Moustaches, Media and Meh

The word of the week is ebullience.

Nov 25 - Improvement

Winter hibernation has definitely got its claws in me. 

Ever since the clocks were turned back, I've been getting quite tired earlier in the evening and by 10 PM, I am ready to hit the sack. For someone who normally turned in well past midnight even as of a year ago, that's quite a switch. I'm compensating by getting up earlier in the morning and getting things done, which I think is a fair trade.

My moods have definitely stabilized, due in no small part to reduce stress at work and financially. While I'm in no way anywhere near a black-ink bank balance, not having to sweat every single $1.95 Tim Horton's tea purchase of late has been wonderful. It's been all due to my sister, whose now-solid employment has meant that my own paycheque pittance hasn't been the prop for our household.

While the days of upgrading computer parts and purchasing the odd neat( and inexpensive ) gadget are gone, just not having to worry about every single dollar every single day has been fantastic.

That's good practice for when our finances flip and Fortune favors us once again.

Nov 26 - Why a Word Of The Week?

In case you ever wondered why I include one every week…

Apart from the obvious, I like words that carry a few layers of meaning in them and can be used for different things. I often sit and ponder different words, rolling them around in my head while I think about all their meanings in different contexts.

Also, each week's Word is related to how I'm doing that week. While there's been a few weeks where the match isn't exact, the words definitely describe at least a portion of my week - usually the most important one - and that's enough for me.

Words, after all, can be made into anything by writer.

Nov 27 - Nova in my pocket?

A simple bit of software made my day today.

For the last long while, my old ASUS tablet hasn't seen much use, as it's been simply too slow for me to tolerate using it much. I've looked into doing a few things to speed it up, but not had the time to really get into those solutions - not that I have great hopes for them to work all that well, my do.

This week, I downloaded an app called Nova Launcher. It's an android app that replaces the standard 'launcher' which runs any android device, launching applications and generally Getting Things Done.

It's amazing! It's like I have a brand-new tablet again; swiping from screen to screen is lightning-fast and there's almost no lag, which drove me bonkers a lot of the time.

I like the program so much, I installed it on my Samsung Galaxy SIII and wouldn't you know it also made my phone feel like new again. I'm very impressed, even after needing to spend a few hours reconfiguring all the icons and widgets, it's definitely worth it. I definitely recommend checking it out for yourself.

Nov 28 - Free TV?

If it's free, I like it.

Hopefully whatever it is, is also without a catch. For the most part, watching television over the Internet has been very hit and miss. Even in the last decade when broadband cable became commonplace, it's very difficult to find TV programming that's recent or of decent quality.

Someone at work suggested this site, which I had a look at today. I was thoroughly blown away by the sheer volume of programming available - for free - which doesn't involve any sort of Torrent downloads or watching poor-quality videos the size of postage stamps. A small caveat is that some of the videos have pop-up ads, but the site actually asks viewers for forgiveness, as their host where the videos are stored are the ones actually putting the ads up - they have no control over it.

A quick perusal shows you that there are hundreds of shows hosted on the site, enough television from the past few decades to keep you watching for another few decades, at least.

For now, I'm going to pick and choose my favorites here and there. Free!

Nov 29 - Black Friday: Meh

Rarely have I been more disgusted at consumerism then today.

I used to think that the crazy materialism mindset that comes over the majority of North Americans during the holidays was moderated by the feelings of generosity and love that the season engenders in people.

However, this year saw the widespread adoption of the American 'Shopping Holiday' known as Black Friday in Canada. The day after Thanksgiving, at least in the United States, means massive crowds turning out for substantial discounts at almost every retailer - all of this a month before Christmas.

Personally, I think the crowds and the tension are disgusting and I was thankful that I was working today in the afternoon so that I missed all the morning madness. It was a steadily busy day but there was no sign of any tidal waves of people scrambling to grab a deal before someone else got it. Nothing material is worth standing in line well before the sun rises in order to get in before anyone else grabs the deal.

Next year, I'll be sleeping in.

Nov 30 - Movember's Last Day

My moustache has a fan club!

Admittedly, it's a small one, but still: I've received quite a few compliments on it these last few weeks. More than a few of them have compared my appearance - with longer and now-curly hair - to Tom Selleck, which I find flattering, even with a squeaky voice thrown in.

I'm quite liking the low-maintenance aspect of having just a mustache, compared to the fiddly work one has to do with a beard or goatee to keep everything in trim. I do enjoy being clean-shaven, as it gives me a more youthful look and most of the rest of my facial hair is now coming in salt-and-pepper grey. Seeing as I don't believe in coloring my hair, I'll just shave it off, which is easy enough.

Also, it keeps my lip warm when I cycle!

Dec 1 - New month, new ideas!

As I keep my nose to the writing grindstone with my Dark Drystal entry( due in a month! )my mind is already looking forward to more writing challenges in 2014: contests!

This coming year should see me flourish as a writer, at least in terms of productive output. If I can manage it, I'll be spending less energy on my day job and reserving the best parts of myself for throwing into my writing full-bore. 

Which means I have to enter more than a few contests, I believe. It's the only way I'll be able to prove that my writing can have meaning enough to other people that they'll pay for it, and not in terms of writing some kind of advertising copy. I want to know that the stories in my head, the fruits of my imagination if you will, are enticing enough to other people that I can share the views of my mind's eye and they'll want more.

Once I get rolling, there will be no stopping me. That thought makes me quite, quite happy.

Only a few weeks to go for completing my Dark Crystal contest entry. I'm excited and eagar to write every day this coming week - as it should be! The mild weather's been great, as I haven't had to walk or bus to work due to ice or white stuff...