Between Projects

I'm taking a short break between projects, so I thought I'd return to this blog and let everyone know it's still alive.

The work I've been doing is pretty much “on spec.” For a guy who was raised in a blue collar world, that's a weird way to work. I grew up with an understanding: you agreed on so much an hour, you put your hours in and got paid. This new kind of work just feels weird to me. On one hand, it feels like I'm working for nothing. By the time money does come in, (if it does) there's enough time between the work and paycheck that they don't feel connected. Maybe if a few more paychecks come in, it won't feel so weird.

Anyway, we started the month with another foot of snow. Spring is taking its own sweet time here in the North Country. On the bright side, we won't be going into summer with drought conditions. Once this snow melts, it's going to be pretty wet.

My leg injury is still not fully healed, but that's not uncommon for this type of injury. I'm at the point where I feel good enough to overdue it. Then the next day I'm lying around recovering. This could take a few weeks yet. One thing this injury has done is kept me here in New England. A long drive to the sunny south is not in the cards right now.

I've been reflecting on some of the dichotomies in my life. At home I tend to live in comfortable clutter. There are book and magazines everywhere. Projects in various stages of completion are scattered throughout the house, and the whole property for that matter. Dishes might pile up in the sink There is a lot of stuff and things lying around.

On the other hand, I'm very comfortable with a minimalist lifestyle. I can go camping or boating with a bare minimum of gear. It doesn't bother me to live out of a small backpack for long periods of time.

Some people feel smothered by clutter. It hardly bothers me at all. Others freak out by a minimalist lifestyle but others find it liberating. For me, it's not about the clutter or the minimal. It's how they suit what I want to do. Having a lot of stuff around is handy when creating. I can put my hands on reference books, tools, materials -whatever I need. When traveling, it only makes sense to travel light. It's about the experiences and having more than what's necessary gets in the way of that.

I've been looking for a replacement for the small computer I lost in the shipwreck. It took some searching, but something turned up that fit my needs. Right now I'm using a tablet that runs Windows 10 and has a detachable keyboard. With the addition of an extra memory micro SD card, and a wireless mouse, it was good to go. The price was right, so I don't mind hauling it around with me everywhere I go. Should something happen, replacement costs won't break me.

I'm backing more of my stuff “in the cloud.” Actually, I'm using three different cloud storage companies as I'd hate to lose everything if a business collapses.

To sum up, my lovely wife and I are hanging in there. Back to the projects on Monday.

-Sixbears