Hummingbird Mind

Out Like a Lamb?

It's the last day of March. A blog entry seems appropriate. Though I'm not sure why.  Maybe just to wrap up the month?

Weather-wise it was gloomy today... gray and drizzly with a bit of a chill.  A relaxing, do nothing day, spent as usual -- in a car.  This past month I've traveled a lot... New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio.  I have a few more trips to make before June, these include visits to Kentucky, Ohio, New York, and Southern California.

My new place becomes available on April 15.  Eww... tax day.  Oh, well. Tomorrow I'll kick off the new month by unloading my china cabinet, packing up its contents and moving my old dining room furniture to my eldest daughter's house where she begins that phase of life I was in when her father and I bought the stuff.  A sofa will keep the table, chairs, and cabinet company in the truck.  My middle daughter gets "the most awesome and comfortable sofa in the world" for her college apartment.  Wednesday I will have replacements for all that old furniture... items more fitting for my new life.

I start a new consulting project in April. It will last six to eight weeks and involves a lot of folks I've worked with before working on something I believe in a lot. My little brother is scheduled to come home for R&R starting this week -- though we haven't heard from him since all the heavy shelling began in Baghdad.  He's not the type to keep us informed anyway.  He'll just show up at my Dad's house unannounced.

This past two months flew by. 

Q2 2008... in like a lion.

I Don't Think So

iTunes has a category "Just For You" in which they list items you might be interested in based on previous purchases.  I recently downloaded an audiobook, St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography (see the left sidebar).  Apparently iTunes thinks that because of that purchase, I'd like the biography Wild Bill Hickock. Why?

Shortest Hiatus in the World

Okay, so my blog's hiatus is over... for now. I have something(s) to say:

*  Just caught up on my blog roll.  Amazing how much anger was inspired by the legally imposed leap forward our clocks made this past week.  Just to show you how different my life is now, I didn't notice the time change.  If the view of the digital clock on my TV is obscured, I have no idea what time it is.  I didn't notice until yesterday, while driving out to Dad's, that it was an hour later than I thought it was.  The radio said, "7:30 p.m."  My car's clock said "6:30 p.m."  Whoops.  So, while others woke up to shake their fists at the sun on Sunday, I met the day in my usual fashion... achy, stiff, and in need of caffeine.

* Under the subject line of:  WTF Was He Thinking? I couldn't take my eyes off the First Lady of New York, as she stood by, ashen faced, as her husband mouthed an apology for not living up to the standards he set for others or himself.  Wait. Did he actually apologize for anything?  I don't remember.  All I could process was the pain exhibited by his wife -- in her eyes, in her body language. Later I watched the talking heads ponder why she stood there.  Some criticized her.  I don't.  She is in shock. Everything she knew about her life, her husband, her existence has been shaken.  She hasn't even processed what is going on.  And, no doubt, the governor's damage control team's checklist states "Wife stands calmly next to husband" and she doesn't have the strength to even think about what she wants and needs to do.  God love her.  And damn him and his people for making her endure this horrific, shattering, private moment in front of the world's cameras. 

That's it.

Time Sure Flies...

Yesterday I realized that it had been exactly a month since my last day of work at my old company.  Where did the time go?  Besides weekly pilgrimages to pick up my youngest from school and then to take her back again, I spent the first two weeks sleeping. Nine and half-years of working in a 24/7 situation takes a lot out of a person.  The third week I started to make lists and added eating to my schedule.  I should say "eating healthy" since moving far away from Suz's chocolate dish and not consuming 10 bite-sized Snickers bars every day provided a great jump start to the new diet. During the fourth week (last week) I actually added living my new life to the schedule.

Here's a bit of what I did when I wasn't sleeping and eating:

* I started six (count them) books, all different genres, which I take turn reading. 
* I began to consolidate e-mailboxes (I had nine of them). 
* I quit the gym that I've belonged to (but only visited once) in the last three years.
* I sent in my dues for two writers groups in what will be my new home state.
* I threw out four boxes of old papers.
* I talked to three different companies about consulting gigs they would like me to take on.
* I had three great visits with Delaney and her Mom, one of which included a visit to see my Dad, during which we ate a lot of Smith Island Cake. 
* I discovered that I had automatic deductions from my checking account totaling over $200, which I no longer need.
* I picked out possible paint colors for my new place.

I also thought a lot about this blog and what  I wanted it to be and whether I even wanted to continue it at all. For the longest time it has not been what I originally conceived of it being and I need to rethink it.

It could be that the hermetic life I've been living since leaving my job means I haven't had any experiences worth writing about. It could be that I'm out of words.  I don't know for certain. But what I do know is that, for now, Hummingbird Mind is on hiatus while I think about it.