I picked a bad month to quit smoking...
Okay, no. I don't smoke. I never have. I don't even drink to excess anymore. Very often. But it's a wonder that I am not currently drinking like a fish and smoking like a chimney. Remind me never to buy a house when I have a book due. Okay, granted, I always have a book due, but even so I should have arranged this better.
I am like a mad scientist's experiment on the effect of stress on rats. Or the small, pale, anxious-looking mammal of your choice.
I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE.
But I have to keep taking it and working while I take it, and because this isn't a funny enough story for future retellings, we here in the high desert are also experiencing windstorms so I have had a headache for about two weeks. Crazy-with-stress and headachy. Even the SO has been complaining of headaches for the last week, so it's not just me. Or maybe I am the common denominator. It's been known to happen.
This is the long way of admitting that this a placeholder post. I can't just drop off the face of the map because then the VA starts to get emails asking if I've died. I WISH.
Kidding. I'm a kidder.
A kidder with a headache. Which is the worst kind.
So everything is pretty much fine. The book is coming along, believe it or not. We're looking at somewhere between 60 - 70K (regardless of what Amazon says) and it's a lot of mystery and not so much romance because I basically want to kill someone.
We were supposed to close Monday, but every *&^^%%$$###@!INGtime I think we're moving forward the bank comes back with yet another request for paperwork. Lately it's the same paperwork only formatted differently. Which is why I want to kill someone.
Anyway, while I have thought of many topics for posts, I find that I just do not have the energy. I barely have the focus for a normal conversation, yet alone the ability to think philosophically about such things as why people you have never met--and never will meet--think it is appropriate to share such personal, private information with an email address OR ask the person at the end of that email address for personal and private information.
Yeesh.
But a lot of us live online now, and we forget that we are still the minority. Most people are not living their lives in cyber space.
It does raise an interesting question though. If you were to unplug today, how much would it affect your life? In what ways would it change your life? Do you think you would be forced to forge better and more meaningful connections with people around you if you couldn't hop onto the intertubes to socialize? Does the internet enhance or distract from your ability to connect with people?
Are we engaging online to the detriment of our real life engagement?
Inquiring minds want to know.
I've read a few articles about "addiction to the internet." What do you think about that? If you were addicted to the internet, would you know?
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Try sitting in a canteen on a table of eight where every single person has their mobile out. Trust me conversation is difficult!I've had someone tell me how 'people don't get them' while holding a one-sided conversation about their interest and not seeming to realise how many of their tastes were shared.
But then I like my internet time too. If you're not the type to push yourself forward it's easy to fall back on the net. You can find people who share your interests without exposing yourself so-to-speak.
Hope the headache heals, good luck with the house.
Oh man, good luck with the house. I remember what that whole ordeal was like when I did it six years ago, and I certainly don't relish the idea of doing it ever again, even though I'll have to. With the way the market is right now, I'm sorely tempted to sell and just rent a small place for a while until I can manage to move out of state, but the thought of doing that AND keeping up with my writing schedule... Yeah, not so much. Kudos to you for balancing it all!
Sympathies for the ordeal of closing on a new home. You'll forget the misery once you move in.As for your headaches, I recommend a sinus rinse called Neal Med Sinus Rinse. It's available at drugstores and markets. Use with distilled water, I promise if you use it daily it will help.
If the headaches are stress related? Maybe more drinking is called for:)
Good luck with the new home, congratulations!
I quit Facebook 18 months ago and I'm much happier for it. Such a time waster. Now, I can devote more hours to doing what I love, which is reading, reading and knitting. Besides, I'm not that sociable and it was really quite stressful making friendly with people I don't know.Sinus/stress headache - hot tea and drugs work for me. A good cry can be benefical too. Sounds like you're on the verge of tears already, what with the house buying/moving/ writing, so I recommend - Go For It. It can't hurt, right? Hugs.
Sofia wrote: "Interesting question.The internet gave me the safety to experiment with socialusing and then confidence with interactions. Which i can take with me to real life and translate into socilising ther..."
I think for shy people the internet is a godsend. Truly. My only concern is that I see people ignoring the opportunity to engage with those around them because they are so focused on social media.
Meep wrote: "Try sitting in a canteen on a table of eight where every single person has their mobile out. Trust me conversation is difficult!I've had someone tell me how 'people don't get them' while holding..."
Yes. This is what I mean. A room full of teens and too many opting for the safety of talking to their online friends rather than taking a chance of meeting (and the possible rejection by) someone who lives down the street.
G.R. wrote: "Oh man, good luck with the house. I remember what that whole ordeal was like when I did it six years ago, and I certainly don't relish the idea of doing it ever again, even though I'll have to. Wit..."Well, I admit it's not a graceful balancing act and I've already smashed a few plates. With more to follow if this doesn't end soon. ;-)
Josh wrote: "I think for shy people the internet is a godsend. Truly. My only concern is that I see people ignoring the opportunity to engage with those around them because they are so focused on social media. "That's like putting all your eggs in one basket. What if something happens to the 'net'. But yes it is true, real life socialising has to be done in between (around) checking FB, messages, etc :(
Melissa wrote: "Sympathies for the ordeal of closing on a new home. You'll forget the misery once you move in.As for your headaches, I recommend a sinus rinse called Neal Med Sinus Rinse. It's available at drugs..."
My dad was telling me that we always have these windstorms in the spring, but I don't remember prolonged periods of high winds. So maybe a lot of it is my stress making me more sensitive. And because of the drought it's a horrific year for pollen, so that could be part of it.
Thanks for the rec!
Janice wrote: "I quit Facebook 18 months ago and I'm much happier for it. Such a time waster. Now, I can devote more hours to doing what I love, which is reading, reading and knitting. Besides, I'm not that socia..."I have a great circle of FB friends, and I do love checking in to look at my wall every morning. But I almost never even look at my newsfeed. And when I do, I find my stress level shoots up. Maybe I am an anti-social socializer. ;-)
Sofia wrote: "Josh wrote: "I think for shy people the internet is a godsend. Truly. My only concern is that I see people ignoring the opportunity to engage with those around them because they are so focused on s..."It's on my mind because I have young adult nieces and nephews. I watch their tentative efforts to connect--both in real life and in cyber space--and it's painful. It seems even more complicated than it did back in the good old days of making sure to hang out where the people you liked would be.
Josh wrote: "Melissa wrote: "Sympathies for the ordeal of closing on a new home. You'll forget the misery once you move in.As for your headaches, I recommend a sinus rinse called Neal Med Sinus Rinse. It's av..."
My pleasure. I live in the San Fernando Valley and we get the Santa Ana winds but I've been doing the sinus rinse for 10 plus years and no longer suffer from allergies, sinus headaches, sinus infections and rarely get colds. It's an alternative to drugs and your sinuses will love you:)
Hey, perhaps when the dust settles down and you will feel yourself again, we will have a new book with a change of house involved :) ... and no research to get the right point of you will be needed ...
The internet gave me the safety to experiment with socialusing and then confidence with interactions. Which i can take with me to real life and translate into socilising there too. The difficulty i find is balancing out the two. Both take time and need nurturing.
Good luck with the house and the book :)