Y2K+2

I guess I've reached that age where time is starting to go by faster than I can keep track of. That's because I find myself saying, "I can't believe it's 2002 already."

It seems like most people look on a new year as a fresh start. Which would explain why people make New Year's resolutions. I find myself trying to make a fresh start at various times, usually immediately following a vacation, since I feel better rested and able to take on some additional thoughts of activities. Which means that New Year's is a bit of a fresh start for me, too.

I don't really have any resolutions, though. I want to go back to the gym regularly, but that's not a big resolution, since I only stopped because I was busy buying my house. I also want to cut down on the amount of sugar I eat, mainly because I was getting weak towards the end of last year and munching on lots of cookies and other sweets at work. Plus, of course, the holidays never help in cutting back on the yummy-but-evil food. Those are my main goals for the near future, I think.

As for what else I accomplish, well, we'll see. A year ago I was just starting to think of buying a house, and it was seven months before I moved on it. Seven months from now, who knows what I'll be up to?

Tuesday Debbi and I didn't have any particular plans, so we decided to drive out to the coast. We both like rain, and the ocean, and we've each spent time sitting in our cars in the rain by the ocean reading or just admiring the view. (I did this last year, but don't think I wrote about it at the time.) To our consternation (okay, more mine than hers), it was actually pretty bright and barely raining at all on the coast. We even saw a little sun! On a whim, I drove down the coast from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz, stopping at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse on the way (which is currently closed because of a chunk which fell off the top of the lighthouse). It was windy, but not very rainy. Bummer.

We went to dinner at Su Hong, my favorite Chinese restaurant, because I wanted noodles. I think I might have left my jacket there, but I phoned them today and they didn't seem to have it. So I'm not sure where it is. I wanted to replace it anyway, since it's old and kind of ratty, but hadn't expected a pop quiz!

Yesterday it was back to work. It's pretty quiet at work as several people are taking extra vacation time after the holidays. So I'm easing myself back into the grind, and have gotten a bunch done, as it turns out (though today I spent most of my time reading and trying to understand code). In addition to that, I've:

1. Called the San Francisco Chronicle to cancel the newspapers I've been received from them, left over from the sellers' subscription;
2. Contacted my tax preparer for assistance in figuring out how many extra exemptions I can claim on my paycheck due to my mortgage (I received my second bill for my first mortgage, and it seems about 15% of my payments are going to principal, which is more than I'd expected);
3. Paid a bunch of bills;
4. Called to make sure my order for window shades for my study had been received;
5. Watched my videotape of the original film of Dracula (1931) with Bela Lugosi. It's very slow and rather dull, with a lot of talking heads (and, sometimes, just stunned-expression heads) - not essential viewing;
6. Went to the gym, and
7. Did some cleaning in the wake of the holidays.

I got mail from a few readers about Monday's entry which commenting on my reading during New Year's Eve. The comments largely consisted of "reading is inappropriate during a social gathering unless you know that the people there won't mind". Maybe I've grown too used to gatherings where people mostly just do whatever the heck they feel like. Moreover, even though this was at my place, it never felt like a "party" that I was "hosting" in my mind, but rather just a bunch of friends who were over.

Or maybe I'm just feeling especially hermitish lately. The compulsion to spend my time reading has been extremely strong over the last week.

In fact, I think I'll go do some right now. Fortunately, the cats don't mind. In fact, they'd rather have me reading than typing away at the computer!