Done

Tuesday, 25 March

About two months ago, I was asked to take on a freelance book project. Nothing makes me agree to a ridiculous amount of work like flattery, so I said sure. I don't know what waking moments I thought I was going to squeeze it into, what with a "real" job and training and WSBA stuff. But, hallelujah, I finished it (I think) today. All that's left is to send in my invoice. :) The downside has been that sitting at the dining room table in front of the laptop and piles of paper is not a good weight control program.

So, it's time to catch up on my blogging.

New career? A while back I got a real, first-class letter addressed to me by name from Hill Top Records in Hollywood. They want to consider my compositions for "arranging, recording and distribution." They want to be my "first big break in the music industry." A cynical coworker pointed out that they left out the page that says how much to make out my check for. I still have the letter, but all my recent compositions lately are very unmusical.

Google redux. The tech staff at work reminded me that Google's astronomical consumption of electricity comes from climate control for all its servers and not for, well, googling. So, since the AC runs whether I'm googling or not, I guess I don't have to be conservative in internet searches. Someone in the industry did raise the question, though, of why the heck they put server farms in the toasty climate of Hermiston, OR, where they probably have to have air conditioners to keep the air conditioners from overheating in the summer.

On the green theme. I can now compost at work! Lest you wonder what output I'm paid to generate, let me explain that it's just like food waste in your yard waste bin. It means the leftovers from my apples, oranges, and bananas don't go in the landfill. The only drawback is that I have to accumulate the compostables in my office and carry them over to the next building. Fortunately, it takes a lot to draw weird looks where I work, so my public display of decomposables so far hasn't generated much attention. Just have to remember to empty it before I go on vacation....

The calendar says it's spring. The fashion calendar (post-Easter) says I can now wear white, open-toed shoes. Too bad the weather doesn't cooperate. Those peas I planted last week aren't going to rot in the ground, they're going to freeze. My annual countdown to the reopening of the North Cascades Highway has begun (May 1 is the due date), but there's new snow up there, which can't help the snowblower crew.

The experimental cat 3 women's race series is off and running (note to self: must update those points!), to both praise and criticism. My month of training races is done; April holds two stage races and a "spring classic." Maybe with the book project behind me, I'll be able to get training miles in that aren't just laps on the Burke Gilman Trail.