Blogging is a tough habit for me to get into on the regular. I used to do it everyday of the work week, because my job was boring and I really needed the distraction (and the money…!). I would sometimes crank out 6 posts a day to meet requirements for the maximum 3 paid posts a day, and spacing out one regular unsponsored post in between them. It wasn’t hard to write, honestly – especially once I got in the habit of writing a lot. I tried to write quality tech-related things, whether paid or unpaid. And looking back on it, the pay wasn’t worth the quality I was giving them. Maybe that’s why I was getting all the good offers. I ran a contest once, too. That kind of flopped.
I didn’t think that Twitter or Facebook would eventually usurp the Blog as a medium for keeping friends and family updated on life, but it seems that it has been that way. I often forget I even have a web hosting account that I pay yearly for and don’t use that often except for playing around with HTML or CSS or PHP and remotely sharing files that I might need for work or friends. Dreamhost has been really good to me.
I am not getting out of blogging – on the contrary – I more recently have decided to pick it up again. I need to write more regularly so that it’s not as much of a struggle when I do write. Mostly I like blogging because I get a chance to sort out my thoughts and talk about what’s on my mind.
Most recently, I’ve been close to finishing up the Sharepoint project for a few weeks now. I thought I was close to done when I went on vacation, but there are still a few hold-ups that are out of my hands, and I keep sending emails to remind people of what I need. Amanda and I are still doing really well – she lives with me on a more permanent basis now, has quit her job and is going back to school for a web/technology/business certificate and maybe a degree. She’s picking it all up pretty well so far: I had to look over the OSI model and try to make sense of it, which tells you about how useful it is once you’re actually out of the classes and doing things in the real world.
My house is utterly falling apart – I’ve had one of two bathrooms in a complete state of demolition for about two years now. Something mentally keeps blocking me from actually getting to working on it again and finishing it so I have a nice bathroom to use. At this point I am focused on getting it back to working state and not having any problems and having the floor, walls, ceiling, door, tub & shower, toilet, sink, and light working and whole. Doing anything fancy extra will have to be a later project. I want to get this thing sealed up before the winter cold this year. The ceiling in the dining room has started to fall, and it’s just glue & staple cardboard tile from what I can tell. Underneath is what is (questionably, but probably) slag wool insulation which gave me a scare for a day or two because I was concerned it might be asbestos. I haven’t had it tested, but after looking at pictures of mineral wool / slag wool insulation and comparing it, mine looks just like it. I can’t, however, find any definitive pictures of any wool-style insulation that looks like mine that has asbestos in it. I called the company that manufactured it and left my information for them to look up the information and try to find out if they’ve manufactured any residential batt wool insulation that contains asbestos. If they call and say yes then I’ll pay to have it tested. If it needs to be removed, I’m just going to go talk to the bank and find out what my options are for giving up the house. Because it’s in the entire ceiling and there’s no attic access, they’d have to tear the whole ceiling down in every room and then remove it safely; which is way more than I could afford.
Next weekend, Amanda and I are going to travel out-of-town to see Neil Gaiman and others at Asheville Unchained; a fun raconteur / story telling event with music. We’re excited to see / possibly meet Neil Gaiman! He’s a brilliant writer and I really loved his Doctor Who episode. I still haven’t read American Gods or Anansi Boys, but they’re in this huge stack of things I need to read on my Kindle. Speaking of books, I just bought I Am Number Four and will probably be reading that series next. I guess I really need to finish Apathy and Other Small Victories before I move on to something new. That is also a hilarious book that I’m really enjoying now. I’m just a slow reader.
My body is killing me – not that I really intended for this post to be all complaining, but I think either allergies or something else is making me congested. I know I’m not drinking enough water and I am probably not getting all the nutrients my body wants. I am going to pick up a multivitamin and start taking it again. Gotta keep this old man body up and running! I’m only 29; I’ll be 30 in January – but it just doesn’t feel as easy as it used to be.