all out? So far, it’s shaping up to be a big hoax. Less people have died from swine flu than from the regular flu. Tell me why I should be worried.

Being worried about catching it will only make your immune system less ready to fight off anything, much less swine flu. Keeping your mind occupied with what ifs (especially if they’re all doom and gloom) will only lead to depression and fear. And which is worse?

So, to the media out there, I don’t want to hear about swine flu any more. Causing a mass induced panic isn’t my idea of responsible media.

Vacation – just a short hop, skip and jump away in June!

Reading Breaking Dawn.

More pleasant sunny (though a little cooler) days like today!

Some of the awesome projects we’ve got going on at work!

Drawing more, learning more about Rails.

What are you looking forward to?

A nice new, perfectly sliding pen across a brand new page in a sparkling new notebook. Right? Who’s with me?

Have you ever heard of an IT person who used “password” as their actual password?

Every winter, I usually get depressed. The days are long, dark and gloomy. Everything gets so cold all you can do is relegate yourself to the couch under a slew of blankets. Even Mt. Toms is closed for a month, stealing one of the simple pleasures in life away from the coldest, darkest, snow-ridden month.

What’s strange then is that this winter, with all the snow we’ve gotten has not felt dark, or long. It’s certainly been cold, though!

This year, it was pointed out numerous times that the months that are the darkest (December & January) actually have the days starting to get longer. I can’t say I’ve ever really paid attention to that before, only focusing on the negative energy of winter. However, at the end of January, it was getting obvious that the days were indeed getting longer!

Noticing the daily time the sun sets has certainly made me anticipate the coming spring. Instead of being depressed about the cold weather, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

But surely, that’s not all to my better mood this winter. Of course not! I’ve also found it very helpful to try learning something new. I’ve been following an online course over at www.lynda.com. It has kept me thinking about new and creative ways to express myself through art, and I’ve found myself inspired in these long months instead of dreading the sight of snowflakes.

There’s a church on my way into work that has the most outrageous signs. Each and every day it catches my eye (even though it doesn’t change that often). The sayings often make me laugh. Such as this precious gem:

“Stop, drop and roll won’t work in hell.”