So this morning I took this photograph of one of my teacups to post over at 43Things, to show how well a recommendation for cup cleaning had worked. It was grungy and stained--not shiny at all--from being used at work and not really cleaned properly for weeks.
A little baking soda and dish soap made into a paste worked great at polishing it up without damaging the lusterware surface. Sweet!
But you know, things like paying too much attention to a teacup don't go unnoticed in a house with a well-adjusted African Grey. The first shot, in which he walked up and stuck his beak into the lens of the camera, didn't come out at all.
He finds it hard to believe that there's really nothing in this cup.
Meanwhile, today's my first layoff day. They have this program in California for people like me. You can be laid off part time and receive unemployment benefits for those days. So each of us at my place of employment will be laid off 1-2 days a week until the 21st of December. Then we have to use our comp and vacation days until returning to work on January 7th, if there is work to return to by then.
I have a goal over on 43Things to "Survive the WGA Strike." Which of course, I will. I have no fear of actually perishing. For me, surviving it in good health means staying productive.
On my layoff days I need to, minimally:
--write for at least an hour (not including blogging)
--do a little something for the house (cleaning, laundry, yardwork, grocery shopping)
--exercise
This doesn't mean that I won't write more, or devote time to writing-related business like sending out submissions, or read. But one of the advantages of living is beginning to understand yourself. I know that, given my personality, I will beat myself up if I don't feel I've done something every day.
Today's WGA Strike video,
Who Are They Lying To? points out that the big media companies are either lying to their investors or to the writers. Isn't that interesting?
