Sounds and Spices

Today I researched laptops. It was overwhelming. There are so many choices. How to narrow it down? How much money do I want to spend? It makes me want to buy an Apple computer because it would alleviate the headache of all of that research. But it’s expensive and do I really need that much computer yet? It’s hard to take the plunge. I’ll see what deals they have on cyber Monday.

I began listening to The Art of Power by Thich Nhat Hanh. I’m still reading Feeling Good by David Burns too, plus The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. I have 40 books left to read to meet my Goodreads challenge for this year, lol. Thirty-four days left in the year. Don’t know if I can squeeze that many books in, we shall see.

The stove makes a ticking and creaking sound because I have the pot of fragrant water simmering. These apartments also have some radiant heat that uses water, so we hear odd noises from the water circulating in the pipes too. The other sounds I hear are the clicking of the keyboard, an occasional creak from the neighbor moving about above us, the tinnitus in my ears, and a faint whirring wind-like highway sound in the background.

It smells so good in here, it’s comforting breathing in the spicy aroma. It’s cool in here too, so I’m snug in my big warm cowl neck shirt. I have a makeshift ottoman for my feet under the desk, it’s made of blankets I rolled up and tied with a ribbon. I have the chair raised so my arms can align to the laptop so my feet don’t touch the ground. I usually end up sitting cross-legged in the chair like I am now.

My desk is a built-in cubby with a granite top and three drawers on the right. Stowed underneath are my notebooks/workbooks and books in progress, along with equipment to make videos. My makeup caddy is there too, and I have a standing lamp I use for video making nestled against the left side of the desk.

On my desk are photos of the kids, a lighted makeup mirror, a blue tooth speaker, and various sentimental objects that uplift me when I see them. Post-it notes and a small pile of papers on top of a calendar, a pen, lip balm, and hand cream. I have my cup of tea to my left. There’s my paper airplane from the Pat Flynn course I’m doing and some earbuds. And of course the laptop, mouse, and pad.

I’ve spent many hours at this desk this year and plan on spending many more. I got the ProWritingAid grammar checker and style editor to help correct my writing.

I plan on writing for the rest of my life, so I thought it was a good thing to invest in. And of course, I will continue to take writing courses and learn as much as I can about writing.

I never thought I’d be blogging here every day for this entire year, but here I am. It makes me believe I’m capable of doing a lot more than I believe. It’s empowering to commit to something and successfully carry it out.

I wonder if it would be good to commit to doing something else every day next year? Do I want to do that to myself again? Lmao, I don’t know? It helps create a habit and build skills. I’ll decide on January 1st.

That’s all for tonight 🙂 Until tomorrow.