21 days in February

After a week, I can tell you the obvious: the writing habit didn’t quite stick. But, that’s fine… I don’t write personal things well under pressure. (Essays and other non-personal writing? Completely different story.) However, the other two habits are still going.

I’m not going to write daily, though I will keep a tally of my 21-days and update here when I do write.

It seems like Steve has been a little different lately. I can’t tell, though, if he really is different, or if it’s my perception of him. Or maybe it’s me.

Shadow looks like a bored kid.

There’s a slight blur on this photo – unintentional – but I loved the composition enough to keep it. Shadow woke up milliseconds after this shot.

My cats are notoriously difficult to photograph. That good one in my last entry? One good one out of fifteen shots. They move. They sneeze. They lick themselves. If they were children, they’d all be that kid that ruins the class photo by crossing his eyes and sticking out his tongue at the last second.

But, I love my cats. I’ll keep trying… and every now and then, I’ll get a good photo.

Away from the sun

I experimented with cat snapshots a little today. We were awake by early afternoon, and the light was great. I cannot wait until Steve’s back on days…

Mélange: House, letters, pondering

Jen, you were right. I love watching House. Thank you for insisting that I see it. *grins*

I’ve spent my evening catching up on letters and postcards I’ve promised, and thinking about possibilities for some 4″x4″ art. I’ll probably do a collage and a sketch for a mini-zine.

I adore my camera. It’s so easy to use, and has all the features I currently need or want. I’d like to start taking photos every day, and as I mentioned before, that prompts me to wonder about photo hosting. Should I just continue to use Flickr, or should I get hosting and a domain again? I had a few problems with my last host, at the end, so if I choose door number two, I’ll probably want to find a different host. On the other hand, I could resurrect my plans to host the website myself… but I think I’ve forgotten all the details I once knew. Someone, please, throw me a line before I think myself into insensibility.

Garden City

Yeah, I missed another day of writing. However, this is the end of my first set of 21 days. That didn’t seem so bad.

This afternoon, Josh and I confirmed out next little “business venture,” and I got paid. At 4:45, Steve and I left for Garden City, KS, hoping we could get there before Staples closed. Why? They are the only store in a rather wide radius that carried the camera I wanted. And they only had one in stock. And it just went on sale today. And closing time’s six o’clock.

Sure, the roads are kind of bad in-town, because of all the snow, but the highways are clear. Fifteen minutes to get to Liberal, and through it, then an hour to get to Garden and into Staples’ doors. Perfect timing, a little minor speeding, and some very kind Staples employees means that I have a new camera.

It’s only a point-and-shoot, but it’s far, far better than my old Kodak, and I am happy.

Bitchery.

I hate writing when I’m feeling blah, or tired, or ill. It seems like it turns my journal into a bunch of pointless bitchery. Steve brought me a lovely salad with grilled chicken tonight, and I could hardly taste it. I hate colds.

Yes, but why is the sleep gone?

I’ve been awake more hours than I can currently count. After trying and failing to sleep, I accompanied Mom on a shopping trip. I mentioned that the Valentine’s cards are out, and maybe we should get some for Jereme. That reminded her that she was signed up to provide party favors for his class Valentine’s party. So, we bought a ton of little stuff, some candy, and some bags to put it in.

After all this, we had lunch, and she dropped me off at home. I tried to sleep, and failed again. So, I headed over to put together the party bags. We got them together and hidden just before Jereme and Dad came home. I left soon after they arrived, and once home, tried and failed to sleep once more. I was exhausted, but I literally could not fall asleep.

Since then, I’ve been doing things that don’t require much concentration. I’ve been saving all that concentration to write this. Heh.

It’s your fault.

When I’m especially tired, I tend to question the most unlikely things. What is the etymology of “etymology”? How did the five-pointed star-shape become known as a star, when real stars aren’t pointed at all? How long after playing cards were invented did solitaire come into existence?

Mom called this afternoon, saying she was craving fish, and it was my fault. I’d been distracted with other things, so my mind attempted an instant replay of what she said, as I only registered, “it’s your fault.” Wittily replying, “huh?” I processed what she said, and then remembered the show we watched yesterday. “Oh, right.” She sent Steve and I to pick up some takeout fish for all of us.

Slice of life: Since I’ve been reading the LJ comm customers_suck, I’ve been almost hyperaware of my demeanor as a customer.

After dinner, I beat Jereme at Candyland for the first time. Kid has uncanny luck, and I was actually surprised that I won.

It’s the little things.

[Note from the future: I really should start actually writing these online so they're posted on time.]

Today was nice. Another of those small days, but nice. Steve and I played Star Wars: Battlefront for awhile this afternoon, and then we went over to my parents’ to visit. Jereme hasn’t been feeling well, but he seemed fine tonight. Mom and I watched an episode of Iron Chef America (Battle Wild Salmon), before I left. She was really impressed with the numerous ways they’d prepare the fish.

Insomnia – or whatever you’d call it – struck again last night, messing me up, and I’m ready to fall asleep in what should be the middle of my day.

Letters

Does anyone else ever have a letter-writing impulse? I do, today. I wrote quite a bit in Jen‘s notebook, and then several letters to fellow Nervousness.org members. As a result, I feel like I have very little left to say.

While writing the letters, I went off on tangents about travel, living in Alaska, mail art (naturally), and everything else under the sun. That was a lot of fun, but I’ve got to remember to save something for my journal next time. *laughs*