New blog!

I have a new blog. If you're at all curious, please visit it by clicking on this link. Hope to see you there.

Yeah, yeah, I know

Alright, I know: perhaps I announced my return prematurely. I had every intention of writing more often, believe me. Let me see, there must be something I can blame. My job? Hmm, maybe - I sort-of decided a few months back that I wouldn't use valuable time at work to write on the old blog. For one, I was unsure about the job status, and I didn't want to give my employer any reason to believe I was goofing off at work. (For those keeping score, the news is decidedly good on the job front. Hell, the HR woman today was telling me about the pension plan I can opt into. I never thought I'd be in a job where a pension was offered. It seems so ... I don't know, 1950s.) I no longer feel comfortable posting while at work. And the new computer set-up at home - in my bedroom, largely because of a major apartment reorg that also revealed a faulty phone jack - is not working out. I just can't seem to summon the requisite energy to hang out in my bedroom to work away on the computer.

Still, here I am tonight. Feeling a mite emotional (for reasons I don't wish to divulge at this point), but prepared to post at least something. So what do I decide to write about in my return?

Condoms. Or, in my vernacular, safes.

I was throwing away a (thankfully empty) box of condoms today (part of a larger cleaning effort) when I noticed the "instructions." I know one is not supposed to use things without first checking out the instructions, but I figure safes are pretty self explanatory. Still, I love the double-sided "how to" sheet! After all, how often does one get to see a drawing of an erect penis? But there it is, in the first of five panels. (It's accompanying instruction is: "Put the condom on after the penis is erect, before there is any contact between the penis and your partner's body." Check.)

But what I found even more interesting was the section entitled Pregnancy Rates for Birth Control Methods. It comes with an accompanying table, sort-of like PowerPoint, which (I will again quote) "provides estimates of the percent of women likely to become pregnant while using a particular contraceptive method for one year." (It adds the estimates are "based on on a variety of studies." As someone that works in an academic environment, I'd like to see some footnotes.) I was actually rather surprised at the results. Statistically, there's not much difference between using a safe and ye ol' withdrawal method. For "typical use" (ie., was not used correctly or not used with every act), the rate with a safe is 14%, with withdrawal at 19%. In terms of "lowest expected" (method was always used correctly but failed anyway) it's even closer: 3% (safes) vs 4% (withdrawal). I don't know, this strikes me as odd. But a friend of mine tells me that he and his partner always use withdrawal, so maybe I shouldn't be that surprised (since she's never been pregnant).

So there you go, my first post of the month, and I'm writing about birth control.

My return

Now that I've lost most of my readers due to the complete non-activity on this blog, I'm here to announce my comeback. (I figure a two-month layout from almost all writing is long enough - it's time to write again.) Starting in March (i.e., tomorrow), I'm going to be back on the blogging train. I may start fresh with a new title and URL, but I haven't decided yet. I have a few ideas on what I want to do and what I want to write: there will be some experimentation, some poetry, along with some other goodies.

So for those of you I haven't lost, stay tuned!

post #3 in 2007

Yes, this is only my third post of 2007. Can it be that I've got bored of this whole blog thing?

Truthfully it's bigger than the blog: I'm bored of the fucking Internet. Sure, I'll flip through a few sites during the workday, but I don't go much further than the NYTimes and CBC. I find that I'm not even e-mailing as much as I used to, which means I feel somewhat out of touch with a number of friends. (Yes, I mean you in Portland, and you in Santa Cruz, and you in Singapore - I'm not going to pull a magic mirror Romper Room thing and start naming them all, but you get the gist.) I guess if you want to look at the positive aspect of not spending much time on the computer, it might mean that I'm having an enjoyable January, one that's full of activity and (yes!) fun. The negative side is that I'm not writing as much as I should. The blog provides an outlet, and it's one that I seem to be shunning for the time being.

Will I make more of an effort to write? Stay tuned. I'll understand if I've already lost you.

AWOL

Some of you (and a couple of you have even e-mailed!) are wondering where I've been hiding since I don't seem to be blogging. My life has been a little hectic of late (but in a decidedly good and positive way) and I haven't been much in the mood to write on here. But I was thinking this morning that I miss my relationship to this blog, so look for me to be posting more over the next few weeks. You haven't seen the last of me! (I moved my home PC as well, which I'm hoping will create some more "energy" in my apartment that will get me writing more.)

Stay tuned.

Hello 2007!

So I'm trying to figure out whether it's too late to ponder my 2006. Strangely, I'm not much in the mood to look back on the 12 months of 2006. It's not that it wasn't a memorable year - the fact that it was my first full year as a single person since 1998 makes it somewhat noteworthy - but I haven't been into the introspection thing over the last few weeks. Which, of course, I find surprising since I'm rarely not into introspection. I guess part of it is that I've been having such an entertaining last couple of weeks, I haven't felt the need to revisit the past. I'm looking forward, not behind.

Of course all that can change in a beat. Stay tuned.

At some point I should write out a list of goals I have for 2007.

Farewell 2006! (and good riddance...)

I had hoped to craft a long-ish post at some point today, but the day ended up getting away from me (a wonderful 90-minute nap will do that). I wanted to reflect on 2006, which I've recently dubbed the "year of transition," and speculate on 2007 (which has yet to be dubbed), as well outline some of my goals (distinct from resolutions) for the coming year. Unfortunately my heart just isn't into it right now! Perhaps tomorrow, when 2006 is over and I'll have some distance - I might feel a little more dispassionate about the whole year which will provide some proper perspective.

Adding to the "raw" emotions is that I'm spending New Year's Eve alone this year. It's not entirely my volition: I didn't end up getting one invite to go out! (Not entirely true, actually: I received an invite on Friday, but at the time it wouldn't have been appropriate for me to accept. Long story.) I was pretty bummed out about my lack of invites, particularly since I spent last year alone (a deliberate choice) and felt that I'd be much more in a "party" mood this year. Alas, the invitations were not forthcoming. But all is not lost: I'm going to make a nice dinner, I just poured myself some 12-year old single malt scotch and I have a some expensive Bordeaux decanting. I'll throw on a couple of "comfort" films, maybe blast some tunes (out of my new speakers, which was my xmas gift to myself), write in my journal, and enjoy an evening of contemplation.

To all my regular readers, thank you for sticking with me through these last couple of months. I hope you have a wonderful new year's eve and a peaceful and prosperous 2007. And if I haven't bored the pants off you, please continue to visit me here! I have high hopes for the coming year: I'm entering into it with much optimism and a positive spirit.