sounds familiar Musing on the present. Reminiscing about the past. Posturing for the future.

crunching numbers

Writer's block removed, if only for a day. Four of six paragraphs written made it, not so bad. Let's get to the lucky four then, shall we?

Last night I did something I've been meaning to do now for a while: overhaul our finances spreadsheet to predict what things will be like once Lil' Chino arrives. I had been avoiding it because I don't really use the spreadsheet for much other than reference anymore, which I guess tends to happen when you're not for wont of money. I'm not all Greenspan with my finances or anything, I tend to be happy if we have some pocket money, are able to save some each month, and aren't getting past-due notices. But our plans for a one-income post-baby household had me more than a little curious - just how realistic is that? Well, after some serious modifications to my OpenOffice Calc spreadsheet (I made federal and state tax deductions automatic), I was able to plugin whatever numbers I wanted to run various financial scenarios. I guess the good news is that we won't be penniless; we'll still be able to save each month, tho perhaps not as much, won't be getting past-due notices, and should even have a little scratch left to get a cup of joe in the morning should we want. It gave me comfort though, seeing the bottom line in the black... made me feel just that much more like we really are ready to have this girl.

Changing subjects drastically...

A friend asked me the other day how I always manage to recall some long-ago-written entry and link back to it as something related to my current topics. I don't know really, I guess I do tend to remember a pretty surprising amount of what I've written. Sure, there's lots of crap in there that I've forgotten - but I think, for the most part, the stuff I forget is filler anyway, "fluff" to make the page look full. If I put time and thought into something I wrote though, odds are I'll remember that. That's not saying I haven't found myself about four or five paragraphs into what I think is going to be a stellar entry when I start thinking, "Have I done this before?" A quick search of past entries proves it: you dumbass, you wrote about this eight months ago. But, in general, I'm pretty good about keeping that stuff in my brain-bone. Stuff I've written, lyrics to songs, obscure math equations, all sorts of inconsequential stuff... but things like mom's birthday or paying the city utilities bill, not a chance.

I got almost all the Halloween stuff packed away, stowing the growing collection in the garage is becoming more and more Tetris-esque each year. I'm glad that, as part of the remaining backyard landscaping I broke down and decided to pay for, I'm getting a pad put in. I plan to use it for one of those ready-made sheds from Costco or the like, and a convenient place to store the three garbage cans this city gives me. Speaking of the landscaping, I think this weekend will be a big one... I'm expecting tons of progress, none of which will be made by the sweat of my brow. I'll try and throw up some pictures if it's dramatic enough. In fact, I like my new media gallery, Coppermine, so much, I've been thinking of re-putting up all sorts of pictures that I once had online but have since gone away. Yeah... when I get motivated...

Wow, them Catholics are on a roll. I wonder if we're seeing the makings of a secretive Catholic "marketing" campaign here: Bring religion into the 21st century; make it "fit" with the modern collective's advanced state of consciousness and understanding; make it less fanatic and legalistic and more about raw human spirituality and virtue; tout its complementary value to scientific and medical knowledge instead of championing its archaic disparities as universal truths. I guess, depending on your personal mix of worldliness and spirituality, there's a religion for everyone... from barely-believin' to handling-snakes-and-speaking-in-tongues.

Goodnight mofos.