Day 594

I heard that it got up to 108 degrees outside today. I wouldn't doubt it. When I took the dogs on their evening walk, it felt like we were inside a furnace. Needless to say, we didn't stay outside long. Dot and Dash have actually adapted pretty well to the Summer heat wave. They do their business right away now and then turn around immediately to indicate they are ready to go home. We spend most of the day indoors, hoping that the air conditioner doesn't break.

I worked on a few writing jobs today and paid some bills. It really wasn't a very productive day. I always think I should be out marketing the company on days like this, but I don't even know how to connect with people in the real world anymore. You certainly can't just call them on the phone and ask if you could pop over in 30 minutes and show them your portfolio. People are too busy for that. I don't even answer the phone myself unless it is someone I already know. Probably a lot of other people do the same. On the bright side of things, I am starting to get work from online connections, but the budgets aren't the same. More work for less money is the name of the game. Brave new world, I guess.

I made some calls today trying to figure out whether Avid Media Composer will work on my existing computer hardware. Nobody seemed to know. They were certainly willing to sell me the software anyway though. I'm going to need to replace Final Cut Pro soon, but I'd hate to buy something that isn't going to work. I guess that's what these 30-day free download trials are all about. Nobody has customer service gurus anymore who can answer all your questions over the phone. You just download the trial software along with the 100 page PDF file manual and figure it out for yourself.

While I'm on the subject of technology, I might as well tell you that my brand new large format printer is already starting to clog. There's nothing wrong with the printer. I just don't make enough large format prints to keep the lines clean. Somehow, this has become a general theme with me. I don't take enough pictures to remember everything my digital cameras can do. I don't do enough video editing to remember all the keyboard shortcuts. I don't even design enough websites to remember how to properly insert PHP code into my HTML.

I do a lot of writing though. I'm actually writing a lot more that I was ten years ago. I think my writing has improved a bit and I've certainly gotten faster. Unfortunately, I'm not content to just be a writer. I feel compelled to try anything and everything. In a way I envy those people who are content with their chosen specialty. If I could have ever focused my attention on just one thing, I'd probably be really good at it by now.

Dalmatian of the Day

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