August 26, 2008

  • Summer Retrospective

    When I left my job in mid-May, I promised myself a summer sabbatical. Yes, I did some work (I kind of have to since I have yet to become magically and independently wealthy), but I think I averaged maybe 15 hours a week. So, what did I do this summer? Well, let me tell you:

    • Drove from the San Francisco bay area to
      • Medford, OR to
      • Portland, OR to
      • Seattle, WA (where I got to hang with that most awesome of women Flibbertygibit) to
      • Spokane, WA (where I got to break bread with AtomBlonde and her husband, they are an adorable couple, relationships like that make me think maybe I could get married)
      • through Idaho to
      • Butte, MT (I know it isn't pronounced "butt" but, I kept saying it to myself anyway, 'cause in some ways, I'm 10 years old)
      • through Idaho, again
      • through Utah (north tip of SLC) to
      • Rock Springs, WY (a true boom town, which is kind of cool) to
      • Boulder, CO (where I got to have sushi! with LittleMissSuperfluous and meet her munchkin)
      • through Denver to
      • Pueblo, CO (where the pamphlets come from) to
      • Albuquerque, NM (where I got to hang with this MIA dude) onward to home
      • TEXAS!
    • Did I mention I did all of the above alone, well, I had my dogs, but no human accompaniment.
    • I planted a garden
      • Tomatoes
      • Peppers
        • Bell
        • Yellow Bell
        • Banana
        • Jalapeno
      • Strawberries (which I planted too late to get any fruit)
      • Cantaloupe 
      • Watermelon
      • Squash
      • Zucchini
      • Sweet Basil
      • Thai Basil
      • Lavender
      • Rosemary
      • and a Hibiscus my sister gave me as a welcome home present
    • Spent a week in the mountains at Red River, NM
      • Fished
      • Hiked
      • Climbed a mountain
      • Went to Taos
      • Got sunburned
    • Got a client
      • Branded a program
      • Designed marketing collateral
      • Helped launch program
    • Got my Texas sales and use tax number
    • Got another client
    • Submitted 4 other bids I am waiting to hear about
    • Billed clients and got paid
    • Mowed my dad's lawn many many many times
    • Went to the farmer's market on average once every two weeks
    • Asked a guy out on a date
    • Got blown off by aforementioned guy (but, whatever, I still asked, which is kind of huge for me)
    • Attended two martial arts tournaments (spectator only right now)
    • Got crush on totally new and different guy
    • Flirted shamelessly with guy mentioned immediately above
    • Hung out at the Horseshoe in Austin and musician spotted (it isn't stalking if you are with a friend)
    • Started working out again (woohoo! 100 push-ups...in sets of 25, but, still go me!)
    • Rode my bicycle (though not nearly enough, stupid humidity)
    • Danced in the rain
    • Designed my business cards, Web site, and service brochure
    • Wrote
      • On my two pilot ideas
      • On a short film script
      • Started a business blog
    • Hit a few wineries in the Texas Hill Country
    • Bought a lifetime membership to the martial arts school
    • Watched my portfolios go down in the market
    • Watched my portfolios recover a little in the market
    • Made and revised future plans many times over
    • Researched and visited apartments, and am fairly close to signing a lease
    • More or less stopped watching television live and stopped playing computer games
    • Went to PuttPutt with nephews a couple of times
    • Found out at PuttPutt while playing video games I am a pretty good (video game) sniper, not sure how I feel about that
    • Visited my Texas friends in Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth (I'll get to Houston in the Fall, I promise)
    • Grilled copious amounts of meat about 6 times
    • Saw three musical gigs (concert would be too generous, venues were too small)
    • Realized that working from home is very very lonely
    • Got to be a regular at the local Starbucks because working at home is very very lonely
    • Procrastinated packing for England by writing a summer retrospective blog

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