Welcome to 'proper admin', my monthly recap post for everything and anything worth sharing that did not make it into a blog.
Thanks for reading this past month.
Blog Admin- September 2016
As I detailed in yesterday's post on my Business Bro Blog, there comes a time when you have to acknowledge that there is more to do than resources available to do it. In the context of this blog, that means not getting posts up on time or not working on posts that I want to write. Both of those things happened enough in August for me to conclude that I need to adjust the schedule.
Plus, that whole 'still looking for work' thing...
So, for September, we'll go with a Monday-Friday-Wednesday rotation. (It is confusing, sort of.) That comes out to three posts every two weeks or one post every four or five days. If things go up on time and I get to work on posts I want to write, I'll consider reverting to the old schedule for October.
(But, again, like I detailed yesterday- given the frequency of 'shortages' on this blog, I should probably build up a proper inventory first.)
I am also working out the details for a similar adjustment to the Business Bro blog as these things go hand in hand. Details to come on that space next Thursday.
Q + A from August- actual questions from actual readers
Q: Your post is late again?
A: Ah, quiet down you. Like I said above...
Commentary on August 2016 blog posts (True On Average)
*8/5- Proper Admin August
I originally wrote this post in two parts. But as I worked on part two, I realized- I don't need to do this anymore. I've become better at incorporating my experiences into other posts. And I'm also better at walking away from an idea that I've written a lengthy draft about.
In general, I think structure is good to have early on. As things grow or develop, you start to do things that challenge that structure. There always comes a point where that original framework needs to at least be reconsidered.
At this point, I suspect there is a more than decent chance that I start phasing out this monthly post. The most likely approach is to cover September and October in early November. I guess we'll see in October...
*8/9- I Made Coffee The Other Day
I think it is worth restating that I've found Still Alice very helpful in my volunteer work with dementia patients.
*8/12- Van Persie Syndrome
I originally wrote this post for The Business Bro. It ended up making more sense to post it here. The lines blur sometimes, you know?
Sports analogies are very commonplace despite my insistence that most people do not really know what they are talking about when it comes to sports.
*8/16- Proper Admin August- Books
So the font changed on this one and I have no clue why. It has something to do with how I write in Gmail before copying and pasting into the Blogger template. Because Gmail is in HTML, I have to make an intermediate stop in MS Word to format the line and paragraph breaks.
I did the process out of order for this post and as a result the HTML carried the formatting over into the blog. I am STILL confused as to what happened. (Help, anyone?) Using notepad/textpad as the intermediate link seems sufficient to strip out the underlying HTML coded into the post but I am all ears if anyone cares to share their expertise.
On the other hand- I kind of liked that mistaken font. I might switch to it. Who knows? Weigh in if you care about this kind of thing. It is always funny where you get ideas from.
In unrelated news, I was turned down for a job earlier month due to a lack of 'technical skills'.
*8/19- So Yesterday I Ranted And Raved About How If You Can Read, You Can Code…
I should have added 'if you have long hair, tie it back' at the top of the Banana Bread recipe. Or maybe wear a (helmet) football helmet. My apologies to anyone whose consumption of my baked goods prompted that previous sentence!
*8/23- Lost In Translation- Postgame Show
Finally, its over.
I think.
*8/26- Fantasy Football For Dummies
I ran my fantasy football league's auction-draft for the sixteenth time last Saturday. Let's say I broke a couple of my own rules.
Again- this is a pointless, pointless pursuit, you know? But a great way to keep in touch with many from my high school days. Most pointless pursuits are, I think, just an excuse to keep in touch with old friends.
*8/31- Do All Road Lead To Regret?
No.
I think anyone who tries to be their best self, all the time, and vows to do better when they fail to reach this standard is setting themselves up nicely for a life of few regrets.
On the other hand, 'few' could mean five. Five could mean those five. So who knows, ya? Just give it all you've got, I've read.
I mentioned in this post the concept of a daily reminders list. In addition to the five I listed, I have some additional reminders that I try to read each day before I get started. I list it in full below (1).
Commentary on August 2016 blog posts (The Business Bro)
*8/2- A Warm Welcome From The Business Bro
*8/11- Environments Always Impact Behavior
*8/18- If You Can Read, You Can Code
*8/25- Environments Always Impact Behavior, Part 2
Well, no turning back now.
