DIY & Pain

I am suffering "DIY back," you know the aching, throbbing back you get from putting together all the crap you just had to have from Ikea. My roommate bought a desk and bookcase and we spent this morning putting them together, now my back hurts. And the whole time we're doing this I'm thinking about how much harder it would have been without my drill and all its attendant drill-bits. Seriously, with that little hex wrench it would have taken all day to tighten all the damn screws and bolts the desk came with. As it was it took about 3.5 hours (minus the stop for food)to put it all together and then move everything around.

I love to DIY but it almost always leads to lower back pain for me. Mostly because I tend to do it in the least organized, most crowded room in the house. I like to plan ahead, ya know. I have a standing goal of owning multiple power tools - circular saw, reciprocating saw, sander, belt sander, table saw - you name it, I want it. I want to build stuff, mostly things that it costs entirely too much to buy (especially when it's made of particleboard).

Anyway, Aleve is my friend and now it's off to grading again. Joy.

Day Trippin'

I live in Austin and there's a lot to do...if you're into the outdoor lifestyle. I'm not. On the weekends when I have free time, I have a routine of sorts; it usually looks like this: sleep late (8 o'clock in the morning!), grab some breakfast, then go shopping or wandering around town looking for something to do. I'm not very creative some days. anyway, there are only three malls in Austin, and I've been to them all more times than I can count. It gets boring.

So yesterday the roommate and I decided it was time for a day trip. After much dithering about, we finally settled on driving to San Antonio to visit La Villita and the King William Historic District. The plan was to do a little window shopping and take some photos in KWHD. Of course this is winter in Texas and it was raining - we ended up at the mall any way. My urge is to say coulda done that at home but it was a different mall than we're used to and it had some interesting stores.

We decided to go to KWHD anyway and drive around to see what was there. This neighborhood has some really magnificent Victorian mansions, most of which are within walking distance of each other. (Check out their website to see some of them.)

I really wish I'd had the opportunity to get some photos of some of the homes. After the driving tour, we ate at a great Mexican restaurant called Posario's; it's located in the King William district and serves some of the absolute best food I've had in a long time. One of the reasons to visit San Antonio is the fantastic, and authentic, Mexican food.

On the way home we stopped in San Marcus at the Prime Outlets - an oasis of outlet mall shopping in San Marcos. You can get just about everything there but watch out for the driving - it gets truly creative.

By the time we were done, we'd been gone over 8 hours and were exhausted. Here's how we know we had a good time on a day trip: we come home and collapse. I love trips like that, especially when it's been raining all day!

Getting started

About a year ago I started a blog and then lost interest and didn't keep at it (mostly because I couldn't tell if people were reading it). I later found out that several people were reading it...after I had stopped writing it. That's how it usually happens though, isn't it. But this time I have a specific purpose and reason for blogging. I want to use this blog as an online journal and marketing tool as I work on starting my freelance writing business.

I've been toying with the idea of freelance writing since 2002 and finally feel confident that I can do this. Why? I think it's because the Internet is a huge force now and I believe my chances for finding freelance work are better on the Web. Besides, I like instant gratification (like everyone else in the US) and the Web is definitely the place to get that fix.

Now that I'm ready to begin, I'm really excited about the process and my prospects. I'm terrified of marketing, like most writers, but I'm prepared to do what needs to be done. So here is phase one of my marketing attempt: I am available for freelance writing and editing work.

Wow, that wasn't hard at all. I've been dreading doing something like that for YEARS, and now I can't figure out why. All right, I know it's kind've harder than that but I choose to believe it won't be too much more. Allow me my dreams, folks.