I’m really relieved that we’ve sold our house. It didn’t take that long, I suppose, given that we only put it on the market in October ‘06.
Once settlement’s taken place we’ll have more money than we’ve ever had before - at least for the split nanosecond before the bank takes its share. We will have a bit left that we can use to do things like buy a new fridge (ours is twenty years old and sounding very rattly) and a barbecue, to complement the nice outdoor area we have in our back yard.
We’ve also promised ourselves each a bit of money to play with (read: indulge ourselves). I am really looking forward to this. The only thing that remains a constant on this wish list is the Pelikan M450 Tortoise fountain pen that I have wanted coveted ever since I saw it. I don’t think it is even available in Australia so it is going to be a bit of a challenge importing it from overseas… The other challenge is going to be resisting the temptation to buy a few other pens so that I make the most of the shipping costs. Actually, I probably won’t be able to, given that the pen costs a bit (ranging from US$380 to US$450, depending who I get it from). Must investigate.
I don’t know what else I’ll do with the money, yet. We finally saw An Inconvenient Truth on Monday evening, which has given me a lot to think about, especially about Being A [Mindless] Consumer. Reading Dave Pollard’s response to the announcement of the Apple phone was also good. It’s too easy to forget about all the hidden costs of all those Bright Shiny Toys.
Blogging has definitely made me more conscious of my year - I can go back through my archives and see what I was thinking about on this day last year, for instance (I was writing about a game, surprise, surprise - and about M’s first unicycle!). I also maintain a paper diary, but for some reason I am less conscientious about the diary and sometimes forget to write in it for for days at a time. I do wonder though - will this blog still be findable/readable in 10, 20, 100 years’ time? Will my diary? (maybe it’s time to investigate inks with archival properties.)
I don’t know if blogs and diaries can ever record everything there is to know about a person, although anyone who has access to both my blog and my diary may have a slightly more complete picture of the sorts of things that interest me. No doubt they would have a field day analysing why I leave out certain things, or why I only write about certain other things…
At this time of year all the This-is-the-Year-that-was articles and posts start to appear. I enjoy reading them to see if I can remember all the events referred to. It usually amazes me how much I will have forgotten about over the intervening months.
“Who won this year’s Melbourne Cup?” (hmmm… do I even care?)
“The miners. Where were they trapped again? I can’t remember their names, either…” (Is this terrible of me??)
“There was an earthquake in Indonesia this year, wasn’t there?” (Yes - in Yogyakarta in May - I actually wrote this down in my diary!)
What sort of a picture would a researcher of the blogosphere have of the year 2006?
I wonder about all the stuff that goes unreported and unremarked…
Inspired by Liz Lane Lawley’s Thanksgiving post. I saw a few other blogs with similar posts but of course I didn’t make a note of them, so the only other one I can remember is Ricklibrarian’s.
Thanksgiving is a uniquely American celebration and goes unremarked here. Still, it’s a good opportunity to reflect on all the things I’m grateful for:
A loving partner. My soulmate.
Good health.
A pleasant and comfortable home.
A temperamental cat. Baubles the Cat is never dull to have around.
Being a part of an interesting profession.
Family and friends. The blogosphere.
I’m really relieved that we’ve sold our house. It didn’t take that long, I suppose, given that we only put it on the market in October ‘06.
