Analysis Paralysis
I can't help but think I've used this title before. I feel like I've been in a holding pattern spinning and waiting for my clearance to land, only with no other traffic ahead of me. I've got so many things I want to do, combined with all my responsibilities I really can't seem to get started for deciding what comes first. I get my mind set to do something and before I can start I second-guess the best plan of attack and put it back on hold while I try to decide all over again.
I took today off work and actually did accomplish a little around here, and that's a start. I moved a lot of the scrap wood cluttering the basement to the garage and I got the old kitchen cabinets that the Hallman's replaced when they did their kitchen in too. They'll probably work good for garage storage if I ever get the insulation and the drywall (and their respective inspections) done. I'm too afraid of getting stuff in there and then having to juggle things around while I do the finish work, but I don't really have the money right now to attack more than one problem, and I have too many that need attention; which brings me back to needing to move stuff so I can get started on one project or another.
I made the temporary post and got it installed under the centerline beam in the basement to help support the sagging kitchen floor, and moved the jack to the front of the house to get the last of the adjustments made so I can hopefully start on the living room floor before too long. I was telling Jack the other day that I've been in my house for 10 years and it still feels like that first apartment when you moved out of your parents house and had the thrift-shop furniture and cinderblock-and-pine shelves. Before I got married I had my kayak in the living room for 2 years because I didn't have anywhere big enough to put it. Sure, it made a conversation piece, but it's not like I got enough company to justify it.
Somehow, I also got a week out of sync. I thought I had one more week until the Clay Arts Utah Potters Workshop with Brian Jensen, and that it was going to work out great because it would be on spring break Saturday when the studio would be closed and I couldn't work. Now I have a bunch of stuff languishing in the studio that I won't be able to finish unless I take a day off next week too. I may have to take one, though, I don't think most of it will last more than a week without drying out.
And speaking of Clay Arts Utah, I don't think I've posted anything about my new position. I was nominated (and ran uncontested, I guess) for the Secretary position for the next year. We had our first officer meeting a couple weeks ago, and I think it's going to be a good thing for me to have to have responsibilities associated with my membership so I actually get out and see what's going on in the community. I really need some sort of gallery representation, or at least get my online presence going because I'm kind of stuck artistically too. I keep making the same stuff over and over, and while I get a lot of wows from people that see my stuff I think I need something more concrete that will force me to grow a little, or maybe even give me some incentive.


So the actual first day of winter starts tomorrow, which means in my self-prevaricating ways I'm cheerfull that winter is almost over. The days are going to start to get longer and I can start looking forward to the January thaw. Not that winter has been too bad, but it's only 18 degrees farenheit out there right now and it doesn't feel much warmer in here.
Well, I tried to get the kayak out again yesterday, but the weather didn't cooperate so I just took the kayak for a ride. I had thought it was a great idea to head up to the Uintahs, but evidently so did about another hundred-thousand people. Just before we got to Washington Lake we saw the remains of a really bad car wreck with one car upside down and another that looked like it had been hit head on at high speed. I've looked at the news and havn't seen any reports, but I can't imagine everyone survived it.
So I'm on my way to play European Boardgames at a friends house, and I pick up a blue Raspberry slurpee for the evening, disdaining the usual cola products. Now, I'm not sure how things are done in your corner of the world, but here when we get slurpees we tap the cup a few times on the counter after filling to disgorge some of the air pockets from filling and top 'er off. I only mention this, not only because this little ritual baffled a Bostonite, but it also lends to the story. I noticed that the semi-solid beverage did not settle in any appreciable fashion and little room for topping off was procured. I shrugged it off as just one of those things, and proceeded to the checkout counter. 
Theres a map of Perplexcity on the back of some of the cards, so as you solve them you begin to get a map of the city with information about different buildings and areas of the city. Jack's been ordering cards for awhile now and he's handed me down his seconds, so I finally broke down and started figuring them out. It's pretty addictive and some of the puzzles are really challenging so I've ordered a set just to see what I can do. So far I've solved 25 of the 256 cards and I'm ranked an even 4000. I'm not sure how many cards have been released altogether, but most of the cards from the third series have been solved. I've been showing the duplicates of the duplicates around and nobody has shown much interest, except Sam at work. He's helped me with a couple and is curious enough to have looked into buying some, although I don't know if he's set up an account yet. 







