Not dreadfully thematic, but not dreadful. I hope.

Jan 17, 2007

First off, the Songs of the Week (two, because I just couldn’t make up my mind): Ashley MacIsaac‘s ‘Rusty D-con-STRUCK-tion’ and ‘Brenda Stubbert’, from his first album Hi, How Are You Today. (I know most of you couldn’t really care much about these weekly song postings; but in an odd way, I’m having a great time posting a different song every week. So don’t harsh my mellow, okay?) If you’re a fan of Irish folk music, fiddle music, fusion, and / or twists on a theme, give this one a listen. Last week’s song has rotated into the jukebox, which can be accessed (as always) by logging in.

EDIT: since it’s a new week, these tracks have been removed from public access.

In other site news, I’ve gone and added a forum. Anyone can read the posts there; but to participate, you need to sign up and log in. Members can also get the latest forum topics via syndicated feed (either RSS or Atom).

Thursday Thirteen 76::12: General Notes and News of the Week

I actually posted second (a direct tie with Janeen) over at the T13 hub because I was so surprised to be first...that I just couldn’t let things slide without a comment. In penance, I won’t be posting when I get my list finished. I’ve already posted my once for this week, so that’s as much as I’m posting. (It doesn’t appear that I get any referrals from that site, either — my regular visitors must either type the URL in or all harmonically converge.)

1. The person who hired me at the temp gig...gave their two-week notice today. I don’t know if this bodes ill for me or not, since Big Boss didn’t know what to do with me and I was 90% idle for nearly two months when I started this gig. (I’m not worried so much about the quality of my work, and I’m actually planning on *not* renewing this contract when it’s done in June. I’d just like to not have to jobsearch again quite so soon, and I don’t like what I’m seeing here: everyone who was present before Big Boss dude is being marginalized or outright demoted, or made to feel vaguely uncomfortable - so that they’ll leave, so that Big Boss dude can then have the funds and headcount to bring in his own team of people to get this job done. It isn’t even being done maliciously. It’s being done absently. Everyone here is a nuisance to this person; but rather than piss us off BBD is going to make it so annoying to stay that people will leave. However, while I really dislike the thought of collecting money for doing lots and lots of nothing, in this case I feel much less unease than I would normally.)
2. In one week, I’ve made myself rather popular (and visible) by turning around document-post requests in 24 hours or less. Apparently, things got very backed up; and now folks in other departments are happy that the logjam has burst.
3. Even with my “increased”, “regular” workload at Le Job, I’ve been able to write a few more support tutorials. Though I still haven’t gotten the business blog’s design done. Or even started. I’ve found some primary inspirations, but they don’t quite work.
4. I should just cut to the chase and start adding content. It will take two to three months before I’ve got search engine saturation, anyway.
5. I’ve been telling myself that for about four months; yet I continuously find more reasons to put it off a little more. Will someone please give me a thwack up alongside the head? Maybe that will shock me out of the rut...
6. I’ve added a forum to this site, but have made absolutely no progress with the new stylesheet. I’ve been fiddling with the billing software for my hosting company. The software is incredibly powerful and flexible...which is also to say that it’s a confusing mess to set up.
7. I’m debating splitting off my design and development services from the hosting services. For one thing, I sometimes farm the work out to third parties, and act as the project manager. For another, I could more precisely target the site to better sell the aforementioned design/development services. (And the copywriting, and the technical writing, and the other content-related services.) On the other hand, I’m worried about things getting too labyrinthine to easily manage.
8. I am loving my MP3 player (with noise-cancelling headphones, a necessary accessory for Le Job), and I think that I would like to own an iPhone. However, I’d like to wait until there’s a wider range of service providers with whom I can use the wonderful machine. For one thing, friends and family of mine have had poor experiences with Cingular. For another, Cingular apparently isn’t ready to accept iPhone-customers, and won’t be until this summer. For still another, if I’m going to pay this much for a gadget, I’d better have such excellent quality service that I become an evangelist. (Then again, satisfaction or no, that’s a hefty yearly pricetag for services...maybe I -=don’t=- want one of these.)
9. My neuro appointment went fairly well. The tremors I had this past summer (and for at least two years before that) have almost disappeared completely. Barring any change in my response to the medication, I’ll next see my neurologist in a year.
10. I think I may have Asperger’s Syndrome. I first read about this around 2002, but was a bit leery about laying claim to it because some descriptions of the syndrome likened making an accurate Asperger’s diagnosis to proving a negative. That, and while I am good at spotting patterns and flounder in many social situations, I didn’t feel that I was impaired or impeded enough to lay claim to having any shading of autism. Still...the more things I read, the more I recognize reflections of myself.
11. My birthday is next week. I’m fighting to keep from splurging on something as a present to myself; but honestly, I don’t have anything in mind upon which to splurge. (Though perhaps this is a bigger problem, since anything could be a potential splurge?)
12. My friend’s gallery is opening in the next two weeks (depending on how quickly the fire marshall is able to inspect their studio)! If you’re down in Ventura CA, drop in and say hello. They’ll have CG, oil and acrylic paintings, pottery and glassware, and probably an opportunity to get a henna tattoo (done freehand, no stencils used). I’m more familiar with one artist’s work than the other, but they are both very talented people. They’re also excellent teachers, and they’ll be offering classes at their studio in the coming months. Check out the Junior Mudthrowing Pyromaniacs courses!

Links to other T13 posts

1. West of Mars who showed up to comment before I’d even gotten to item number three on this week’s list
2. Fond of Snape with essential oil blends she’s ordered from Black Phoenix Alchemy (hey - I may have found a new essential-oils supplier!)
3. Jon Tillman with several highlights from his site
4. Our Story with some of her favorite things about her husband
5. Blog That Mommy with movies from the 1980s you may have forgotten...or really wanted to
6. The Screaming Pages with some sights she plans to take in on her upcoming trip to India
7. Scribbit with things you can’t do with an iPhone (...yet)
8. Joely Sue Burkhart with lessons from the worst ice storm to hit MO in 50 years
9. Zeus Excuse with a review of fashions at the Golden Globe awards
10. Blossoming Heart Capture with some of the beads she likes to use
11. Two Moms in a Blog
12. At my Hearth with some of the books waiting, unread, on the shelves
13. Seeking Special Shiny with memories of the water (lakes, ocean, rivers...)
14. Oh Brave New World with items on her desk
15. Write from Karen with pictures from their ice storm
16. Writing Aspirations talks about how music resonates with her

Keywords: | work | Thursday | memes | geeks |
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