Done yesterday (20091002)

[mdlbear]

1002 Fr
  * up 6:45; W=194.0; coffee; drugs, nose, teeth
  * paid Apria bill (late; estimated)
  * more sorting in office; may be down to the bottom of the tax pile now.
  * Started writing in PJ (private journal)
    ! happy(?) because I was writing.  
    ! slightly distressed because of the subject matter
  * mail Callie's drive, Ross dresses (from Colleen's rolling walker)
    ! happy because a group of kids were there on a field trip.
      (the smile came first, but not much delay before I noticed it)
  & walk: twice around pond, 20min meditation
    ! noticed I was smiling at a little kid.  Seems pretty consistent.
  & It's all very well to be able to ssh to a netbook, but it doesn't work too
    well if it's hybernating.  Probably need to tweak the power settings, or
    maybe see if it can WOL.
  @ http://hsifyppah.livejournal.com/432192.html?thread=3043648#t3043648
    (Somehow I suspected that might be the one she latched on to.)
    ! laughed - very amused.
  @ http://sweetmusic-27.livejournal.com/68486.html?thread=510854#t510854
  * call from Kat - needs a floppy drive!
  & IM from N; pruning dead relatives from .mailrc
    ! hopeless; desolate.  Don't know what else.
  * bring home Mac, since I may actually get to the taxes this weekend.
  = note to self:  do not introduce loaded terms into a conversation.
  * financial/charity mailings sorted to first approximation
  " (20:57:55) ssavitzky: On a totally different subject, I realized today
      that there appears to be something that reliably makes me happy!  Seeing
      little kids, especially if they're having fun. 
    (20:58:42) ssavitzky: I'm not sure whether this is because the kids are
      wonderful in themselves, or because I know they aren't mine. 
  "
  * Finished splitting charities, large mailings, and statements.
  * 9:40 drugs, nose (should do these when coming home).  put dinner away.
  * wrote "Journals/privatize.sh" to move things from River to PJ
  * 10:30ish bath
  * 11:10ish nose, teeth, bed

It appears to have been a productive day yesterday: I got a gift package into the mail, started a private journal, took a walk, meditated for 20 minutes, and finished sorting the financial and charity mailings to the point where I have a decent chance of finding the paperwork I need for my taxes.

I figured out that I need to water my nose three times/day; it really helps.

And in a time when I'm suffering considerable angst about the disconnect between my conscious awareness and my emotions, I was surprised and delighted to discover that looking at little kids reliably makes me happy. I smile when I see a baby, or a class on a field trip to the post office, or even a kid making a fuss in a restaurant. (This last may be because I know the kid isn't one of mine.) I may be able to leverage that into actually becoming aware of my feelings.

On the other hand I got some disturbing news from a friend, and spent some sad time pruning a couple of dead relatives from my .mailrc file.

On the gripping hand, I finished the day with a 10-line shell script for journal maintenance, a hot bath, and a bit of warm, loving snuggle. A pretty good day, on average.

As for link sausage, today we have The Meme of Yay!, and pictures inspired by my interests by hsiffyppah and sweetmusic-27. Yay!!

Comments

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

I was surprised and delighted to discover that looking at little kids reliably makes me happy... I may be able to leverage that into actually becoming aware of my feelings.

How do you react to kittens, especially very small ones?

[mdlbear]

I'm not usually around small kittens; the last time was years ago. The last time my family owned a cat I was in preschool. That's not likely to change, since many of our friends are allergic, and for some reason neither Colleen nor I have felt much need for pets.

Probably similarly to small kids.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

My friend siliconshaman recently posted: "There is no problem so large, complex or terrifying that you cannot end up feeling a bit better about by ignoring it for five minutes to pet a purring kitten..."

And just under a month ago, I was at another friend's house; said friend took in a pregnant feral cat, and is "socializing" the kittens so they can be adopted. At the time, they'd had their eyes open for about a week. I just could not tear myself away from the Itty Bitty Kitties. (Literally - they cling to your clothing with their tiny little claws, and climb all over you as if you're a gigantic, moving jungle-gym.) (I would have adopted one, but my husband has not recovered emotionally from the death of our cat Loki last year, and refuses to get another pet for now. Even a handful of soft grey fluff that looked up at him with big blue eyes and said "Meep?" couldn't convince him.)