Sunday, June 14, 2009

Still Alive...

Not sure who is reading these days but just wanted to post briefly to say that yes I am still alive and so is this blog. I have just been very busy lately, both with Day Job and with preparation for an upcoming move. Yes, I am going to be moving sometime this summer and while I am looking forward to being somewhere somewhat larger and where I can have cats(!!!), preparation for such a thing is pretty exhausting! My partner Matt and I are finally going to be moving from the 560 sq. foot apartment we've lived in for the past six years into a house about twice that size.

So that ought to be interesting, but it will probably mean sporadic posting for a while!

14 comments:

Michael said...

We're still here and still reading. I have been leading a cat-free existence and I'm tired of it. This is the first time in 43 years I haven't had one and I feel the lack.

outlawpoet said...

Wow, is the house yours or are you renting?

How far are you going? Still at the same jobs and such?

interesting!

Hilary said...

I'm reading!

Darshan Chande said...

(darshanchande@gmail.com)

Hello friend,

My name is Darshan and I am the author of a delicious GK blog The SciTech Journal (http://thescitechjournal.blogspot.com/) I find your blog interesting and hence this idea hit upon my mind: Are you interested in putting our links on each other's blogs? My blog The SciTech Journal, you see, is unique one and holds good potential. I'll put your blog link in my blog roll and in return you do the same for me on yours. In addition to getting us some additional visitors it might add value to our visitors as both our blogs are rich with unique content.

Write to me if you think the same way about it :)

Thanks and best regards,
Darshan Chande

AnneC said...

Michael: Eek yes I know exactly what you mean by feeling the lack! IMO, a house without felines is usually missing something.

AnneC said...

outlawpoet: We're buying. Figured it was probably a good time as we've managed to save up a fair bit and prices are probably going to start going up again soon (they dropped in this area to lower than they've been in a while and we figured that likely wouldn't last).

It's also kind of funny to think how when I was growing up and even as an adult I've had some difficulties understanding financial stuff...but somehow my difficulties have actually HELPED me in terms of being able to save and not fall for any skeezy mortgage schemes.

Firstly, so long as I am employed, I tend to just sort of accumulate money....like I will pay for necessities and the occasional toy (recently got an 8 GB ipod touch, which I am seriously loving!), but the rest I just tend to stick in the bank and forget about. Spending money on things actively takes effort, and often involves the kinds of interactions that I find kind of exhausting anyway.

And I also just generally have no clue what most people spend money on...I mean I can understand if they have kids or medical bills and such but I have just never felt the need to buy certain brands, etc., as status symbols. And I also don't go out to eat very often or go to the movies, etc., because I prefer quieter environments (such as home) where I have more control. And then of course there's the fact that I don't drive and never have, and so have not had to deal with auto insurance ever. (Matt and I do co-own a car but he drives it, I just pay for maintenance and stuff, and help with washing it, etc....so in any case we only ever have to deal with single car expenses and not two cars).

So really it is in part *due to* a whole slew of my supposed "deficits" that I am in the position to become a homeowner right now, which I find kind of hilarious! Granted Matt has been dealing with the phone stuff and actually getting in touch with an agent, etc., and that stuff would probably confound me if I were totally on my own, but I am sure that my inability to "believe in imaginary money" (hence why at 25 I still didn't have a credit card or understand what credit was for) has helped somewhat in this endeavor!

joel said...

i still check for blog entries. congrats on house and cats. we love cats.

i'm going to look for an email notifier thing for your new posts.

would you tell us about current events in your volunteer work sometime?

thanks Anne, good luck moving and all things ever.

AnneC said...

Darshan: Um, you are welcome to link to my blog -- anyone is -- but I don't just randomly add links because people ask for it. If I end up reading your blog and wanting to link it I will, but I don't take requests for that kind of thing, sorry.

AnneC said...

joel: Heh, somehow I doubt my volunteer activities would make for very interesting blogging...the thing I've mostly been doing is sorting donation data and then sending out books to people. And while it's something I can do and that I don't mind doing, I don't think I want to write a ton of blog entries saying things like "Today I put fifteen books in envelopes and mailed them". I've already written some entries like that as it is. But if anything more bloggable happens I will certainly write about it!

joel said...

ohhhhhhhh. ok. i misunderstood. i was thinking of asking you something else anyway, if you'd give us a couple of paragraphs about the Methusela Foundation and aging current events. strange term there. anyway, looking for your opinion on currents of autism, AI, aging, and anything. especially anything 'good' that you've noticed. always searching for good news.

so, i know, very general question, sort of, 'what have you been thinking about, whaddaya know.

cheers.

AnneC said...

Joel: I definitely plan on writing regarding the subjects you mention, however, I am not going to do so until I can give them appropriate attention. So, no "couple of paragraphs" in the meantime, sorry.

Mark Plus said...

Congratulations on your move Anne. I bought one of your T-shirts recently, so I hoped that helped.

AnneC said...

Mark Plus: Well we are not actually moved yet...still in the "initialing and scanning numerous documents" phase. But this is certainly shaping up to be an exceedingly busy summer.

And wow, cool, I do take it as a compliment that you got one of my shirts. Thanks!

Mark Plus said...

And I also just generally have no clue what most people spend money on...I mean I can understand if they have kids or medical bills and such but I have just never felt the need to buy certain brands, etc., as status symbols.

Most Americans, especially now, couldn't afford the sort of lifestyle propagandized to us as normative any way. For years I've wondered why people think they can "afford" something if they have to borrow a lot of money to buy it, instead of paying for it out of pocket like, say, a delivered pizza. It looks as if for the past generation, the American economy has withheld giving people more real wages and instead kept up demand by extending more and more credit to now unsustainable levels.