Click here if you must catch up.
Podcast Power Rankings
I am going to stop doing these on a monthly basis. I'm surprised to write that but the reality is that I have nothing important to say about these podcasts (I am less surprised to write that).
The problem is actually very simple- I stopped listening to podcasts. I'll post something more detailed later in this month to
Pointless Top Ten
On the other hand- do we not love top ten lists?
While I have the podcasts on leave, I'll cook up a monthly 'pointless top ten list' to keep you all entertained. It'll be like Letterman- minus the humor, music, cool graphics, and celebrities.
I traveled quite a bit this summer. In fact, I left town more frequently this summer than I did in the last three summers combined (approximate). Last year, I believe I left the state exactly one time. So it was a nice change to get out and about a bit these past two months.
One thing you do an awful lot when you are out of town- you eat out. A lot. Almost always. Or you starve, I guess. Everyone has a different experience on their travels. Anyhow, I learned why some people feel compelled to take pictures and write blogs about their food.
Luckily for you, reader, I am not one of those folks
To keep it simple, here is a top ten list of the best food I'll eat again from what I ate while out of town over the past two months. Wow, what a mouthful that last sentence was.
10. Fried Oreo (DC- DC Grill Express)
To perhaps everyone's surprise, I had never eaten a fried oreo. Until this. Oh boy. Let's say my arteries are hurting. A good kind of hurt, though.
9. Fried Scallop Roll (Falmouth, MA- Falmouth Fish Market)
There is a lot of noise out on the Cape when it comes to eating out. I would just recommend dropping into this place for a simple takeout order. If you need any more convincing consider 1) I never eat fried fish 2) I ate this twice in two days.
8. Bacon Donut (Portland, ME- The Holy Donut)
Narrowly edging the Fried Oreo for the 'pointless sweet of the summer' award. This is a donut with a honey-maple glaze dipped into bacon pieces. It comes with a map of nearby defibrillators.
7. BBQ Ribs (Hyannis, MA- Tumi)
I've eaten ribs more this summer for some unstated reason. These were the best. Tumi is a Peruvian/Italian kind of place that manages very good ratings in a high-traffic 'Cape Town' tourist zone.
6. Chesseburger Sliders (Providence- Harry's Bar and Burger)
It was a good sign when a friend independently recommend 'go to Harry's' just an hour after we finished lunch there. You could even do this as a day trip from Boston- twenty bucks round trip to Providence on the commuter rail is well worth it.
5. Ramen (New York City- Kambi Ramen House)
Ramen for me comes down to the broth since the really good stuff requires hours (overnight?) preparation. But the pork topping was really good, as well.
I might have the name of this place wrong. But it is in the East Village, near a somewhat memorable Papaya Dog.
4. Ethiopian Food (DC- Keren Restaurant)
Another guess at the name here. Ethiopian food is kind of like Indian food, I guess. I don't know much about either. All I know is I ate a lot of it and enjoyed myself very thoroughly.
Just in case you are one of those weirdos who can't split entrees- it comes out on a big plate so you have to share. Or you can just go alone, I suppose.
In Boston, a place like this would be in a specific 'Ethiopian' neighborhood. In DC, places like this were freely scattered about. I'm not sure if one city is more 'diverse' than another. But it was very noticeable how much Boston's neighborhoods have a trace of their early heritage, so to speak, while DC's diversity was more evenly distributed. It could be that Boston is like a deck of cards where everything is ordered by number and suit while DC is like that same deck thoroughly shuffled.
3. Mac & Cheese Croquettes (Providence- Ogie's Trailer Park)
Exactly what they sound like. I was positively stuffed after a wedding yet still hammered down a plate of these. So, uh, do with that information as you may.
Ogie's is a really good time. You can sit outside, or not, among small replica trailers.
2. Pizza by the slice! (New York City- Pizzeria Suprema )
A New York blogger called 'The Slice Harvester' went to every pizza place in NYC (approximately) with the goal of finding the best slice in town. Luckily for me, the one he decided was #1 happens to be located across the street from Penn Station. I now stop for a pair of slices before heading home on the Amtrak every time I am in town.
