288. This Week

I had a really nice time down south this week. It was good to get to another part of the country. I was there for a conference for work. It was a relief meeting lots of other people who work in the same field that I do. It was good to know that things are more the same than they are different. I like that. Since I’m struggling for blog post content before the coffee has hit this morning. Here are three observations from the last week.

-I kind of like the south. I should say that I kind of enjoy visiting there for a week and staying busy. The food was really good. I met some nice people. I think my theory of “You meet nice people everywhere and you meet jerks everywhere holds true.” I hate when people try to characterize a whole swath of people by one characteristic. Maybe there’s a general way people act, but once you get below the surface, there are a lot of different things there. There was an interesting observation from a fellow conference-goer. She was from the midwest as well. She thought that southern politeness was more of a front than midwestern politeness. I thought that was an interesting observation. I don’t know if I 100 percent agree with it, but it was an interesting thought.

-I’m reading a really good book. I’m not much into novels, but The Last Days of Night is particularly entertaining. It’s about a young lawyer, Paul Cravath, and how he tries to help his client, George Westinghouse, try to end a bunch of lawsuits of the lightbulb from fellow inventor Thomas Edison. It has a bunch of other great characters: Nikola Tesla, Alexander Graham Bell, and J.P. Morgan. It’s an easy read and it’s entertaining. I didn’t think I’d be able to get through it in a week. I’m almost done, hopefully I can get through it pretty quickly in the next few days

-It really needs to get colder here. It’s been brutal in my apartment. I’ve tried to turning my heat down to its lowest possible level. Since it’s central heat, it’s much harder to control. Hopefully it will become more bearable soon.

-Another thought? I don’t like Halloween. Maybe it’s because I’ve never had a really good, memorable costume, or maybe it’s because I don’t like putting the effort into dressing up. It’s not a holiday I enjoy. I don’t have anything against it. I’m just not into it, like rock climbing and downhill skiing. I’ve tried it before and I don’t like it. So, I’m ready for all of it to be over. Let’s get to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and my birthday. Those are times I enjoy so much more.

-I’ve got a busy week this week. Things are going on pretty much every night up until Friday. I think that’s a good thing. It will keep my mind occupied so I don’t focus on all those little things that have been driving me crazy. I want to get a few more miles in running this week, finish a book, and get everything straightened out financially. Think that can get done.