Wednesday, 15 September 2004

Sometimes I almost wish I believed in a religion with a hell. In particular, one of those religions with lots of specific hells to punish particular sins. (They inspire great art, those hells. Jackie once described a picture to me of what must have been some Hindu hell, the hell of eating hair. I don't remember what the sin was that got you into that hell, but it sounded very unpleasant.)

There's a simple reason for my hankering after such hells: Vandals who break bottles on foot and bicycle paths. I want them sent barefoot to a hell that's a vast parking lot, ankle deep in glass shards, where they're chased endlessly by rabid dogs wearing kevlar booties.

I've been kind of depressed lately, pretty much just over the day job. The writing is going fine; things with Jackie and me are great; I'm getting my exercise, or at least nearly enough. So, life in general is good. But I'm bored with my task at work, so I'm not doing it, so I'm not being productive, which makes me unhappy, which makes me less productive, which makes me all the more bored.

I'm working on a coping strategy. That's part of what the time management/organizational kick is about. I'm sure all I need to do is find a way to get myself actually being productive and I can get into a positive cycle. And it's important to do that while it's still fall. Once winter comes it will become much harder.

We've been watching the Buffy episodes in order. We started doing that in advance of the arrival of our season 6 DVDs, not realizing that it would take us months to get them all watched. But we've finally reached the beginning of season 6.

Season 6, of course, was extra, extra cheery. Just the thing.

Still struggling with the robot story. I did get a new story idea though, and noted it down in my note book. (I've always thought I ought to have a notebook; I've just usually made do with a computer. Just lately, though, I've put together a notebook, filled up my fountain pen with ink, and started keeping them with me for noting down ideas. So far, I'm middling pleased.)