Back to the Slice Harvester- he wrote a book about his mission. I suppose I've already ruined the ending- apologies- but you can still check it out if interested.
1. Meatloaf (Greenwich, CT- location undisclosed)
My cousin Mary makes this. Generally, the best meal of the year.
Reading from August 2016
So breaking news here- separate post coming later this month.
Did I leave the apartment at all?
Sort of. Like I mentioned above, I did travel. August saw departures for New York, Cape Cod (x2), and Rhode Island. Technically, I also returned from my trip to DC in August.
The New York trip is a familiar thing. After a reliance on bus travel in my early-twenties, I have settled into a basic itinerary that accounts for my height, general disinterest in the bus, and lifelong love of trains.
When I leave Boston, I try to book a short bus ticket to New Haven. This trip is usually just over two hours and reliable due to the lack of traffic on the way. From there, I take the Metro North, the local commuter train, from New Haven to Grand Central.
I like Grand Central. If I am meeting someone there, I usually tell that person I will be fifteen minutes later than expected. That gives me time to wander around and have a look. They pointlessly added an Apple store there a few years ago, somewhat ruining the feel of it, but I solved that problem last month by finding a place to stand where I could keep my back to it.
On the way home, I always go Amtrak from Penn Station. As referenced above, there is a very good 'pizza by the slice' establishment right next door. Unlike on the first leg, going through New Haven is not a great idea. This is because the Metro North train is sometimes delayed but the ticketed bus to Boston leaves at fixed times. Since the bus runs so infrequently, missing the bus will cost you dearly. If you wish to safely arrive on time to catch the bus, you must take a much earlier train to New Haven than logic would dictate. Better to just sleep on the Amtrak after those slices!
In general, though, I did not really leave the apartment during the day unless required. It was too hot and humid in Boston.
It was interesting this summer to talk to people with regular day jobs. Often, I would hear how nice or great the weather was from someone who probably peeked out the window once or twice from their air conditioned office.
Let me break some news- there is nothing nice about a humid eighty-eight degree Boston day. I guess the perception of how nice the day is depends a lot on the form of participation.
I'm looking forward to going outside in September.
Most of the time I did spend outside in August was while biking to and from libraries. I go to the main libraries in Boston and Cambridge daily to use the public computers.
The computer situation is important to me because I use these to search and apply for work. I also use them to proofread and post blogs. Sadly, my 2006 Mac Book is no longer capable of handling the processing power required to submit resumes, edit cover letters, and access Google Drive (where I save all my files).
When I was laid off, I quickly discovered that the Cambridge Main Library had a very strong computer setup and started most of my days there. Like with Boston, the Cambridge library allows users two hours of total computer time per day. When my two hours were up, I would go to the far inferior Boston Public Library lab and struggle through my remaining 'admin' on their ancient computers in my remaining two hours.
The battle between the Boston and Cambridge computer labs heated up (or perhaps more accurately, started) this summer when Boston reopened its renovated space. This space included a new computer lab. It is a ten-fold upgrade on the previous setup. In short, these are likely the best computers I have ever used. The room is spacious, clean, and well lit. I'm here right now!
The only reason why I am not quite ready to give Boston the #1 spot in my 'public computer power rankings' is their ridiculously complex printing system. You have to send a print job to the printer, then log in at the printer, then print the document. There are no instructions available on how to do this properly so I often watch users scurry back and forth from computer to printer to computer, trying to sort out the mess. Sometimes, a library employee notices all the activity and offers to help. To top it all off, each printed page costs fifteen cents. If you have not made preparations to pay, you do this at the printer. That will take another few minutes.
The Cambridge setup is simple. Everyone gets ten free pages per day. After that, the library card is charged. There is no 'releasing of print jobs'- you just hit print. There is no separate payment method. There is no need for instructions since it works like every other printer in the civilized world. You hit print, your sheet prints. Done.
The sheer simplicity of the Cambridge setup suits my style. Though I print rarely, I will probably continue to recommend the Cambridge lab to public computer seekers for this reason alone.
I will likely drop in soon on the Somerville Public Library. I jog past it quite a bit and have occasionally dropped a book off for the return bin in the course of a run. I've noted on these runs that this library keeps the same hours as the main libraries in Boston and Cambridge, implying (to me) that it must have a decent public computer setup. Only one way to find out...
