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...
