A Vignette of Life, Lived In An Old Cabin, In Another Time

On the piece of land where I lived back in SD there was an old cabin that predated my purchasing the house and moving into the place. The place was a small ranch with multiple buildings - a house, a three car garage, a chicken coop, a woodshed, a barn and the old cabin.  The old cabin was a small one room place, nothing fancy, maybe 12 feet by 20.  It was a classic one room cabin and empty.

I dreamed that I lived in that cabin, slept on an old wrought iron bed, cooked on an old wood stuff, sat on a wooden chair, washed with a picture and a basin. There wasn't really a plot to the dream, no narrative, no story - just a vignette of life, lived in an old cabin, in another time.

(The photo is of Indian Creek Cabin in the Kenai, not the actual cabin on my old place, but certainly representative of the style.)

12 Hours Later - Punch Drunk

It was a twelve hour workday today. I spent the vast majority of the day testing the configuration of one aspect of the new project.  It's a monster.  My portion alone is - 107 items in 2 templates in 4 user roles. Can you say 856 distinct items to check?  I made it a little over halfway through - and then I started getting punch drunk and I couldn't tell if what I was seeing were actual errors - or just my brain frying from checking too many items that were too similar. I voted for the last and called in a night, punch drunk.  I get to go it all again tomorrow morning - and weave through meetings. (This whole exercise just demonstrates the importance of having well documented test cases, then make the whole test process easier.)

Ah, but there was a bright and shining light at the end of the day and that was a great little conversation with T.R. early in the evening. It definitely made my day. So, it is chasing 8:30 now, I have the slight edge of a headache, it is hot and humid outside, and I need to take a cool shower and then head to bed - curl up and spend a little time reading, and then fall asleep.  Then, I get to do it all again tomorrow.

Dreams of Water

My trend toward dreaming of water continued last night. I dreamed that I was walking along a seedy waterfront when someone threw a man, wrapped and tied in a canvas sheet, over the side of a tramp freighter.

The water was only about fifteen feet deep, so I was able to dive in and swim to the bottom and rescue him. From there, we stole a jet ski and went zooming through the harbor, weaving in and out of boats, ships, and other obstacles, until we reached another ship across the bay.

I dropped him off and then headed into the shore, where I beached the jet ski and woke up. I wonder what my trend toward dreams of water and rescuing people from the water means on a psychological level, since it is a persistent theme.
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A Mostly Ordinary Monday

As Monday's go it was a pretty good one.  The meeting schedule was light at work and I spent most of the day doing a focuses review of some system changes.  There was a moment during the afternoon when we figured out we were working off the wrong version of the requirements document, but only minor differences were present.  It will necessitate a bit of rework tomorrow when I compare any change items on the subsequent document.  Process control has been a real challenge in this project.

Don and I went up to Black Angus for lunch and I had an excellent rib-eye (their monthly special).  Dinner was a simple salad, followed by a nap and a hot bath. I've been moody lately, so I've been slipping into bed earlier than usual or just spending time staring at the wall and contemplating. I contemplated overlong in the tub tonight and the water turned cool, which is always a thrill in its own right.

I've decided to wind out the evening watching the Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig version of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo".  I enjoy it for what it is, but it doesn't hold a candle to the original. Noomi Rapace owned the character of Lisbeth Salander. However, that doesn't really detract from the American version which is also an excellent - if different movie.  So, a little of Lisbeth, perhaps a bit of work related writing, and then an early night of reading. I've got a heavy meeting schedule tomorrow and a couple of objectives that I would like to get nailed down, so I might do a spot of work tonight.  Then again, I may not.

Kitchen Table

My kitchen table, today. A simple day of errands and walking, of breakfast and a movie, of laundry and mopping. There was a good quote in the movie I saw today that I shared with T.R. and I thought I would share with you all.

"You are exactly where you are supposed to be. You are exactly who you should be. Today is exactly as it is supposed to be."

Powerful words coming from a romantic comedy starring Dax Shepard and the ever charming Kristen Bell. "Hit and Run" is also an amusing movie with more than a few laugh out loud moments, so I would recommend it if you need some good escapism time.