August brought the Olympics and with it some good old fashioned sitting in front of the TV. The Olympics generally leaves me confused with all the inconsistency in competition formats, event selection, amateur status, and so on. This time around was no exception. How, exactly, does the pentathlon have only four events? I did not notice The Pentagon undergoing construction to become The Quadrilateral while I was in DC. Surely, we can at least ensure the name describes the event?
I was surprised to learn that the Olympic triathlon featured only ('only') a six point two mile run. I always thought it was a full marathon (confusing it with the 'ironman' concept, I guess). The bike race is 25 miles. I tend to run about six miles or so five or six times a week and generally bike between eight and fifteen miles. So, almost by accident, I'm about halfway through one of these things a few times a week.
I could go on all day about the Olympics. It is truly a strange event. Maybe in four years I'll consider writing in-depth about it.
I could go on all day about the Olympics. It is truly a strange event. Maybe in four years I'll consider writing in-depth about it.
Traveling this summer was a great time. Seeing old friends, exploring new places, eating fried rubbish, so on and so forth. Would not trade it for anything. On the other hand, I was reminded of a few things I had forgotten during my short sabbatical from taking out of town trips.
One was how I used to realize that it was silly to seek out the types of things to do in other towns that I never do in Boston. This includes actual activities (like going to museums) or doing basic preparation/research for actual activities (like finding out which museums locals consider excellent). I'm better at remembering to this now but I still suspect there is room for improvement.
Another came in reflecting on what I enjoyed the most while travelling this summer. The most rewarding parts of my experiences were seeing friends, making use of quiet (or obligation-free) time to reflect, and getting away from some of my less joyful defaults. The reality for me is that these are things I can do each day at home if I gave some proper effort to organizing my time in order to allow it.
I'm greatly looking forward to my next trip away. I have never regretted the time and money spent seeing friends. But it would be a silly mistake to not incorporate as much of what I enjoyed from my summer trips into my day to day existence in the coming fall. Getting the best out of Boston while I'm still around requires the same preparation I put into getting the best out of time away from Boston. Building pockets of stillness into the day and re-evaluating the things I currently do on autopilot do not necessarily require a train ticket to the Big Apple. If you can do it there, you can do it anywhere.
Thanks again for reading. We will be back on Wednesday with a new type of post- I am going to showcase a series of photographs I took of various plates of French fries I ate over the past two months.
Until then,
Tim
Footnotes / potential complaints
1. My 'starting up' daily checklist
Hi all. So this is what I have at the top of my own organizer (to do list). I took line one from a book about Bill Parcells- I believe Al Davis told this to him when he was complaining about all the injuries and problems he was having while coaching the New York Giants.
The next block in section one is from A Hundred White Daffodils by Jane Kenyon. Tenets to live by if you want to live in a particular way, I suppose.
Section 1b was covered last week.
Section 1c is for my habit of trying to memorize song lyrics. For some reason, I've been going through Youtube and finding different performances of 'Auld Lang Syne' (it's the song you always here on New Year's Eve). Since I never knew what the words were, I figure out I would look them up.
I ran into an old acquaintance on the train just last week who mentioned that he always considered Labor Day to be like New Year's Eve. The summer ending and all that. I thought that was a funny coincidence. Maybe next year I'll throw a party on that Sunday night.
'Ne Me Quitte Pas' is probably the next one I'll tackle once I have 'Auld Lang Syne' down.
Starting up…
1a. daily reminders...
--> No one cares- coach your team
*Be a good steward to your gifts
*Protect your time
*Feed your inner life
*Avoid too much noise
*Read good books
*Have good sentences in your ears
*Be by yourself as often as you can
*Walk
*Take the phone off the hook
*Work regular hours
1b. The top five regrets of hospice patients?...YOU ALREADY REGRET THESE THINGS.
--> The moment you lose your health, you lose the ability to follow your dreams
--> Cut out everything you can leave behind so you are not income dependent
--> Learn to express your feelings
--> Stay in touch with friends and reach back out to those who reach out to you
--> Pretending to be someone else defines your happiness on someone else’s terms
1c…(ne me quitte pas)
Auld Lang Syne
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?
CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my jo,
for auld lang syne,
we'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
