Official Warning
This post is a personal post - so if you are not prepared to endure a bunch of personal things, best off of you skip this one, right?
Some Thoughts About Status Updates
I don't usually do status updates. There are plenty of places for them - Facebook has one, so does LinkedIn, but I don't do them because they always struck me as rather silly. I mean sure, that was what I was doing when I wrote and posted the status update, but now I have a pickle!
If I stop doing what I was doing when I wrote the Status Update, does that mean I need to write a new Status Update? That is awkward - from here on I am going to use "SU" when I mean to say "Status Update" as that will make this less ungainly and cluttered...
Of even more concern, because I said I was doing X when I posted that SU does that mean I have to continue doing X until I post an SU saying I am doing something else? Is there an obligation? What about the terms of service? Do I need to worry about getting sued for playing Forza when I said I was playing Sniper Elite III?!
Wait! What if the issue gets interpreted legally?!! Then ALL of my SUs are in violation because WHEN I wrote that I was playing Forza I was REALLY writing that SU! Wait, wouldn't all truly HONEST SUs really say "Writing Status Update"???
Birthday Wishes and Caviar Dreams
Thursday was my Birthday - thank you all of you who sent me Happy Birthday wishes on the different social media sites. And email. And thank you for the birthday cards because now I know that people still do that - send birthday cards I mean...
Family Update
I know a lot of you are worried about stuff, especially with me being on the road so much. But so far (knock on wood) any worry is not entirely necessary.
Peter's Situation: Is approaching a resolution - he is going to have to go under the knife. I would be totally lying if I said that I was not worried - but I have confidence in the medical arts and I am taking Sun Tzu's advice and refusing to seek the consultation of my fears. He's my son, I love him, and I worry but I will be there for him whatever it takes.
Justin's Situation: Is not as bad as we feared. The word is that unless anything changes for the bad he will be ready to come home in a few days.
I have gotten used to the need to take him to the hospital every few months - well, if I am being entirely honest here I have gotten used to Yvonne needing to take him to the hospital every few months. I will never get used to the need for him to spend weeks and weeks in hospital in Boston, but they say that the Brighams and Women's Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Program (both the children's and adult ones) is one of the best in the world. I sure hope so, because I want my other son to have a very long and happy life too.
If you happen to be a person who regularly prays, I am sure that Peter, Justin, and Sandra would appreciate you including them in your chats with God. Just saying.
My Situation: Is largely unchanged. I am still under more stress than is probably good for me, but I like what I do. My work on the Business and Tech beat at the Cape Cod Times is steady and I have a bunch of interesting column subjects in the works, so good good good!
The video games and gaming beat side is seriously increasing in terms of work load and I am OK with that because like I said, I like what I do.
Almost all of the travel is either game previews, or interviews, and since it is mostly in Boston, Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia these days I am able to hit most of the appointments using the train, so that works.
One of these days I am seriously going to indulge my interests and fascination of trains and write about them and the Northeast Corridor.
I have the west coast stuff reduced to twice a year, and Vegas twice a year, which is all manageable but for obvious reasons I can't do those by train, so I still end up having to fly four times a year which sucks but what are you going to do? It is way better than the 12-tp-18 trips I was taking by plane before!
Autumn's Situation: She has applied for and been hired for her first real job - my little girl is growing up! She hasn't received a paycheck yet - I am eagerly awaiting the day she gets her first paycheck and asks me: "Who is this FICA person and why are they taking all of my money?!"
We are very proud of our daughter - she researched the available jobs, weighed them, decided which one she would hate the least, and took it! Good girl!
Yvonne's Situation: Work and health are fine, but she has been fretting lately about her blog. And about how some of the people she knows who are also crafters and who have their own blogs seem to get a lot of people leaving comments and she doesn't.
Her Blog is called "Fifteen Cups of Tea a Day and a Cat" and you can find it at the following URL: "http://teaandcat.blogspot.com/" and if you have any interest in vintage clothing, crafting, sewing, and Evie's oddly unique view of life, the world, and everything, I heartily recommend you check it out.
I told her that in the case of the blogs of other crafters chances are that (a) they knows the people who are leaving comments on their sites, and (b) friends and family tend to be supportive and kinder in cases like that, but if she really wants to generate a lot of comments the fastest way that I know of to do that is rile people up and piss them off :)
Gotta get back to work...