Here at the end of the day I am kind of in a mood of some sort. I want to tackled some cleaning in my spare bedroom, but for some reason I am doing a much better job of procrastinating. I think I need to decide what I am going to do and then just get busy doing it.
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Pleasantly Ordinary

It has been a quiet morning so far.  I woke up about 5:30 AM, then lingered in bed for a while reading. When I rolled out, I splashed my way through the morning shower, then made the bed, then loaded up a load of laundry for the day.  (I actually haven't decided if I am going to go it yet, but I thought I would throw it in the car in case the mood strikes me.)  I sent a few morning texts, to T.R. and to a brother and a sister. From there, I settled in an cleaned the desktop area of my laptop and organized some of the bookmarks in my browser. I was getting loaded down with sites I rarely went too, so I created a set of sub-folders and nestled them away. A bowl of Special K and a hot cup of coffee have been my constant companions so far.  I am supposed to meet Bob and Tony for breakfast in about an hour and then, maybe, I will pop out and catch a movie, or head over and do some laundry, or both.  I need to stop by the grocery store today to stock up on some of the basics.  Well, in a nutshell, that has been my morning. Nothing exciting. Pleasantly ordinary.

Two Days In One

Friday was a day mostly dedicated to a single errand.  I dropped my car off at Midas to get a complete 50,000 mile service work-over.  Tony picked me up at the garage and we had breakfast at Goodies II, then he dropped me off.

I spent most of the morning watching the DVR and doing a complete scrub and clean of the kitchen, including stripping and waxing the floor and some minor re-arrangement. I had a work meeting from 12:30 to 1:30, then walked the mile plus down to the garage in the heat of the afternoon. I picked up the car and ran a couple of errands, then came home for the evening. 

During the evening I watched "The Hunger Games" (I am a huge Jennifer Lawrence fan since seeing "Winters Bone"). Then, the best part of the evening - T.R. was back in NC, so we had a wonderful conversation at the end of the night.

Saturday, I started with a second call with T.R., and then we spent about two hours surfing the web, Stumbling and Tumbling and looking at The Verge and other favorite web sites.

Then, breakfast with the guys and a day of assorted errands, conversations, and heat dodging. I got home about six thirty, and hoped for another conversation with T.R., but I suspect she was tucked into bed and sound asleep.

So now, I am winding up the night, casually slipping into the evening. I actually thought about going to sleep about 7:00 PM, but I thought that probably wasn't a bright idea!  So, I have been watching incidental programs on my DVR, writing, and reading.  A good Saturday all in all.

I Dream of a Flood

Let me start with the dream. Last night I dreamed of a flood.  I dreamed that I was walking down a city street when I got caught in rapidly rising flood waters.  They swept me off my feet and carried me down the flooded street (tip - if you ever get caught in fast moving water, adjust your body so your feet are leading the way downstream), then into a deeper flow of water. Once I was in the deeper flow of water, I was able to swim free (swim with the current, at an angle toward the shore). When I was on the shore I helped pull over people out of the water as they went by.  Some of the people lived in a nearby building and offered me a place to come and warm up, but I decided to keep going on my original journey.  It was an interesting and vivid dream.

Last night, I went to be early, about 7:00 PM. I'm not sure why. Maybe allergies. Maybe tired. Maybe even a bit of just general depression. Whatever the cause, I crawled into bed with Odd Apocalypse, read for a bit, then fell asleep early.  I woke up about two in the morning, dreaming of work. (I keep insisting that I need a charge number from work for my dreams). I finished reading Odd Apocalypse - excellent addition to the Odd Thomas series.  I won't say much more, since I don't want to accidentally let any spoilers slip, but I always jokingly tell my friends that I want to be Odd Thomas when I grow up.

Then, up and off to the office.  It was a day of meetings, but they were actually pretty productive for a change. The day passed quickly enough and then I slipped home for the evening.  Tonight I watched SYTYCD (the dance to "Bang Bang, She Shot Me Down" was outstanding), and now I am sliding into the evening with a bit of writing and a bit of reflection. I think I may make a family call or two tonight.

Colors Upon A Wall

A splash of color that I saw on one of my morning walks in the vicinity of my office today. Vibrant contrasts show the simple beauty of nature$
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What Choices Will I Make Today

Dawn was cool and gray, if not the hint of fall in the air, then certainly the hint of the hint of fall. Dawn is slowly rolling back to later in the day. As much as I love late summer, my true love is the turning of fall, even here in California, in the Bay Area, where there is no dramatic turn of the season. It is still there, that seasonal change, just more subtle and graceful.

I've got a relatively free schedule here at work today, but I am struggling to stay motivated. It doesn't really have anything to do with work - it has more to do with the weather I think. It is was a dawn made for staying curled tightly in bed, a dawn for laziness and lingering. I just finished up making an action item list for the day, since I suspect that is the only way I am going to accomplish anything.

It may turn into a day of minimal work, a day of introspection and reflection. Perhaps a day of reading. Who knows. One of the things that I love about each day is that each day has the potential to become something...almost anything...depending on the choices we make through the day. So, as I sit here, just past the threshold of this day, I wonder what choices I am going to make today?
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