i is free!

Day-um. Today is my first day off from one of the hardest quarters I've had at work. I mean, I work from home. Doesn't that scream cakewalk? Well, it's not. It's not because what winds up happening is a collapse of the boundary between work and the rest of life. It all turns into work. And when you work online, you get and give the impression that you're just open all night. Sometimes you are.

Next quarter, which starts next week, none of that. I means it. It'll help that I finished a massive project that I'd procrastinated on. I put it to bed.

All this is to say Hello! I'm coming around again.

I figure it's best not to make my comeback with a 50-concert extravaganza (which might be the death of me), but, rather, with a couple of good shows. I think I can manage that. Since I'm mostly decorating my house on the cheap these days, I'll focus on sharing the process here.

When I say on the cheap, I mean on the cheap. St. Vincent de Paul, Goodwill, Craig's List, and the Salvation Army are my friends; Ikea, a dear acquaintance. This means I've gotten things that require some fixin' up, and I'm hoping to do a lot of it while on vacation these few days.

For now, check out my art, all but one of which cost 5 bucks each.

Um, does anyone notice a theme? Yeah. I like trees. I like trees a lot.

Another thing I like just fine is buying myself end-of-quarter celebratory presents. Since this last one knocked me on my arse, I went for a treat that I've been wanting a loooong time. A typewriter. How cute is my little Olympiette?

You can get you one on the 'bay, where I got mine. Alright, that one's going for a small fortune. I didn't pay that much, and mine came from Philly, not Australia. But they come up from time to time. I'll tap out a few words here and there, but mostly I couldn't resist an orange '70s typewriter, and I plan to oogle the hell out of it. (I'm thinking of your quote, Ellen: "If it ain't orange, I don't bother with it," lol.)

I want to say thank you to everyone who dropped by and left a comment or two since I've been off working for The Man. I didn't have room to respond, until now, but I appreciate you all nonetheless. :)