Day 1882

Today was absolutely gorgeous. With clear skies and 75 degree temperatures, it was hard to believe it was February. When we were coming home from our morning walk, I noticed that the neighbors were taking large bags of leaves and bulky trash to the curb. It must be big trash day this week. Since it was a nice day, I thought I'd follow the neighbor's lead and managed to get rid of some my own back yard clutter while the dogs lounged in the morning sun.

After breakfast, I thought I'd get started on organizing my tax information and was appalled to discover that I'd completely forgotten to send in my quarterly estimated taxes this year. Oops. I guess there might be some sort of penalty for this, but it probably won't be much since my income was so low last year. My accountant asked me a couple of years ago why I even bothered to do quarterly taxes anymore and I guess it sent some sort of subliminal message. I certainly didn't bother this year. Every time I forget something like this, I wonder what else I've forgotten.

I did remember to send out my February invoices today. Such a small pile of letters, compared to what it used to be. Janet's retirement was a big deal. Mine will be a non-event. One day I will be sitting at the computer and realize I haven't done any work in three months. I'm still relatively busy, but the writing is on the wall. My peak earning years are so, so over.

So, what happens next? Honestly, I don't have a clue. Some days I still want to design websites and make films. Other days, not so much. I really ought to go buy a more powerful pair of reading glasses and start reading books again. I could easily fill a couple of years just catching up on my reading list. Janet and I are both realizing that when you base your life around work, it can be kind of disorienting when the work disappears. What I don't want to do is spend my time doing a succession of smaller and smaller meaningless jobs. If you follow this path, you eventually reach a point where you are totally consumed with doing nothing at all.

What the hell. I miss being the Wizard of Oz. It's not as much fun spending your days doing the high tech version of Yellow Pages Ads. I do enjoy writing this blog, but it's not War and Peace. Even if I live long enough to extend my run to 5000 days, this will still only be a curious blip on the literary horizon. Don't worry, I'll figure something out. Until then, there's laundry to do, dogs to take care of, and if I'm really good, some bacon and sausages for breakfast.

azz is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 630

Taking a trip to Las Vegas while I was suffering from severe neck pain probably wasn't the smartest thing I've even done. How was I to know? Vegas almost always works for me. Although it might seem implausible to some, the place relaxes me. I always learn something new when I'm here. Las Vegas is probably the one place on the planet where people of every race, religion, age, social status, and belief system can happily share the same space without a hint of a problem. Spent an hour sitting on a bench watching people walk by and you can paint a fairly accurate picture of where the world is headed. You can always tell who the successful countries are by what languages you hear the most in the casinos. Not surprisingly, I'm hearing a lot of German and Mandrin. I've never seen so many people from mainland China in Las Vegas before. There used to be a ton of Japanese tourists, but it appears the Chinese have taken over the lead in decadence.

That's one thing you have to remember about America. We may have lost our edge in manufacturing and technology, but we are still totally world class when it comes to decadence. People come here from all over the world to learn from the masters. This morning I saw a group of Chinese having their pictures taken in front of an under construction sign for the new Kardashian Khaos store. The store wasn't even there yet, but people were still fascinated.

This has been my weirdest trip to Las Vegas yet. I feel like I've taken a ride in the Tardis and gone forward twenty or thirty years onto my own future. I'm walking around just as slowly and painfully as the legions of stooped old men you see in the casinos who are too proud to use one of those electric scooters. I'm confidant that the current pain in my neck will be resolved shortly, but there will come a time when it will be like this every single day. That's certainly what happened to my Mom and Dad. By the time each of them died, they were ready to go. The pain had beaten them.

I've got a call into my doctor to ask him if I should cut my trip short and come home now. I'm kind of in uncharted territory here and I don't want to do anything that could make things worse. It will be a miracle if he even returns my call. I don't seem to be a very high priority to doctors. Oddly, if I had called my vet about the dogs, I can almost guarantee that the call would be returned within fifteen minutes. Dot and Dash get much better medical care than I do.

April is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day